The Sooners will look to start a new winning streak on Saturday when they take on Iowa State in Norman. Oklahoma is in a bit of unfamiliar territory as the loss to Baylor last week marked the first loss in the month of November for Lincoln Riley.
The matchup between the Sooners and the Cyclones has been highly contested in recent years. Part of the reason is due to the quarterback play for each team. OU has obviously had a nice list of QB’s over the last few years and Iowa State has had Brock Purdy for four seasons now.
This will be Caleb Williams first shot at the Cyclones, while Brock Purdy has a record of 1-3 against the Sooners. Let’s jump into this weeks QB matchup.
Caleb Williams
Saturday in Waco was an outing to forget for not only the Oklahoma quarterbacks and offense, but for the entire aspect of the game. Caleb Williams didn’t have the day that we had hoped for. But, that’s okay. He’s a true freshman and things are going to happen.
Williams is definitely taking his first loss of the season making him 3-1 on the year. Not that Gerry Bohanon from Baylor is deserving of the win either. Neither quarterback played particularly well in this game, but there’s just no possible angle to give the win to Williams here.
Caleb completed only 50% of his passes on the day for 142 yards. He also threw 2 interceptions and for the first time this season he did not record a passing touchdown.
While trying to get out of bounds in the first half a defender stepped on the throwing hand of Williams. You could visibly see that he was bothered by that hand. Head Coach Lincoln Riley did say that he had some issues gripping the ball after his hand was stepped on. However, I’m not convinced that was the entire issue. He had been missing targets well before his hand was injured.
Baylor cleats digging into Caleb Williams’ throwing hand. pic.twitter.com/Kuwc19mLIr
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) November 13, 2021
Either way it looks like Caleb Williams will be QB1 again on Saturday and word on the street is that the hand will be good to go. We’ve seen the freshman quarterback bounce back in tough game situations, but we haven’t seen him comeback after a tough loss.
There aren’t many Sooner fans that doubt the abilities of Williams to play the position, but how does the mental aspect of the game change after a loss like the one in Waco?
The Cyclones will be another stout defense for Williams to face, but they won’t be as good as the one they just faced. With a young and inexperienced QB, it’s important that Oklahoma recovers with a win this week. Iowa State has had their secondary torched all season. If Oklahoma can establish a run game and give Williams time in the pocket I believe he could have a huge bounce back game.
Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy had some high expectations coming into his senior season. After falling to 6-4 last weekend, it’s safe to say it’s been a let down of a year for the Cyclones. That being said, a win over Oklahoma would turn this bad season into momentum for what’s next in Aimes.
Purdy is as tough as they come. He can hang in there and take a hit, and he can also lower his shoulder and deliver a blow himself.
This season he has thrown for 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. When Purdy is good, he is really good. But when he has been bad, he has been really bad. Three of his interceptions came at the beginning of the season against Iowa. Two of them came against TCU in the loss last weekend. And then the other came in a loss to Baylor.
Part of what makes him a great quarterback is his big play/keep the play alive mindset. This also happens to be his biggest downfall. Oklahoma needs to keep him from getting comfortable on Saturday and force him into bad situations.
Although the Sooners have done a great job against Purdy during his career he does have a win over Oklahoma. The defensive unit for OU better come prepared because you know Brock Purdy will be ready for his last shot against the top dogs of the Big 12.
Big Day Ahead For Caleb “Superman” Williams?
Maybe I’m just being an optimistic Oklahoma fan but I think we will see Caleb Williams bounce back in a big way. Despite the bad game last week it didn’t seem to bother him much. Part of his success so far has been due to his ability to shake things off and get ready for the next play.
I also think the defense for Oklahoma will keep Brock Purdy under wraps. The Cyclones will try to rely on their run game the most. Let’s hope the defense can force Iowa State into passing situations and make it a long day for Purdy.
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