Spencer Rattler, Lincoln Riley address crowd chanting for backup quarterback
Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler had another underwhelming performance tonight for the Sooners and the fans let him know they want him replaced. Still, Rattler got the last laugh after leading a come-from-behind victory and then he left those who booed him know he’s not listening.
Rattler completed 26 of his 36 attempts for 256 passing yards while tossing one touchdown and one interception.
The Sooner faithful wanted Rattler replaced during the game and they let him know it by booing him and chanting, “We want Caleb!” after he threw an interception in the second quarter.
Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams, Rattler’s backup, is a true freshman and is ranked as the No. 1 overall player in On3’s Class of 2021 recruiting rankings.
Oklahoma needed a game-winning kick at the buzzer to survive against West Virginia, 16-13.
After the heart-stopping 16-13 win, Rattler addressed the chants.
Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler on the chants
“I don’t worry about that at all. I don’t listen to it. They’re not on the field,” he told ESPN’s Holly Rowe when asked about hearing the crowd booing at home.
Rattler then spoke about the offensive struggles.
“Just finding a way. These past couple of weeks, we’ve had to do that a couple games. And I think it’s going to be positive for us in the long run. We just got to play cleaner, do a couple things better and just finish and we’ll be good. We’re going to put it together. I have no doubt in that,” he said.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley also spoke about the chants after the game and how his quarterback handled the adversity.
“You know you evaluate the whole game and thought there were a couple of things he missed, but I thought several things we didn’t play good around him. I was proud of him. I thought he hung in there and trusted it the whole way, gave us a chance right there at the end. He’s going to get better. He’s going to get coached better,” Riley told Rowe when asked how he felt Rattler did amid the criticism.
Oklahoma survives yet again
The Sooners, survived, yet again. The 16-13 win over the Mountaineers was the third time in the 2021 season they have won by seven points or less.
Caleb Williams
On3’s Charles Power had high praise for Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams when breaking down his film, mentioning that he “forced 27 missed tackles in a 3:21 highlight video. and that’s just a part of what makes him the No. 1 QB in the 2021 cycle.”
That’s an unreal number of forced missed tackles for any highlight video, let alone one that is less than four minutes long. It’s easy to see why Williams is so highly thought of by On3 and many other recruiting services. He played for Gonzaga (Washington, DC) in high school and was named the 2020 Elite 11 Finals MVP.