The 2022 season has undoubtedly been extremely disappointing for Oklahoma.
Regardless of it being simply the primary season beneath Brent Venables, the Sooners actually nonetheless anticipated to be within the thick of the Huge 12 title race with doubtlessly having a shot to return to the Faculty Soccer Playoff.
However, after a 3-0 begin by way of non-conference play, the wheels have fallen off as OU has dropped 5 of their final seven video games to be sitting at simply 5-5 with two video games left on the schedule.
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Nonetheless, in a yr the place quite a bit hasn’t gone as deliberate, the largest shiny spot has unquestionably been the play of senior operating again Eric Grey.
Grey continued his monster season in Saturday’s 23-20 loss to West Virginia, operating for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
“That’s most likely what I hate probably the most is that Eric performed the way in which he performed once more and he’s not attending to take pleasure in it (due to the loss),” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby mentioned postgame. “For the second week in a row it’s a brief story for different causes — situational soccer immediately.”
After his newest output, Grey has now reached 1,113 speeding yards on the season with ten touchdowns – clearly serving as Oklahoma’s most dependable offensive participant.
If he had been to take care of the identical per-game tempo that he’s set by way of OU’s first ten video games, and the Sooners had been to achieve a bowl sport to provide him a thirteenth outing, he would end the season with 1,447 yards – which might be adequate for the ninth-most in single-season program historical past.
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When his staff wanted him on Saturday with the passing sport struggling within the downpour of rain in Morgantown, Grey delivered his greatest outing of the season – albeit in what was in the end a shedding effort.
Eric Grey
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports activities
“I believed he performed precisely how he is performed all yr,” head coach Brent Venables mentioned. “He is extremely constant, powerful, very dependable, reliable and a very good participant. That is one man who you have not needed to fear about. He is confirmed up each single sport.”
Venables’ sentiment is basically appropriate – Grey has proven up each single sport.
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His lowest yardage complete this season was 59 in opposition to Texas, which most perceive was as a consequence of extenuating circumstances the place the Sooners had no risk of a passing sport with quarterback Dillon Gabriel out with harm.
Grey has gone over 100 yards speeding seven totally different instances this season whereas additionally contributing one other 189 yards by way of the passing sport all through the season.
Merely put, it’s exhausting to think about the place Oklahoma could be at this level within the season with out the Tennessee switch.
“Eric’s Eric,” Lebby mentioned. “He’s a stud. It’s like I informed these guys, the factor I hate greater than something is he’s not attending to take pleasure in it, however he performed his butt off once more.”
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The primary yr of the Venables period has inarguably been one to neglect for OU followers, however Grey has achieved every thing in his energy to maintain the Sooners within the win column as a lot as doable.
Now, if Oklahoma desires to achieve bowl eligibility, they should discover a approach to both win Bedlam subsequent week at house or shut the season with a win over Texas Tech in Lubbock.
However, one which factor that may be assured is that Grey will probably be leaving all of it out on the sector to attempt to guarantee that sixth win occurs.
“Everybody within the state of Oklahoma is aware of how large Bedlam is,” Grey mentioned. “Everyone in that locker room is aware of how large Bedlam is. So that you undoubtedly must stand up for Bedlam, all people’s going to stand up for Bedlam, and I feel it’ll be an ideal optimistic to recharge once more this week.”
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NORMAN, Okla. — — Raegan Beers matched a career high with 28 points, and No. 10 Oklahoma rolled past Omaha 111-65 on Sunday.
Beers, a 6-foot-4 center, made 11 of 13 field goals and grabbed nine rebounds to help Oklahoma win its fifth straight since an overtime loss to Duke.
Skylar Vann had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Kiersten Johnson added 12 points for the Sooners (11-1). Oklahoma scored at least 100 points for the third time this season after entering the day ranked fourth nationally with 90.7 points per game.
Ja Harvey scored 21 points and Cora Olsen added 15 for Omaha. The Mavericks (8-5) had won seven straight since a 79-77 loss to Wisconsin, but gave up a season-high point total against the Sooners.
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Oklahoma led 52-34 at halftime, with Beers producing 15 points and six rebounds.
The Sooners exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 35-25 to take an 87-59 lead. It matched the most points Oklahoma has scored in a quarter this season. The Sooners made 14 field goals and five 3-pointers in the period.
Takeaways
Omaha: Aside from Harvey, none of the Mavericks could get going. Harvey made 8 of 14 field goals while the rest of the team made 15 of 52.
Oklahoma: The Sooners continued to bully opponents in the paint and beat them with pace. They outrebounded the Mavericks 57-33 and forced 20 turnovers.
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Key moment
Oklahoma set the tone from the beginning by scoring the game’s first eight points. The Sooners led 26-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Key stat
Omaha made just 2 of 21 3-pointers while Oklahoma made 13 of 35.
Up next
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Omaha hosts North Dakota on Jan. 2. Oklahoma hosts New Mexico State on Dec. 29.
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The Oklahoma Sooners made a splash via the transfer portal when they added former Washington State quarterback and the top player in this year’s portal class, John Mateer. But the Sooners weren’t done at quarterback, adding Western Carolina signal caller Cole Gonzales.
Gonzales started 22 games in three seasons with the Catamounts, completing 63.5% of his passes for 6,445 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. On non-sack rushing attempts, Gonzales averaged 5.4 yards per carry and ran for 701 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2023, he was the 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year and was a two-time first-team All-Conference selection. Last year, he completed 66.1% of his throws for 2,547 yards, 26 touchdowns and threw just six interceptions in 11 games. That year, Gonzales threw for five touchdown passes three times and six games with more than 250 yards passing.
In 2024, he completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,545 yards and 12 touchdowns and threw seven interceptions this season. Gonzales was really efficient in the deep passing game, with a 45.5% completion percentage on throws greater than 20 yards down the field. That was good for sixth in the FCS among quarterbacks with at least 44 pass attempts on deep throws.
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In the 2024 season opener against N.C. State, Gonzales threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns, completing 62.9% of his passes. He also carried the ball six times for 78 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, who removes sacks from rushing totals.
Against Furman, in week eight of the 2024 season, Gonzales threw for 620 yards and five touchdowns.
In Gonzales, the Sooners add more quarterback depth to the roster to go along with Mateer, Michael Hawkins Jr., and 2025 signee Jett Niu. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining in 2024.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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