Spencer Rattler describes Sooners locker room after narrow Tulane win

Spencer Rattler did not have the start to the season he was looking for. The Oklahoma quarterback passed for 304 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions. A defensive stand with under a minute to play put the upset-minded Tulane out of reach.

The Sooners defense looked pedestrian throughout and Rattler made multiple mistakes that could have cost the Sooners the game. But No. 2 Oklahoma was able to escape the nonconference matchup unscathed with a 40-35 win.

A Heisman Trophy favorite, Rattler will have to clean up his production if he wants to truly contend for the award. He knows that. And he knows the Sooners have plenty of room to grow if they want to make the College Football Playoff.

Rattler and the rest of his Oklahoma teammates were disappointed after the win. Letting Tulane come into Norman and have the game go down to the wire was not how the Sooners envisioned their season opener.

“Yeah, mood wasn’t super excited but you know coach [Lincoln] Riley went in there and got on us for not having our heads up because it’s better to learn off a win than like last year when we learned off two losses,” Rattler said in his postgame press conference. “I’d much rather learn off a win and improve with the guys this upcoming week and just dial in on what we have to dial in and practice and just be better overall with our energy.

“I think our energy was bad in the second half mainly and the defense played well. They held it down for us when we needed it but we just got to convert you know those turnovers, touchdowns, field goals. Shoutout to Gabe [Brkic] though for all those field goals.”

Brkic put on a display Saturday. The placekicker tied an FBS record with three field goals of 50 or more yard and was a large reason why Oklahoma pulled out the win.

All of Rattler’s goals for the season are still intact. But the preseason first-team AP All-American knows he has to do a better job of finishing off games; Oklahoma was up 37-14 at the half.

Lincoln Riley weighs in on narrow Oklahoma win over Tulane

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley addressed the Sooners’ performance following the game, reading the room right off the bat. 

“I think the big things for us are we’re not going to apologize for winning, but at the same time we’ve got to own the good and the bad,” Riley said. “And there was certainly plenty of both.”

Riley took responsibility for mistakes he made, including his decision not to punt on a 4th and 1 from their own 46-yard line in the middle of the third quarter. Running back Kennedy Brooks was dropped for a loss of four yards on the play.

“It was just a really, really poor decision by me,” Riley said.