NORMAN, Okla. — Kickers are people too.
I’ll say it louder for the people in the back.
Heading into Oklahoma’s matchup against Tulane, all eyes were on Sooner quarterback Spencer Rattler and the phrase “Heisman Frontrunner” was uttered more than once in the press box at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Sure, the redshirt sophomore quarterback had a heavy hand in the Sooners 40-35 victory over the Green Wave, finishing 30-39 for 304 yards and one touchdown. But it was redshirt junior kicker Gabe Brkic who stole the show.
Brkic tied the NCAA record by making three field goals over 50 yards in a game. It’s the first time an Oklahoma kicker has made more than one 50-yard field goal in a game. The Ohio native went 4-5 with makes from 26 yards, 51 yards, 56 yards, and 55 yards, with the lone miss at 31-yards.
Tulane, unfortunately, was without their starting kicker Merek Glover and thus struggled on special teams with backup kicker Graham Dable going 0-1.
In true Big-12 and AAC fashion, it was a high-scoring shootout with a combined 75 points and 826 yards of offense.
Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt looked solid at times and gritty as hell, taking several hard hits in an effort to extend drives but he still lacked the type of confidence in the pocket that his offense needs. Pratt finished 27-44 for a career-high 296 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, which is more than can be said for Rattler, who threw two.
“There is a lot of things to learn,” Pratt said post game. “We have got to get back in the film room because there are a lot of little things to pick up. One of the positives is that we were fully capable of winning that game and we did a lot of things good. It’s really motivating for us going forward.”
Pratt also carried the ball 15 times for 34 yards and one touchdown. He utilized eight different receivers, including the tight end tandem of Tyrick Jones and Will Wallace, who had 9 catches for 93 yards and three catches for 27 yards and one touchdown, respectively.
We even saw some Willie Fritz fight in the fourth quarter as Tulane battled back from being down 18 points to outscore Oklahoma 13-0 in the final 15 minutes of the game but fell just 1-yard short of extending the final drive.
The Green Wave’s 35-point effort was the most points Tulane has posted against a Top-5 team in program history. But it was Tulane’s defense that showed out, holding Oklahoma to just 118 yards of offense in the second half.
“That was one of the hardest hitting teams, one of the most physical teams I’ve played,” said Rattler of Tulane’s effort. “They came out there, and they played great, better than us, for sure. They wanted to win more than us. You could tell it. We have to be cleaner, sharper, and have to be better.”
Oklahoma will have a chance to be better as the Sooners host Western Carolina next weekend. Tulane returns to its temporary home in Birmingham, Alabama, and will face Morgan State at Legion Field.
