Oklahoma 16, West Virginia 7: The good, the bad and the ugly
What a weird game.
I don't have the archives in front of me, but this was likely the lowest scoring home game of the Bob Stoops era since TCU in 2005.
The Good
Special teams
Jay Boulware has made a significant impact on the play of the Sooners' special teams. The punting game, which was supposed to be a a concern, has been fantastic. Nick Hodgson allowed some kickoff returns this time, but the coverage teams did a very good job.
Overall, the special teams units got a turnover and, unlike their WVU counterparts, didn't make crucial mistakes.
Brennan Clay and Damien Williams
Clay made big running plays all night long. There were a few runs where you wish
that Williams and his home run speed were carrying the ball, but that's nitpicking. Overall, Clay did a great job.
Williams also had a good game and came close to breaking several big runs. His almost-TD run provided a huge boost in the red zone to a struggling offense.
Offensive line and fullbacks
Anytime you're rushing for 300-plus yards at 5.5 yards per carry, your blocking is clicking. At times, OU's power, three-back look was dominant running the ball, especially running the ball to the right. Knight even had time to throw, although WVU decided on 3rd and long to start sending the house under the assumption that Trevor Knight was not going to adjust correctly.
The Bad
Wide receivers
OU's wideouts didn't make things easier for Knight as he was struggling.
There was Jalen Saunders going down to a barely there tackle instead of housing
a great throw on a seam route.
And the turf monster costing Sterling Shepard a possible touchdown.
And Lacoltan Bester fumbling in the red zone after a great catch and run.
Nothing really went right with the receiving corps.
The Ugly
Knight's dark night
The first two games of the season have made it clear that the playmaking, confident QB Josh Heupel was seeing in practice is not translating to game day.
Knight looks lost under the bright lights:
- He's not reading coverages;
- He's still airmailing passes;
- He's panicking and locking onto his first read.
Knight just doesn't look ready to play. If anything, overall, he played worse last night than he did versus Louisiana-Monroe.
Offensive scheme
With Knight struggling, Heupel seemed to be scrambling to choose his favorite plays. The offense felt disjointed. The QB run game disappeared. It didn't look like the QB was really reading the D to keep the ball or not. There was no consistent identity from down to down, and OU was constantly off-schedule regarding down and distance.
With Knight apparently hurt to some degree, the QB run game was shelved in the second half. Given the issues with the passing game, that made OU way too predictable on 1st down.
The unknown
How will Blake Bell respond running the full offense against Tulsa?
-Atlantasooner