Oklahoma Sooners Football: OU blasts Western Carolina, 76-0

September 11, 2021
NCAA Football: Western Carolina at Oklahoma
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Sooners jumped out to a 45-0 halftime lead over their FCS foe before emptying the bench in the second half.

A week after a sleepy win in their opening game of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners played sharp football from start to finish in a 76-0 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts.

The Sooners scored on all seven of their possessions in the first half, six of which ended in touchdowns. Kicker Gabe Brkic booted his fourth field goal of 50-plus yards for the season on OU’s second drive of the game. The Sooners punted once all night.

OU outgained the Catamounts in total yardage for the game by a margin of 624 to 178. The Sooners allowed 2.8 yards per play on defense and took the ball away from WCU three times.

Star quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 20-of-26 pass attempts for 243 yards and five touchdowns in the first half for the Sooners before sitting out the final two quarters. He added 29 yards on four rushes. Touted freshman QB Caleb Williams ran the show for most of the second half, which included a fourth quarter limited to 12 minutes.

Thirteen different OU players caught passes on Saturday, led by four catches for dynamic rookie Mario Williams and junior Jadon Haselwood. The Sooners pounded out 7.3 yards per rush for the game, highlighted by 74 yards on nine carries for Tennessee transfer Eric Gray. Caleb Williams also turned heads with a 59-yard scamper in the third quarter.

Defensive standouts for OU included first-year inside linebacker Danny Stutsman, who compiled eight tackles in the game. He also exited the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent arm injury.

The Sooners will now gear up for their final non-conference game of the season with the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sept. 18 in Norman. OU’s old-school rival beat the Buffalo Bulls Saturday to run their record to 2-1 on the year.