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TCU |
OKLA |
No. 4 Oklahoma beats TCU 52-31 in Williams’ starting debut
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Caleb Williams had a big starting debut for No. 4 Oklahoma, throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns and running for another score in the Sooners' 52-31 victory over TCU on Saturday night.
The freshman from Washington, D.C., unseated Spencer Rattler as the starter after leading a comeback victory over Texas last week in Dallas. He started fast against TCU with an opening 75-yard touchdown drive that took just under three minutes.
Williams didn't learn he was Oklahoma's starter until midweek. Riley said he was ready to play either of his former blue-chip quarterbacks, if necessary, against TCU.
''Caleb got the opportunity tonight, and obviously did a great job with it,'' Riley said. ''I'm confident that had Spencer gotten the opportunity tonight with the way he practiced, he would've played very well also. Thought the room handled it great. Proud of those guys for a winning effort and being team-first guys.''
Williams was 18 of 23 and ran for 66 yards on nine carries. He had a 41-yard scoring run, juking a defender at the line of scrimmage and taking off.
Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) began to pull away from TCU with three consecutive touchdown drives to open the third quarter, including two touchdown connections between Williams and receiver Jadon Haselwood.
Haselwood finished with 56 yards on a team-leading six catches. The third-year Oklahoma receiver was impressed by his quarterback's poise, considering his inexperience.
''He's a great leader for being a freshman. I don't think he ever feels pressure,'' Haselwood said of Williams. ''He's always in a good mood. Even last week, he felt no pressure. Like no fear, and you can tell by the way he played. Just a great kid. He can sling it, he can run, he can do whatever he needs to do to get the ball downfield.''
TCU quarterback Max Duggan had career bests with 336 yards passing and four touchdowns. His leading receiver, Quentin Johnston, also had a career day with 185 yards receiving and three touchdown receptions.
The Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) were without running back Zach Evans, who had a Big 12 second-leading 586 rushing yards and five touchdowns entering the weekend.
TCU still had a chance early in the fourth quarter to cut OU's lead to one possession, but punted after six plays and allowed OU to drain the clock to 1:09 on its final offensive series.
FROSH START
Williams joined an exclusive club on Saturday, becoming the Sooners' first true freshman to start at quarterback since 1990.
The last Sooner to achieve the feat? Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Cale Gundy.
Williams dazzled in his debut, setting OU true freshman records for both single-game passing yards and touchdowns. He is just the fifth true freshman quarterback to start for the program.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Sooners are 7-0 for the second time in the last three seasons and are likely to move at least one spot higher in the Associated Press Top 25 after No. 2 Iowa lost to unranked Purdue on Saturday.
THE TAKEAWAY
TCU: The Horned Frogs' offense was able to expose a banged up Sooners secondary, which was without starting safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and cornerback Woodi Washington. TCU couldn't keep pace, however, with a reinvigorated Oklahoma team.
Oklahoma: Lincoln Riley has to feel validated with his decision to turn to Williams, who had ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit questioning whether or not Williams deserves Heisman Trophy attention on the ABC broadcast.
UP NEXT
TCU: Host West Virginia on Saturday.
Oklahoma: At Kansas on Saturday.
Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
M. Duggan
15 QB 346 PaYds, 4 PaTDs, 44 RuYds |
|
C. Williams
13 QB 295 PaYds, 4 PaTDs, 66 RuYds, RuTD |
Team Stats | ||
---|---|---|
1st Downs | 21 | 23 |
Rushing | 9 | 9 |
Passing | 12 | 10 |
Penalty | 0 | 4 |
3rd Down Conv | 7-14 | 4-9 |
4th Down Conv | 0-1 | 0-0 |
Total Net Yards | 529 | 525 |
Total Plays | 67 | 58 |
Avg Gain | 7.9 | 9.1 |
Net Yards Rushing | 183 | 230 |
Rush Attempts | 37 | 35 |
Avg Rush Yards | 4.9 | 6.6 |
Yards Passing | 346 | 295 |
Comp. - Att. | 20-30 | 18-23 |
Yards Per Pass | 11.5 | 11.2 |
Penalties - Yards | 9-101 | 3-15 |
Touchdowns | 4 | 7 |
Rushing TDs | 0 | 3 |
Passing TDs | 4 | 4 |
Other | 0 | 0 |
Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
Fumbles - Lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
Int. Thrown | 0 | 0 |
Punts - Avg | 5-42.0 | 3-59.7 |
Return Yards | 22 | 0 |
Punts - Returns | 2-22 | 1-0 |
Kickoffs - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Int. - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Safeties | 0 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
M. Duggan
15 QB
|
M. Duggan | 20/30 | 346 | 4 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
E. Demercado
3 RB
|
E. Demercado | 7 | 57 | 0 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Miller
33 RB
|
K. Miller | 15 | 56 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Duggan
15 QB
|
M. Duggan | 8 | 44 | 0 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Foster
21 RB
|
D. Foster | 5 | 19 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Barber
4 WR
|
T. Barber | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
Q. Johnston
1 WR
|
Q. Johnston | 9 | 7 | 185 | 3 | 75 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Miller
33 RB
|
K. Miller | 4 | 4 | 56 | 1 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. Barber
4 WR
|
T. Barber | 4 | 3 | 43 | 0 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Foster
21 RB
|
D. Foster | 3 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
S. Williams
18 WR
|
S. Williams | 3 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Davis
11 WR
|
D. Davis | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
G. Henderson
27 WR
|
G. Henderson | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Conwright
22 WR
|
B. Conwright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
N. Bradford
28 S
|
N. Bradford | 6-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
O. Mathis
32 DE
|
O. Mathis | 4-3 | 2.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Carter
7 S
|
T. Carter | 4-5 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Hodge
6 LB
|
J. Hodge | 2-5 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Foster
15 S
|
J. Foster | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Ceasar II
9 CB
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C. Ceasar II | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Winters
13 LB
|
D. Winters | 1-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
P. Jenkins
91 DT
|
P. Jenkins | 1-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Jenkins
23 CB
|
K. Jenkins | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Cooper
95 DT
|
T. Cooper | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Onyemaobi
4 S
|
M. Onyemaobi | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
L. Van Zandt
20 S
|
L. Van Zandt | 1-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
E. Barquet
97 DT
|
E. Barquet | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Ellison
44 DE
|
C. Ellison | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Hodges-Tomlinson
1 CB
|
T. Hodges-Tomlinson | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Horton
98 DE
|
D. Horton | 0-3 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Coleman
11 DE
|
K. Coleman | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Bethley
94 DT
|
C. Bethley | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 |
Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
G. Kell
39 K
|
G. Kell | 1/1 | 22 | 4/4 | 7 |
Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
J. Sandy
31 P
|
J. Sandy | 5 | 42.0 | 1 | 52 |
Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
D. Davis
11 WR
|
D. Davis | 5 | 23.4 | 32 | 0 |
Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
D. Davis 11 WR
|
D. Davis | 2 | 11.0 | 22 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
C. Williams
13 QB
|
C. Williams | 18/23 | 295 | 4 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
K. Brooks
26 RB
|
K. Brooks | 20 | 153 | 1 | 45 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Williams
13 QB
|
C. Williams | 9 | 66 | 1 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||||
E. Gray
0 RB
|
E. Gray | 6 | 11 | 1 | 3 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
M. Woods II
8 WR
|
M. Woods II | 4 | 3 | 75 | 0 | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Haselwood
11 WR
|
J. Haselwood | 8 | 6 | 56 | 3 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
M. Mims
17 WR
|
M. Mims | 3 | 2 | 56 | 0 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. West
81 WR
|
T. West | 1 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
E. Gray
0 RB
|
E. Gray | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Willis
9 TE
|
B. Willis | 2 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Hall
27 TE
|
J. Hall | 1 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
M. Williams
4 WR
|
M. Williams | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A. Stogner
18 TE
|
A. Stogner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Brooks
26 RB
|
K. Brooks | 1 | 1 | -5 | 0 | -5 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
B. Asamoah
24 LB
|
B. Asamoah | 4-3 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Broiles
25 DB
|
J. Broiles | 4-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
P. Fields
10 S
|
P. Fields | 4-4 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Lawrence
12 DB
|
K. Lawrence | 2-5 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Stutsman
28 LB
|
D. Stutsman | 2-2 | 0.0 | 0 |