Lincoln Riley discusses quarterback switch against Texas, Spencer Rattler

Oklahoma notched a win to remember on Saturday, but it wasn’t without a little controversy at quarterback.

Head coach Lincoln Riley benched quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of true freshman Caleb Williams, who finished the game 16-for-25 with 212 passing yards and three total touchdowns in the comeback 55-48 victory.

After the game, Riley commented on the switch and Rattler, who entered the season as the Heisman favorite but has been underwhelming this season. 

“Aww, he just made some plays,” Riley told ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe. “It was a tough decision. And honestly, you want to know something about our team. Spencer comes back in there and get a two-point conversion that we don’t win without. So that’s what it’s all about.”

Rattler was benched in the second quarter after he fumbled the ball, his second turnover of the day. He did, as Riley mentioned, come in for the Sooners’ 2-point conversion play to tie the game at 41. 

His final stat line was 8-for-15 with 111 yards, a rushing touchdown, an interception and the fumble that resulted in his exit.

While Oklahoma’s early season offensive woes were certainly not all due to Rattler, the explosion of offense when Caleb Williams was in the game today sets up an interesting week ahead for Riley and his offensive staff as they try to decide how to proceed after Week 6.

Comeback was OU’s largest in Red River history

The Sooners were down by 21 points in the first quarter before storming back in a made-for-tv shootout. It was Oklahoma’s largest comeback in the history of the 117-year Red River Rivalry.

Oklahoma did not take a lead during the game until there was just over seven minutes left, and running back Kennedy Brooks sealed the Oklahoma win with a 33-yard touchdown run.

Riley needed Brooks to have a big day if they were going to beat a high-powered Texas offense, and the junior and Texas native delivered. Brooks had 25 carries for 217 yards and two touchdowns. He nearly doubled the yards per carry he had averaged in Oklahoma’s previous two Big 12 games; he notched 8.7 yards per carry on Saturday compared to 4.8 against West Virginia and Kansas State.

Oklahoma is now 6-0 and hosts TCU next weekend.