We are a couple of weeks into the new college football season and the Sooners are 2-0 heading into their highly anticipated matchup with Nebraska.
This might be the most interesting quarterback matchup that we’ve seen so far this season. For the first time the opposing quarterback will have the same, if not better athleticism than Spencer Rattler. I am super excited to see how things play out on Saturday. Let’s start things off by taking a look at Oklahoma’s QB1.
Spencer Rattler
Spencer Rattler looked a lot like the Heisman candidate we expected to see this season on Saturday against the Catamounts. He was poised, kept control of his offense, and made smart decisions with the football.
I know the competition wasn’t the best, but that shouldn’t take away from the performance of Rattler and the Oklahoma offense. He only played in the first half, and yet still managed to put up 5 touchdowns. He threw for a total of 243 yards and went 20/26 on the day.
My favorite throw of the game from Rattler was the back shoulder touchdown to Mario Williams. He put it exactly where it needed to be, at the exact time it needed to be there. It was an NFL level pass from the Oklahoma QB.
🖼️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭 of the back shoulder TD, presented by @SpencerRattler & @MarioWill00 🖼️
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 12, 2021
📺 https://t.co/Mo2chy8HSP pic.twitter.com/exWkthPcZS
There’s no doubt he won the quarterback matchup last week, so that puts Rattler at 1-1 on the season. It was a really impressive day that shows he has the ability to bounce back from a tough game. The biggest takeaway of the week is the extra effort put in to take care of the football. It’s hard to see anyone stopping this offense if Rattler continues to make the right decisions with the ball.
Adrian Martinez

Adrian Martinez is one of those guys who will blow you away with his athletic ability and his physical toughness. He can stretch out opposing defenses with his feet, and he can also get you with his arm.
After playing in three games so far he is a top 10 quarterback in nearly every category. Martinez has thrown for 728 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He has also rushed for over 100 yards in two out of three games so far. He is most dangerous when a play gets busted and he has to improvise on his feet.
Scott Frost seems to have Nebraska heading in the right direction after showing signs of improvement the last two weeks. Lincoln Riley thinks very highly of Martinez, which should let every Oklahoma fan know he is the real deal. If anyone can spot a solid quarterback, it’s Coach Riley.
It looked like @MartinezTheQB would be sacked.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2021
Somehow, the @HuskerFBNation QB ended up doing this. 😳 pic.twitter.com/MUdrkpxJWV
Martinez has improved as a passer over the years. In the early stages of his collegiate career defenses only had to worry about his feet. Now, he is a legit threat through the air as well. The Sooners will have to be very careful on defense this weekend in order to keep this guy contained.
🗣 𝙃𝙞𝙥 𝙃𝙞𝙥 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙚!@samori_toure // @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/M9eLFkXqj8
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2021
Rattler Wins Again
I do think this will be a very close matchup between quarterbacks. However, Rattler will come out on top once again. Martinez might be the better athlete, but Rattler is the better overall quarterback.
The biggest advantage for Rattler will be his defense. Oklahoma will be able to get some stops on Nebraska, but can they stop the Sooners as well?