Despite Win over Texas, Oklahoma's Trevor Knight Is Not Playoff-Caliber QB Yet

Entering this season, Oklahoma sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight was the Sooners' unquestioned No. 1 quarterback, expected to lead OU in a strong push for the inaugural College Football Playoff. 

As No. 11 Oklahoma’s season reached its midpoint Saturday with a 31-26 win over Texas in the Red River Rivalry, there are questions about whether Knight can be the guy who will carry the Sooners to a playoff berth.

While the Sooners are serious playoff contenders, with a 5-1 record entering next week’s visit from fellow Top 20 team Kansas State, Knight has been less than impressive, completing around 55 percent of his passes, and he simply hasn't shown the consistency necessary to lead a team to college football's promised land.

On Saturday, Knight completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Texas outgained Oklahoma by a staggering 482-232, and the Sooners special teams and defense made a huge impact.

Alex Ross had a 91-yard kickoff return touchdown midway through the first quarter, and cornerback Zack Sanchez contributed a 43-yard interception return score early in the second quarter.

Oklahoma did not reach the end zone offensively until Knight connected with Sterling Shepard for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter and did not convert a third down until its final drive of the game with under four minutes to go.

Simply put, the Sooners won in spite of their offense, not because of it. Per Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman, OU coach Bob Stoops praised his team's resiliency.

"

I keep saying it, the group has a great attitude, a great team chemistry. We just have to keep playing. We made some mistakes or some bad plays through the game, but we have to keep coming after it and make other plays to make up for it. We were able to do that.

"

Knight was inconsistent as a freshman a year ago, completing 59 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns against five interceptions. The 2014 Sugar Bowl, which saw him shred a good Alabama defense for 348 yards and four touchdowns, looks more like an outlier than the norm. 

In Oklahoma’s last three games, he has two touchdowns against three interceptions. He threw for 309 yards in the Sooners’ loss to TCU, but completed only 40 percent of his passes, and threw a pick-six that proved to be the winning score in the 37-33 defeat.

On the season, Knight is completing 55.1 percent of his passes, down nearly four percentage points from a year ago.

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Oklahoma has an impressive run game, led by bruising freshman Samaje Perine, and an outstanding receiver in junior Sterling Shepard, but it needs a more even effort game in and game out from Knight.

The sophomore signal-caller will have plenty of chances to prove his worth before the College Football Playoff invitations go out in December.

Oklahoma will face multiple Top 20 opponents in K-State, Baylor and Oklahoma State over the next two months. The Baylor game, in particular, could ultimately determine the Big 12 champion and give the winner a leg up on a playoff berth.

It’s far too early to give up on Knight, but it’s not too early to ask for much more from him if Bob Stoops’ team is to reach its goals this fall.