On a Saturday afternoon that saw a flat Sooners facing possible upset, freshman QB sensation Caleb Williams took matters into his own hands — literally — grabbing the ball from teammate Kennedy Brooks and scrambling for a key fourth down conversion to save the win over a feisty Kansas Jayhawk team in Lawrence.
The unusual play was ruled by officials as a legal forward handoff, allowing the play to stand.
The Sooners went on to win 35-24 in what was a much closer game than anyone expected, given the hapless one-win Jayhawks previous gridiron experiences.
Kansas shut the Sooners out in the first half, holding a 10-0 lead at halftime, thanks to long-possession scores and offensive miscues by OU, including a Williams interception.
The Sooners defense continued to be a problem, plagued by mistackling and injuries in the secondary.
But the game turned on the single Brooks-to-Williams transfer of the ball on a fourth-and-1 with the Sooners leading 28-23. Rather than punt the ball, knowing the defense had had difficulty stopping Kansas, head coach Lincoln Riley opted to go for it from OU’s own 46-yard line with three minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
With Williams making the line to gain, it assured Sooners possession and the Sooners victory, leading a last minute score to close the deal, 35-23.
Riley said the impromptu action by his freshman QB was a “nothing to lose” moment, considering Brooks had seemingly been stopped and Kansas would have had the ball in Oklahoma territory and the chance to win the game.
“It was aware,” Riley said of Williams’ decision to swipe the ball from Brooks. “It’s something we talk about a lot when you get in ‘gotta have it’ situations. … (I) think Kennedy realized what Caleb was trying to do, and they both understood the situation, and it was worth the chance. … It’s smart football, and I don’t want to take credit for it. Those guys made that play in a big moment.”
For the game, Williams was 15 of 20 passes for 178 yards and 2 TDs, and that one interception. He rushed for 70 yards, including another score.
The OU offense that was shut out in the first half and behind 10-0 was a different story in the second story, leading television announcers to quip that Oklahoma was unaware of an 11 am kickoff and did not show up until later.
The Sooners ran just 17 plays with eight minutes of possession, opposed to the Jayhawks’ 37 plays and 22 minutes.
Oklahoma is now 8-0, and 5-0 in conference play.
Next: Texas Tech, in Norman, 2:30 pm Saturday on ABC.
Photo credit: Trey Young/OU Daily
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