Kennedy Brooks explains wild fourth down play with Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams was far from perfect during Oklahoma’s comeback win over Kansas.

Still, the new Sooners’ starting quarterback captured the magic when it mattered the most, leading Oklahoma to yet another victory that was decided in the fourth quarter.

On a strange, somewhat controversial play, Williams and his teammate came up with an unprecedented handoff that proved to be huge in the final outcome.

After Kansas cut it to 28-23, Oklahoma faced a fourth-and-one near midfield.

The call was a handoff to Kennedy Brooks, but the Oklahoma ball-carrier looked as if he would be stopped short of the line to gain, but Williams took the ball from the back.

Brooks provided further explanation into the play after the game.

“I saw Caleb so I gave it to him,” Brooks said. “I knew it would be close if I was behind the line of scrimmage and I was happy Caleb ran for a first down.”

Caleb Williams took the ball five yards to keep alive what turned out to be the sealing touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.

“That was just a really smart play by both of those guys,” Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We talk about situations like that, but I can’t take credit because that’s all Caleb and Kennedy.”

Caleb Williams saves the day for Oklahoma

Thanks to true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, No. 3 Oklahoma kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive Saturday with a closer-than-the-score-would-indicate 35-23 victory at Kansas.

Williams rallied the Sooners, who scored all their points in the second half. He accounted for three touchdowns in the second half, but they were overshadowed by a play with just under four minutes left. On fourth-and 1 from OU’s 46, the Sooners’ Kennedy Brooks was stood up behind the line of scrimmage. Williams simply ripped the ball away from Brooks and ran five yards for the first down.

The Sooners (8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big 12) were a 38.5-point favorite, and in the first half, it appeared the Sooners truly were in danger of being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Kansas (1-6, 0-4) led 10-0 at halftime by limiting the Sooners to three first-half possessions.

But Caleb Williams, who was the top prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle for On3, threw two TD passes in the third quarter and ran for a score in the fourth period to lift OU to its 16^th consecutive victory. His TD run was  40-yarder with 7:53 left for a 28-17 lead. OU’s final TD came on a 4-yard run with 42 seconds left.

Oklahoma plays for the ninth consecutive week next Saturday against Texas Tech, then gets an off week before finishing the regular season against Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State; only the game against the Cyclones is at home.

It’s clear that Caleb Williams has shown he can lead his team back from adversity and thrive in the biggest moments.