There’s a play Spencer Rattler’s private quarterbacks coach Mike Giovando says he’s watched a million times. It’s from the 2021 Red River Showdown, one of the last passes Rattler threw as the starter at Oklahoma. It should have been a simple completion three plays after a chunk gain on a flea-flicker had put OU into scoring territory. The concept was simple and offered Rattler two easy options to get a first down. Instead, he took matters into his own hands by trying to force a touchdown.
“I remember telling Spence, ‘I think you were hearing the noise; I think you were trying to make a spectacular play. I think you were trying to get everybody back on your side of things. They turned on you [in the game] against West Virginia. It didn’t matter,’” Giovando says. “And it was kind of funny. He’s like, ‘Yeah. You know what? I think I kind of feel what you’re saying. I was pressing and I wanted to make this big play.’
