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DALLAS – The chants for Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams started with the below-par performance against Nebraska, a 23-16 win, just three games a season away with dreams of a national championship in Norman. The No. 7 rookie and No. 1 quarterback of the 2021 recruiting class arrived on campus as one of the most high-profile quarterbacks in history.
Against the Texas No.21 on Saturday, however, Williams did more than live up to the almost unattainable hype of being a five-star quarterback. He immediately established himself as a Red River Showdown legend.
Down 35-17 in the second quarter, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley decided to roll the dice. Heisman’s starter and preseason favorite Spencer Rattler returned the ball twice, both leading to touchdowns just later. It was a nightmare start for Oklahoma, the kind of deficit the Sooners had never overcome against the Longhorns.
“I was just going to feel it as I took it and I just wanted to go with my feeling,” Riley said. “I trusted my two guys or I wouldn’t have put Caleb in the game for long stretches and I wouldn’t have put Spencer in the most important game of the game.”
The first practice was solid, a 10 game walk ending in a basket. But after kicking on the first practice of the second half, Williams’ confidence increased. First another field goal. Then a nice 14-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims in traffic. Then a field goal. Slowly but surely, the lead fell.
Texas tied the game 48-48 late behind a historic performance from first-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy, but Williams never wavered. He completed passes to Jadon Haselwood, Marvin Mims and Austin Stogner for 30 yards before running back Kennedy Brooks escaped for a winning touchdown of 33 yards to make the second-biggest comeback in the history of the Oklahoma.
“[Williams] just arrived and did his job, ”said fullback Jeremiah Hall. “Look at everything from Caleb’s point of view: it’s the Cotton Bowl. It’s a big game. But just do what you actually do and everything else will be fine. ”
Oklahoma players were reluctant to remove Rattler, a projected No.1 pick in the NFL Draft, entering the year, and for good reason. Rattler has become a lightning rod for criticism, both locally and nationally. But after posting the three worst scores of the Riley era in their first five games, Oklahoma looked to the future in the second half.
Williams’ balance under pressure allowed him to complete 63% of his passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns – both of those goals under pressure. His ease at running the ball directly led to a 66-yard touchdown on what was supposed to be a short-distance forfeit, but also opened the game for Brooks to thrive.
Brooks carried the ball 15 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns with Williams in the game. Beside Rattler, Brooks made 10 carries for 47 yards. Williams completed four passes to Mims for 124 yards and two scores. Rattler’s only connection to Mims was a 12-yard player.
Riley said he withheld some parts of the offense with rookie Williams in the game, but only around 5%, nowhere near enough to impact the game plan.
“Caleb came in and did a great job,” said Brooks. “He just walked in and did his job. He kept it simple and that’s what I told him to do is keep it simple… it took the pressure off me and made my life back. easier.”
Williams’ performance couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for Oklahoma. The Sooners are one of only two Big 12 teams to survive Week 6 unscathed. With No.3 in Iowa and No.4 in Penn State, at least one of the teams ahead of Oklahoma in the standings will fall. With the Sooners’ victory, Oklahoma now has at least a 65% chance of ESPN’s REIT in every game remaining.
“I feel like we’ve been in these situations so many times,” said linebacker Nik Bonitto. “Thank goodness we went through this adversity because it played out today.”
Riley isn’t set to name a starting quarterback for next week’s Oklahoma game against TCU, but that in itself is a statement. Thanks to Williams’ heroism, the College Football Playoff remains close at hand.
In a season filled with chaos, Williams’ balance under pressure could be the last piece for Oklahoma to finally live up to their preseason hype.
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