The Oklahoma Sooners celebrated an incredible come-from-behind victory over hated-rival Texas this past Saturday, but left the weekend with more controversy than they entered with.
A full-scale quarterback competition has broken out in Norman after head coach Lincoln Riley benched early season starter and preseason Heisman contender Spencer Rattler in favor of back-up Caleb Williams over the weekend. Williams mounted the comeback effort and pulled off the improbable win in the Red River Showdown.
Because of the weekend’s events the Sooners now have a massive question mark looming over the quarterback position. But, according to Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports, there shouldn’t be that much to figure out.
The college football analyst believes there should be “no doubt” about Williams being the starter moving forward, with Rattler as his backup. Sallee said that he felt Rattler had no chance to start for the Sooners again after a series of dismal showings with the most recent coming in Saturday’s rivalry game.
Here’s more, per 247Sports:
“I don’t think there’s a chance that Spencer Rattler is the starting quarterback for Oklahoma again,” Sallee said. “Look, I think Lincoln Riley’s looking at the situation saying ‘OK, how do we treat it?’ Because Spencer Rattler, we know in the past, been a little bit of a diva. But they also need a backup quarterback, specifically behind Caleb Williams, who you saw against Texas, is gonna be used more as a running threat.
“So what do you do with Spencer Rattler? You put him in a battle this week—an air-quote battle. When in reality, you know who your starting quarterback’s gonna be, but you want to have Spencer Rattler ready,” Sallee said. “You know he’s a talented kid, and you know you’re gonna put Caleb Williams in more situations where he could get hurt on the ground. So I think right now, they’re going through the motions this week as a battle. In the end, it’s gonna be Williams who wins that battle. Spencer Rattler is probably not going to like it, and then after that, we’ll see where he goes. But it’s Caleb Williams’ show now. There’s no doubt about it.”
TV on @CBSSportsHQ: Who will be Oklahoma’s QB moving forward, Caleb Williams or Spencer Rattler? If it’s Williams’, what will coach Lincoln Riley do with Rattler? https://t.co/ffjnuzEsA6
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) October 12, 2021
Riley has remained coy about which player will be the starter for this Saturday’s upcoming game against TCU. However, a report from Sports Illustrated’s AllSooners on Tuesday shared that Rattler was seen taking snaps with the Sooners’ second team, while Williams got reps with the starters.
No matter which player lines up under center, Oklahoma will enter Saturday’s contest against TCU as the clear favorite. However, the Sooners will need to iron out their starting quarterback moving forward if they have any hopes at a College Football Playoff run.
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