Oklahoma
Trey Rucker Has Been ‘Awesome’ for Oklahoma State
Trey Rucker did so much for Oklahoma State’s defense against Utah on Saturday that he needed an I.V. to keep going.
The Cowboys lost their season opener to the Utes 22-19, but the defense looked the best it has all season. And Rucker stood out from the unit. According to Pro Football Focus, Rucker played 71 snaps in the secondary on Saturday. That was the third-most on the team behind linebackers Nick Martin (82) and Kendal Daniels (72).
“I’m tired,” Rucker said after the game. “But we played Arkansas, we was out there for double-overtime. I had, like, 93 plays. I wasn’t too overly frustrated with that. I was just proud for how we came out and kept fighting and looked past that.”
Rucker led OSU with 14 total tackles, five of which were solo, against Utah. But after four weeks, that stat wasn’t a surprise to anyone, especially his teammates. Rucker is third in all of FBS with 13.2 tackles a game this season. That number leads the Big 12. The third-leading tackler in the conference is his teammate, Martin, who averages 9.8 after leading the nation in tackling last season.
“I feel like he’s been taking a step each week,” Martin said. “I’m excited for him and how good of a player he is and his future. He’s a hell of a player.”
Rucker’s best week in that stat was against Arkansas, when he pulled in 17 tackles. He also had 15 against South Dakota State and seven against Tulsa. But overall, to back up Martin’s assessment, Week 4 was probably Rucker’s best performance of 2024. Against a top-15 team, Rucker not only led his team in tackles but also had a pair of interceptions.
He first intercepted Isaac Wilson on Utah’s second drive of the game. He then did it again the next quarter right after his own quarterback, Alan Bowman, threw a pick deep into OSU territory. Utah started its possession on OSU’s 37-yard line but didn’t get anything out of it thanks to Rucker’s turnover two plays later.
“He’s playing awesome,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “Great leadership. Fourteen tackles and two interceptions and an I.V., I mean, guy had a full day’s work. He just keeps playing and keeps hitting. You run him in there and you watch him, and the violence of the game that he plays just makes you cringe watching it. But thrilled to have him. He’s been a great leader for us.”
Rucker got to OSU before the 2021 season after transferring from Wake Forest. He immediately saw the field on special teams and played in every game as the Cowboys won the Fiesta Bowl. He then redshirted in 2022, playing only in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Rucker then cracked the starting lineup last season, totaling 100 tackles, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception.
“First of all, I just gotta give all that glory to God,” Rucker said. “He allowed me to prepare for the season. And then also, just knowing, coming off of last year, my ability and believing in myself.”
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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