Ridiculous and Sublime: Oklahoma 58, Kansas State 17
I wrote up my take on the Sooners' big win over Kansas State for CBR. Now it's time for the weekly dose of "Ridiculous and Sublime."
Ridiculously Ridiculous
Dom Whaley's Injury
Man, life isn't fair. The walk-on sensation Whaley has been a huge story nationally for the Sooners and OU's most consistent running back this season. Seeing him splayed out with a fractured, it was hard not to really feel for him.
Thankfully, it sounds as though Whaley's surgery Sunday morning was a success. Looking forward to seeing him back on the field soon.
Ridiculous
Tackling in the First Half
When K-State went on its 17-0 run in the first half, Oklahoma defenders were bouncing off of KSU's shifty quarterback Collin Klein left and right. They were getting their licks in on Klein, but no one seemed interested in, yanno, actually bringing the big fella down.
The Sooners need to clean that up before facing Ryan Tannehill and RG3 in the coming weeks.
Sublime
Roy Finch
The sophomore jitterbug saw an increased workload with Whaley sidelined, and Finch definitely responded. For a guy his size, Finch continually surprises with his power as a runner, and that was on display Saturday along with his second gear in the open field.
Going forward, OU will have to rely on No. 22 to get the majority of carries in upcoming weeks. The Sooners will have to figure out how to preserve the injury-prone running back, who has been more accustomed to playing a change of pace role.
Landry Jones
You'd think a guy who just set school record for passing yards (35 of 47 passes, 505 yards, 5 touchdows, 2 interceptions) in a game would rate a little higher. At this point, though, Jones' assault on the OU record books is nothing new.
All in all, it was a strong effort from the junior quarterback. Two poor interceptions marred an otherwise very good day for Jones, though.
Sublimely Sublime
Pass Rush
The Sooner D struggled early with the Wildcats' option-heavy attack. Once everyone got settled down, however, KSU found little room to maneuver.
As the Wildcats fell further behind and were forced to throw the ball, OU's pass rush went to work. The Sooners notched 7 sacks on the day, including two each for linebackers Tom Wort and Corey Nelson, and battered Klein repeatedly.
Pass Protection
As good as the Sooners were at getting to the K-State quarterback, they did equally well keeping Landry Jones upright. Jones was rarely touched and generally operated out of a clean pocket. The lack of pressure enabled him to pick apart the Wildcat D all game long.
Wide Receivers
The trio of Jaz Reynolds, Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills got back on track after an uncharacteristically sloppy showing a week earlier against Texas Tech. Broyles and Stills both topped the century mark in yards. Reynolds had two highlight-reel grabs, one of which kept a drive alive and the other resulted in one of his 2 TDs.
Dejuan Miller also saw more snaps than he has in recent weeks, and he made the most of it with a touchdown grab.
Hunnicutt's Bomb
OU tries a 53-yard field goal about as often as Tim Allen says something funny. Making one? Well, that's just silly.
Don't discount the impact of Hunnicutt's long-range bomb on the Sooners. Closing the half with a score definitely helped them recapture some lost momentum and gave the entire team a spark after last week's dismal kicking performance.