After a sluggish start, the Sooners seemed to uncork the Lincoln Riley “Air Raid” offense after the first quarter and went on to handily defeat Akron 41-3 on Saturday night.
The Sooners punted four times and picked up only three first downs — one of which came on a penalty — in the first quarter.
But then, QB Baker Mayfield went on to set a 388 yard school record for a debut. Maybe more important statistics were: 33 passing attempts, 3 touchdowns and NO interceptions.
The game also showed that Joe Mixon is the real deal. The Sooners never got their run game going, as the Zips concentrated on stopping the run. Samaje Perine led all RBs with only —- yards. Run blocking failures by the Oklahoma offensive line is a concern, especially when such will be needed next week at Tennessee.
But, the passing game showed how well Mayfield fits into the plan. A wheel route pass to Mixon for a 76 yard touchdown was splendidly performed.
Mayfield connected on 10 of 12 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter.
“It’s pretty exciting for me, but I’ve got to move on,” he said. “It could have been better, when you think about the first five drives. We didn’t get any yards. We’ve just got to capitalize and get better.”
Hunter’s Report Card
Offense: B. A slow start from the offensive line. Need to run block better to have a chance next week against Tennessee. Wide receivers were great. Baker Mayfield looked good for his first game.
Defense: A. Good up front four. Strong against the run and got some pressure on the Akron QB.
Kicking Team: A. Siebert looked really good. But, that Akron punter should be in the NFL now. But, where is Alex Ross?
Coaching: A. An odd beginning to play calling, but it all worked out. As Coach Lincoln Riley told the players: just stick with the plan and the flood gates will open. They did.
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