One last piece of business before moving on to Texas…
Ridiculously Ridiculous
Injuries
Sophomore running back Brennan Clay and senior cornerback Jamell Fleming went down early Saturday night and didn’t return.
The coaching staff downplayed the severity of both, stating that they’d be fine for Texas. You know how that goes.
Fortunately, it does sound as though safety Aaron Colvin will return after sitting out this week.
Special Teams
I might as well just create a template and leave this here.
Between Ryan Broyles’ fumbled punt return and Michael Hunnicutt’s missed field goal, the special teams units had their typically underwhelming evening.
Ridiculous
Landry Jones
I’m not going to bag on the ‘Stache too hard for this performance. After all, he racked up more than 400 yards passing and threw 5 touchdowns.
Jones still didn’t have a great night. He was throwing against air most of the night. The Cardinals rarely pressured him. He had targets running free in space time and again, especially coming out of the backfield.
Despite having all that going for him, Jones just didn’t look that sharp. As Berry Tramel noted, the junior quarterback threw high all night, including his one interception.
Sublime
The Running Game
When Dom Whaley and Clay got dinged up within a few plays of each other in the first half, I know I can’t be the only one who immediately thought ahead to the potential of not having either for the Red River Shootout.
Thankfully, Whaley returned to the game and didn’t miss a beat. Roy Finch also got a little run, and he used the opportunity to take a swing pass 47 yards.
The most exciting moment for Sooner fans had to be the debut of touted freshman Brandon Williams. The diaper dandy had 11 carries in garbage time, rushing for 58 yards on the night. It didn’t have the wow factor of Adrian Peterson’s first action, but it did prove that Williams simply has too much talent to let him languish with a redshirt.
Ryan Broyles
Just four catches, but two went for TDs. The All-American also went for more than 100 yards for something like the 216th time in his college career.
Sublimely Sublime
Jaz Reynolds
Reynolds built on his big game against Missouri the previous week with an even bigger one against Ball State. He led the team with 141 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Reynolds also caught his first career touchdown.
Even if Trey Franks returns Saturday for the Texas game, Reynolds has made a strong case in the last two weeks that he deserves a spot as OU’s third receiver.
Tony Jefferson
OU’s defense had another big night, and Jefferson had the biggest of all. Most defensive backs are fortunate to come up with 3 interceptions in a season. Jefferson got that in one half. His one-handed grab on the sideline was the stuff of legends.
I suspect we’ll see a certain outspoken weakside linebacker sporting No. 12 on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl. If not, though, Jefferson certainly played like a guy who deserved it.