After a 14-play, 75-yard drive exhausting nearly seven minutes, Spencer Rattler plunged into the end zone.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback’s 1-yard touchdown run completed a possession that swallowed half the first quarter and gave No. 3 Oklahoma a 7-0 lead over Nebraska. In a sluggish three-hour-and-five-minute clash, the Sooners (3-0) proceeded to outlast the Cornhuskers 23-16 in Norman on Saturday despite a stagnant first half where Rattler’s score was OU’s only.
🚨TOUCHDOWN🚨Spencer Rattler sneaks it in to give Oklahoma an early 7-0 lead after the opening drive.#OUDNA | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/beqHXFy8a2
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) September 18, 2021
Rattler finished 24-of-34 passing for 214 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma’s low-scoring affair against the Cornhuskers (2-2) harkened to their rivalries of old, like Nebraska’s 17-14 upset of the Sooners in 1978. Rattler’s performance, which showed little flash but plenty of grit, recalled that of OU’s wishbone quarterbacks of yore, who discovered multiple means for achieving victory.
“We've always had good quarterbacks (at OU), and I'm very proud to be mentioned in that group, and Spencer’s definitely in that category,” said Thomas Lott, the Sooners’ passer in that 1978 defeat. “Now, he still needs to grow though. … There's some miscues there, and he's so talented that sometimes he does some things you wouldn't teach your quarterback to do.”
In Oklahoma’s season opener against Tulane, Rattler forced two interceptions and nearly tossed one or two more. His production didn’t match the hype that garnered preseason Heisman Trophy favoritism, No. 1 NFL draft pick projections and lucrative name, image and likeness deals.
“There's been some things that've changed, but if you think there hasn't been a pretty intense spotlight on the quarterback position every year that I've been here, you just named the challenges, they're there,” said OU head coach Lincoln Riley, who trained Heisman winners and No. 1 picks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Heisman finalist Jalen Hurts. All are now NFL starters.
“But I think Spencer's handled it well. He's practiced his tail off. He's getting better as a player.”
Rightfully, not much was made of Rattler’s five-touchdown, 243-yard walloping of FCS Western Carolina last week, but his play against a stout Nebraska defense exemplified his growth. Aside from two dangerous throws to freshman receiver Mario Williams that could’ve been intercepted, his decision-making appeared rock solid against the Cornhuskers.
Oklahoma’s offense stalled until halftime, but Rattler struck after Nebraska missed a field goal to open the second half, engineering a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ate 5:29 off the clock. That included flea-flicker trickery from Rattler to Williams to sophomore receiver Marvin Mims, which perplexed Husker Blackshirt defenders like former OU coach Barry Switzer’s triple option did decades ago.
Rattler ➡️ Williams ➡️ Rattler ➡️ Mims. pic.twitter.com/EERAAM41nk
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) September 18, 2021
“It's something we worked in practice, and the look was perfect for it,” Rattler said of the play. “It was a split second where I had to get that ball out, Mario threw me a good ball and Marvin was wide open, I just had to get it to him, and luckily I didn't get blown up on that. But we made it work, and it was a huge spark for our offense to get going. ... I think you could see that after that play.”
That possession resulted in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall. Grinding his way through Cornhusker coverage, Rattler drained the third-quarter clock to 3:50 and put the Sooners up 14-3.
Rattler ➡️ Hall and Oklahoma pushes the lead to 14-3.#OUDNA | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/O9FjZ5lgjW
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) September 18, 2021
Though Saturday’s contest was hardly worthy of the 1971 Game of the Century it commemorated, the sellout of 84,659 inside Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium brimmed with excitement and an old-timey feel.
Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez replied to Rattler’s score with a 4-yard touchdown run on the next drive, although junior defensive lineman Isaiah Coe blocked the extra point and senior safety Pat Fields returned it for two points. Rattler then commandeered another lengthy drive capped by redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks’ rushing touchdown, giving the Sooners a 23-9 lead.
Brooks finished with 75 rushing yards while junior Eric Gray added 84, and Oklahoma averaged 5.5 yards per carry. Since the Sooners let off the gas offensively against Tulane, they’ve now kept the pedal down on two-straight opponents.
“Overall, we responded in the second half well, we took what they gave us and we dominated in the run game as well,” Rattler said. “Having a balanced flow like that, it makes it easy for us. We’ve just gotta finish and that's something we’ve gotta strive for is finishing.”
Rattler’s final possession resulted in a punt, putting the game in the defense’s hands with only a touchdown to spare before defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s Speed D successfully sealed the victory. It was OU’s lowest-scoring game since a 2016 loss to Houston and its fewest points under Riley, but it was nonetheless good enough for a win.
“I don't think he would have handled today the same way a year ago, just with the way the game unfolded,” Riley said of Rattler. “Playing quarterback’s about learning to win, and he's learning to win in different ways and getting better.”
Last fall, Rattler regularly flung passes 50-plus yards downfield, exciting crowds with his explosive arm. But he has only one such completion this season, and he never threaded a pass over 23 yards against the Huskers.
Rattler’s flashiness as a five-star high school prospect and redshirt freshman college starter captivated fans. However, the determination Rattler displayed against Nebraska has further endeared him to his coach, who said he geared several of his late-game play calls to his faith in his quarterback.
“I think for him, it's the wanting to make a play and knowing he can make a play versus staying within the scheme, and so he's getting better and better with it,” Riley said. “I trust him. I do. … I thought he saw it well and had a good feel for it today. The execution’s just gotta be a little bit sharper.”
As the Sooners enter Big 12 play next weekend against West Virginia (2-1), Rattler’s continued development is vital to OU’s national championship aspirations. If he can pair his talent with sharper precision, all that’s expected of him remains well within reach.
“As he watches more and more film, he'll start to see the little things that he needs to tighten up on,” said Lott, who won a championship with Switzer’s Sooners in 1975. “And other than that, he's definitely as good a quarterback as anybody in the country.
“There's no question about that.”
