The Road Warrior Report - Western Carolina Review - September 12, 2021

NORMAN – Oklahoma was going to destroy Western Carolina. That outcome was a given. The question was how they would go about it after a lackluster second half effort against Tulane that saw the Green Wave come from way down to threaten to win the game at the end. There was no such lack of focus this week, as the Sooners indeed destroyed Western Carolina by the final score of 76-0.

Spencer Rattler was sharp in one half of play, connecting on 20 of 26 passes for 243 yards and five TDs. True freshman Mario Williams led all receivers with four catches for 49 yards and a score. Jadon Haselwood had four catches for 19 yards and two scores. Cody Jackson had three for 31, Jackson Sumlin had three for 19, Jaden Knowles had two for 65, and Brayden Willis added two for 51. Austin Stogner caught two for 21, Mike Woods had two for eight and a score, Eric Gray had one for 20 and a score, and Marvin Mims, Jeremiah Hall, Brian Darby, and Drake Stoops all had one catch each.



Gray led all rushers with 74 yards on only nine carries. Caleb Williams had four carries for 60, including a 59-yarder, in the second half. Kennedy Brooks added 48 yards and a score on six carries, while Knowles had four for 37 and two scores in extended second half playing time. Rattler had four carries for 29 yards, Todd Hudson had nine for 25 and two TDs, and Hall got a rare carry from the H-back position for six yards.

The Sooners won the toss and deferred, although they briefly, erroneously elected to kick off in both halves. Western Carolina picked up a first down on their opening possession, one of only three they would muster in the first half. A short punt left the Sooners with the ball on their own 30 to start the game on offense.

Gray ran for 10 yards, then Rattler hit Mims for 19. Gray ran for another 17, and the Sooners had a first down at the WCU 24. Three plays later, on third and six, Stogner caught one for 13 yards and a first and goal at the seven. Two plays after that, Rattler and Haselwood connected for the score, and it was 7-0 with 10:28 to play in the first quarter.

The Catamounts would go three and out on the ensuing possession, with a forced fumble that they managed to recover. The punt gave OU the ball at their own 28. Brooks rumbled for 32 yards on first down, but the Sooners stalled there, and Gabe Brkic came on for another long bomb field goal. His 56-yarder made it 10-0 with 6:56 to play in the first quarter.



Another WCU three-and-out was followed by a lightning-quick Sooner TD drive. Starting from their own 42, OU rattled off a 23-yard pass to Willis, a 15-yard Gray run, and a 20-yard pass to a wide-open Gray, and it was 17-0 with 5:04 to go in the first quarter.

After yet another three-and-out, the Sooners scored again on a 10-play, 65-yard TD drive. The highlight was a 38-yard run by Brooks . . . that was called back by a holding penalty. Mario Williams had three catches for 39 yards on the drive, and Brooks closed it out with a one-yard plunge to make it 24-0 three seconds into the second quarter.

WCU rolled the dice on their next possession, going for it on fourth and two from their own 33. Ethan Downs blew up the play in the backfield, and the Sooners took over on downs on the WCU 31. Four plays later, it was 31-0, as Rattler connected with Woods from four yards out.

Another three-and-out and another long TD drive, this one capped by a Mario Williams 10-yard TD catch, made it 38-0. WCU picked up a couple of first downs on their next possession but picked up only three yards on fourth and four from the OU 43 and turned it over on downs again. Seven plays and 60 yards later, Rattler and Haselwood connected from six yards away, and it was 45-0 with 1:54 to play in the first half.

Caleb Williams came in for most of the second half and looked good. He ripped off a 59-yard keeper on his second play from scrimmage, demonstrating some wheels that Rattler definitely does not have. The team definitely remained engaged in the second half, unlike last week. The defense forced a couple of fumbles and an interception in the second half, as well. The Sooners’ new punter, Michael Turk, made his first appearance of the season late in the game, as OU has now punted once in 120 minutes of play in 2021.



All in all, it was what it should have been – a clinical dismantling of an outmatched opponent. On to Nebraska. See you Saturday morning.