Spencer Rattler getting benched was the best thing for him and Oklahoma football
By John Buhler
Spencer Rattler getting benched and then reinserted ended up serving him.
Spencer Rattler responded fantastically after briefly getting benched vs. Texas.
It has been a challenging year for the Oklahoma Sooners, as they have dropped their first two games in Big 12 play to the Kansas State Wildcats at home and to the Iowa State Cyclones up in Ames. Things were looking disastrous in the first half vs. the Texas Longhorns. Rattler was briefly pulled in favor of Tanner Mordecai before returning in the second half. This was so huge for him.
This was a learning moment that will serve Rattler and Oklahoma going forward.
Without question, we grossly overhyped Rattler entering this season. We expected he’d be the presumptive heir apparent to the Lincoln Riley school of being an instant Heisman Trophy finalist. Though he may get to New York in a year or so, 2020 will not bring another Heisman back to Norman, Oklahoma in any capacity. However, this was a game where Rattler will grow and learn from.
He finished the day with 209 passing yards, three touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. This stat line is misleading because this game went to overtime, but Oklahoma still got the victory. Once again, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Many kids dream of beating Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Rattler can now say he did that in his first career Big 12 win as the Oklahoma starter.
What this game showed us is that even if Oklahoma is not a playoff-caliber team this year, this may be a more resilient bunch than we expected. The Sooners could easily be 0-3 in Big 12 play with a brutal neutral-site loss to arch-rival Texas. Instead, Rattler and his teammates can feel confident heading into the heart of their October slate. This was the most exciting game of Week 6.
Though there is next to no reason either of these Red River rivals should be playing in the 2020 Big 12 Championship game up the road in Arlington, Oklahoma can be pleased that it put out the grease fire internally, as well as perpetuating more continued awfulness within Texas. Rattler is still incredibly raw, but he needed to ride some pine in order to eventually help his team win today.
There’s a chance we look back on this game as when everything changed for Rattler for the better.
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