Norman, Okla. – Spencer Rattler threw for 243 yards and five touchdowns in the first half as fourth-ranked Oklahoma rebounded from a sluggish season opener against Tulane, downing Western Carolina 76-0 on Saturday night at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
 
Rattler finished 20-for-26 and added four carries for 29 yards despite one sack. Jadon Haselwood caught four passes for 19 yards and two touchdowns while Mario Williams had four catches for 49 yards and a score. Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson both rushed for two scores for the Sooners.
 
Catamount QB Rogan Wells finished 16-for-29 with 86 yards passing while back-up Carlos Davis went 5-for-7 with 37 yards and an interception. Kenny Benjamin led the team with six receptions for 34 yards as 13 different Catamounts recorded a reception. Defensively, Ivan Hogans and Charles Gadie both finished with a team-best eight tackles, Hogans posting a pair of TFLs including a sack.
 
"We're a work in progress," said WCU head coach Kerwin Bell during postgame comments with the Catamount Sports Network. "I like the way we battled. We got some great live reps that are going to help us win this conference. We're going to get ready for the first (conference) game next week against Samford. We got better as a football team going against a great football team here with some live reps. We got to get back and be ready to open this campaign at home against Samford (next Saturday) and get us a win."
 
After the Catamounts opening drive stalled following a 21-yard reception by C.J. Williams, Oklahoma got on the board on a seven-yard pass from Rattler to Haselwood. Gabe Brkic tied a career-high with a 56-yard field goal to give the Sooners a 10-0 lead at the 6:56 mark. Oklahoma added a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to Eric Gray for a 17-0 lead after the opening quarter.
 
A Kennedy Brooks 1-yard touchdown run opened the second quarter and gave the Sooners a 24-0 lead. Oklahoma capitalized on a failed fourth down conversion for WCU with a four-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to Mike Woods to lead 31-0 with just over 12 minutes left in the half. The Sooners added a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to Mario Williams and a Ratter pitch-and-catch to Jadon Haselwood from six yards out to cap a 28 point second quarter for a 45-0 lead at halftime.
 
Knowles capped off Oklahoma's first drive of the second half with a one-yard rush, but the key play in the drive was a 59-yard run scamper by backup quarterback Caleb Williams from the Sooner 25-yard line to the WCU 16.  Zach Schmit added a 46-yard field goal at the 8:15 mark to give the hosts a 55-0 lead. Knowles added a 29-yard touchdown run with 3:43 remaining in the frame. Hudson Todd added two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns of six and two yards for the game's final score.

Oklahoma outgained WCU offensively 624-to-178 on the day as the Catamounts threw for 123 yards and rushed for 55. The Sooners threw for 347 yards, adding 277 on the ground.
 
Despite the result, Bell is optimistic looking ahead to WCU's league opener against Samford next Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
"You don't come here to play not to lose, run the ball every play and extend the clock. We wanted to go out and run our offense and try and get these guys better, getting live reps against a really good football team. That's what we tried to do. We could have stopped at halftime because of the lights situation but we're not going to surrender. I thought we got some great live reps that I think are going to help us as we get into this conference season," said Bell.
 
Western Carolina (0-2) returns home next Saturday, Sept 18, to open Southern Conference play by hosting Samford (1-1) at 2:30 pm on Family Weekend. The Ingles SoCon Game of the Week will be broadcast on select Nexstar affiliates as well as ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with audio on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 1:30 pm. For tickets, visit CatamountSports.com.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).