The defense again won the day for the Oklahoma Sooners in their 23-15 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, but the offense put together one of their best performances of the season as well. OU had a sloppy day with too many mistakes, but there were also some encouraging things to build on.
While head coach Brent Venables' defense continued to play great football, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's offense did some solid things against MSU. If the Sooners can cut down on the many mistakes and play at least some complementary football, they can have a successful final five weeks.
Pro Football Focus has released the snap counts and grades for OU's fourth win of the season. Let's start on the offensive side of the ball, where the grades were
much higher than we're used to.
Offense
- QB John Mateer: 74 snaps (83.1 grade)
- LT Michael Fasusi: 74 snaps (67.0 grade)
- LG Noah Best: 74 snaps (63.4 grade)
- RT E'Marion Harris: 74 snaps (61.8 grade)
- RG Peyton Joseph: 74 snaps (38.2 grade)
- WR Isaiah Sategna III: 68 snaps (85.5 grade)
- WR Manny Choice: 68 snaps (52.5 grade)
- TE Rocky Beers: 51 snaps (56.3 grade)
- TE Hayden Hansen: 51 snaps (56.2 grade)
- C Jake Maikkula: 47 snaps (60.4 grade)
- RB Tory Blaylock: 32 snaps (59.5 grade)
- RB Lloyd Avant: 28 snaps (62.7 grade)
- C Caleb Nitta: 27 snaps (72.3 grade)
- WR Jer'Michael Carter: 20 snaps (55.2 grade)
- RB Jonathan Hatton Jr.: 16 snaps (61.4 grade)
- WR Parker Livingstone: 16 snaps (53.0 grade)
- TE Jack Van Dorselaer: 13 snaps (59.5 grade)
- WR Jacob Jordan: 7 snaps (56.8 grade)
The left side of OU's offensive line (Fasusi and Best) graded out much higher than its right side (Joseph and Harris), which is no surprise. With Maikkula exiting the game at center due to injury, Nitta filled in as the backup, and he graded out well. The Sooners hope they can get him back healthy, along with Heath Ozaeta, Eddy Pierre-Louis, and Ryan Fodje.
Blaylock played the most snaps among the running backs, and he led the Sooners in rushing, though Avant still got the most carries. Both outpaced Hatton in terms of snaps, carries, and grade, though Hatton did have three catches, which was third on the team. At tight end, Van Dorselaer got more snaps than we've seen in a while, and he even caught two passes. He still played less than Beers and Hansen.
Sategna and Choice earned far more WR snaps, with Carter, Livingstone, and Jordan filling out the rotation this week. Elijah Thomas missed this game, but he'll be back in the mix when he gets healthy.
Defense
- CB Courtland Guillory: 68 snaps (67.2 grade)
- LB Kip Lewis: 68 snaps (64.5 grade)
- CB Trystan Haynes: 68 snaps (62.0 grade)
- LB Owen Heinecke: 62 snaps (80.5 grade)
- DT David Stone: 62 snaps (69.2 grade)
- S Peyton Bowen: 59 snaps (86.1 grade)
- DE Taylor Wein: 47 snaps (55.9 grade)
- S Michael Boganowski: 47 snaps (48.9 grade)
- DT Jayden Jackson: 41 snaps (66.8 grade)
- Cheetah Reggie Powers III: 37 snaps (70.9 grade)
- Cheetah Jeremiah Newcombe: 31 snaps (56.9 grade)
- S Omarion Robinson: 30 snaps (62.0 grade)
- DE Danny Okoye: 26 snaps (68.0 grade)
- DE Adepoju Adebawore: 24 snaps (68.1 grade)
- DE Jake Kreul: 20 snaps (67.2 grade)
- DT Bishop Thomas: 18 snaps (58.8 grade)
- DE Kenny Ozowalu: 17 snaps (69.9 grade)
- DT Danny Saili: 16 snaps (67.8 grade)
- DT Trent Wilson: 12 snaps (66.0 grade)
- LB Cole Sullivan: 6 snaps (81.7 grade)
- DE Wyatt Gilmore: 3 snaps (51.1 grade)
- S Markel Ford: 1 snap (60.0 grade)
OU's defense got a bit banged up against Mississippi State. Sullivan left with an injury after playing just six snaps, hurting Oklahoma's linebacker depth. Powers left the game due to injury, forcing Newcombe into a much larger role at Cheetah. Near the end of the game, Bowen, one of OU's best defenders, injured himself on an interception, leaving Boganowski and Robinson as Oklahoma's primary safeties. Luckily for the Sooners, it sounds like Bowen's injury isn't a major one.
Up front, the Sooners switched between four- and three-down linemen against MSU's unique offense, which reduced snap counts for all defensive linemen except Stone, Wein, and Jackson. Oklahoma opted for more defensive backs on the field, which led to more snaps for players like Robinson at safety. In fact, OU's cheetah, whether it was Powers or Newcombe, was often playing back much deeper in the secondary than normal, as the Sooners preferred a lot of three-safety looks against the Bulldogs.
A combination of strategy, injuries, and situational football meant Oklahoma's defensive snap counts looked a little different this week. However, the result was still the same, as the unit played excellent together.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: PFF snap counts and grades for OU's win over Mississippi State
