LAWRENCE — As Tawee Walker limped to the sideline with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter, the hopes of OU’s rushing attack followed him close behind.
Despite taking one more carry for two yards with 10:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, Walker suffered an ankle injury that left him unavailable in the closing moments of No. 6 Oklahoma’s (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) 38-33 loss to Kansas (6-2, 3-2) on Saturday.
Tawee Walker is cooking. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OLVekn0zXC
— 𝕺𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖆 𝖛𝖘. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 (@soonergridiron) October 28, 2023
After missing last week due to an in-house suspension, Walker stormed back with a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown, but, due to his injury, was unable to carry over OU’s once-potent rushing attack from the first three quarters into the fourth.
OU was also without redshirt senior running back Marcus Major against the Jayhawks. OU head coach Brent Venables said Major was dealing with a “banged up” shoulder last week against UCF, likely resulting in his absence against the Jayhawks.
Without Walker, OU’s rushing attack averaged 3.8 yards per carry. And, when he was on the field?
The Sooners’ offense averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
“He was playing behind his pads well,” Venables said. “Not having those two guys again, that's part of the game too. And you hate it for Tawee. He was playing really, really well. He gave us a chance to get back in the game and get the lead as well.”
Minus Walker’s lone two-yard run in the fourth quarter, OU averaged 2.3 yards per carry on nine rushing attempts in the final quarter. In his and Major's absence, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby pivoted to redshirt freshman running back Gavin Sawchuk, sophomore running back Jovantae Barnes and junior wide receiver Jalil Farooq.
Sawchuk and Barnes finished the game with a combined 11 carries, 36 yards and one touchdown. Farooq and wide receiver Gavin Freeman combined for six carries in the game.
His strategy bit back, however, as Farooq — not used to the physicality required in the backfield — fumbled the ball with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter. Farooq’s turnover led to a 38-yard touchdown run from Jason Bean, which put the Jayhawks up 26-21 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.
“We talked a lot about it,” Lebby said of Freeman and Farooq taking hits as impromptu running backs. “You try to talk about it as much as anything (on the offense) to create an understanding of how you're going to take hits inside the core, and that happened. We had the turnovers, those things happened and that's two reasons why we're standing here right now the way we are.”
Walker and Major’s absences were most notable on OU’s second to final drive. Barnes, who has been a non-factor in OU’s backfield for most of 2023, carried the ball two times for six yards alongside redshirt senior Dillon Gabriel’s one-yard rush, but the pair couldn’t garner a first down with over two minutes remaining in the game.
Junior running back Tawee Walker during the game against Kansas on Oct. 28.
OU punted the ball back to Kansas for what resulted in a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to win the game. The strategy, according to Lebby, was to leave the Jayhawks without their timeouts.
Without Walker, Lebby’s plan was rendered unsuccessful.
“We wanted to make sure they used all three timeouts, but we're trying like heck to get a first down,” Lebby said. “We felt like running the ball, having the ability to pin them there without any timeouts, making them go the length (of the field) was the right thing to do. … We (have) to execute better. We (had) a chance to win the game if we stay on the field.”
As the Jayhawks stormed back to eventually defeat OU for the first time since 1997, OU’s pain of losing Walker was similarly unbearable for the junior walk-on, as all he could do was watch from the sidelines.
“Of course it was hard,” Walker said. “I wanted to be out there, but Jovantae went in and did his thing, but it just didn't turn out the way we wanted.”
As OU prepares to take on Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1) next Saturday in Stillwater, Walker knows Oklahoma’s running back room has to look for consistency. As it stands, the Sooners’ rushing attack ranks 51st in the nation, a mark he and the rest of OU’s backfield want to improve on.
“As running backs in general we knew we needed to step up this year,” Walker said. “We've been off and on. I think we all need to step up collectively. … (Today) we didn't come out the way we wanted to.”
