Spencer Rattler was 'Awesome' at K-State and Might Need to Be Again Saturday vs. Texas

Lincoln Riley's pregame attention might have been on getting Caleb Williams ready, but after beating Kansas State, he shared a meaningful moment with Spencer Rattler.

Before Saturday’s victory at Kansas State, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley spent an extended session in the tunnel talking to backup quarterback Caleb Williams.

After the Sooners prevailed 37-31, Riley took a few extra moments to talk to starter Spencer Rattler.

While Williams, a true freshman, got two plays — a goal line fumbled snap and a throw to Mario Williams — it was Rattler who had the standout day against the Wildcats.

It was probably his best performance of the year so far, and he was all too eager to share a moment with Riley afterward.

“I think we both had a feeling of, we took a step, took a step to where we want to go,” Rattler said. “Kinda had a statement game — but didn’t even play up to where we should have. Left a lot of money on the table, but we’re gonna clean it up.”

Rattler completed 22-of-25 passes for 243 yards and threw two touchdowns. He also threw a somewhat careless, third-and-long interception. It was equivalent to a punt and pinned the Wildcats deep near their own goal line, but on the play, he could have checked down to an open receiver across the middle and perhaps got into Gabe Brkic field goal range.

“He was awesome,” Riley said. “He played really, really well. The kid’s got the mental makeup to be a really good road quarterback. I think he embraces it, has a real competitiveness about him.”

Said Rattler, “No, I like those atmospheres, honestly. Those are my favorite atmospheres. I love home games. We all love a home game. But going away and making a crowd, silent, there’s no better feeling.”

In his last home game, Rattler completed 11-of-12 passes in the fourth quarter. He started Saturday by hitting 11-of-12 in the first half.

“He had a really good week,” Riley said. “I feel like he was really locked in and I thought he stayed patient. The way the first half played out it would have been easy to say, ‘Oh shoot, here we go again. We’re only getting this many plays, we’re only getting this many drives.’ He just kind of stayed and played and executed plays as long as it went. He was good.”

And all this a week after fans from the student section began cheering for Williams.

Williams is good and he’ll be ready when the time comes. But as the stakes rise during 2021 season — continuing with the OU-Texas game on Saturday — Riley knows this team’s focus needs to be on Rattler improving his overall game, and not necessarily special packages designed for his backup.

Knowing this was the game last year in which he committed two sloppy turnovers and got benched for the rest of the first half before returning in the second half and leading his team to a riveting overtime win.

“I think (Saturday) was his most complete game,” Riley said. “He did a better job of starting fast and maintaining it the whole way through. Mentally was just into it the whole way. He did a nice job, he played well.”

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