Lincoln Riley assesses the play of Caleb Williams in Oklahoma win

Following the record-setting performance of true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley offered some tempered praise. Williams helped lead the Sooners to a dominant 52-21 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday to improve to 9-0.

He finished with 402 yards passing and six touchdowns. His yardage broke the OU freshman record that he himself set in Week 7 against TCU.

“He settled in and did some good things,” Riley said. “He didn’t have a great first series. He missed a couple of throws. But I thought he had a really clear mind the entire way. He did a really nice job in things around the pocket. His pace was good. I thought we operated a little more efficiently with him in. There have just been some small things that have held us back from an operational standpoint that we needed to clean up. He did much better.”

Williams, the No. 1 overall player in On3’s class of 2021 rankings, earned his first start of the season against TCU. The move came after he replaced starter Spencer Rattler in the Red River Rivalry game to lead the Sooners back from 21 down.

The freshman is a combined 46-of-73 for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns in his three starts. After a slow start to the season, the Sooners offense has now put up at least 50 points in three of the past four games.

Rattler saw his first action since being benched late in the fourth quarter Saturday against Texas Tech. On just his second pass, he connected with Brian Darby for a 42-yard touchdown.

Oklahoma has a bye in Week 10 before heading to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears on Nov. 13. That is the beginning of a brutal three-game stretch to end the season against teams that are all currently ranked.

Following the Bears, the Sooners take on Iowa State before ending the season with a Bedlam matchup against Oklahoma State. Lincoln Riley will hope Caleb Williams can continue to get better as Oklahoma eyes a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance.