Quarterback Spencer Rattler, running back T.J. Pledger and wideout Marvin Mims may become a new set of “triplets” for the Oklahoma Sooners.

OU beat TCU 33-14 Saturday in Fort Worth.

Rattler hit 13 of 22 passes for 332 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Pledger rushed 22 times for 122 yards and Mims caught four passes for 132 yards.

On the season, Rattler, a redshirt freshman, is leading the Big 12 in passing yardage with 1,518 yards (308 per game average) and is second only behind Sam Ehlinger of Texas with touchdown passes. Rattler has 15, Ehlinger has 17.

Pledger is fifth in the Big 12 in rushing with 341 yards on 68 runs (5 yards per run average).

“My O-line has done a tremendous job,” said Pledger. “I never fail to give credit to them. They come out every Saturday doing their thing and I’m so thankful to have the O-line I do. They honestly make it easy for us receivers and running backs. Receivers blocked downfield and it showed today”

Mims, a true freshman, is fifth in the Big 12 with 19 receptions for 328 yards (17.3 yards per catch). He is tied with Joshua Moore of Texas with six touchdown catches.

“Offensively, some guys made a lot of explosive plays,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley. “I thought we did some really good things up front. We had some mixed bag opportunities with the skill guys. There were several that we made and a few that we didn’t make. We still took a few more too many negative yardage plays so we have to continue to grow. We are getting better as a team. We are on the right trajectory and we have to do whatever we can to continue to push that.”

Riley praised Mims.

“The thing he keeps doing is he keeps answering the bell,” Riley said. “It seems like every time he gets an opportunity, he makes a play. He’s a talented kid, but it goes back to his habits. He practices hard every day. He’s a tough kid. He’s done a really good job of learning our stuff. Then I see him making such big plays early on in his career, both offensively and in our return game, it’s been a big thing for this team.”

 Riley said Pledger is improving.

“T.J.’s done a nice job,” Riley said. “He’s really made some good plays. I think he’s just getting more in sync. It’s been a while since he’s played this kind of ball. He’s been a feature guy and getting his opportunity with carries. He’s just starting to settle in. He got off to a great start today.”

TCU’s defense had no answers for OU’s offense.

“We went to a 3-man rush because of the way they were throwing the post, we needed some help back there,’ said TCU coach Gary Patterson. “That causes other problems because then I needed to blitz more to cause some pressure and that hurt us a couple of times. You’ve got to be able to get more than one sack when you’re playing this game.”

OU’s defense rose to the occasion.

“It is very frustrating, but I don’t think there’s nothing really to dwell on,” said TCU wideout Taye Barber. “I mean they played good. We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot and keep getting dumb penalties. We just got to clean that stuff up.”

OU’s defense has had issues due to injuries and suspensions.

“It was really big for us because we lost Ronnie Perkins and Jalen Redma,” said OU defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas. “The way we stepped up speaks highly of Coach Thibaboux and Coach Cain. We played on a fast and intense level. We were very productive these last few weeks. It speaks volumes of our D-line coaches and how we handle adversity this year and how well we’ve been producing.”

Younger defensive players who are talented are getting vital experience.

“We have great depth,” Thomas said. “It feels good when you can go into a game with a 2 or 3 man rotation, but also at a consistent level of being productive – not just to get a break. It feels good knowing you got a couple guys behind you to step in and can also produce just as much. It’s much needed especially with the tempo we get. So it’s great to see how fast these younger players are maturing and how well we’re being coached out there.”

Oklahoma (3-2, 2-2 in the Big 12) will play at Texas Tech (2-3, 1-3 in the Big 12)  at 7 p.m. Halloween night on Fox TV.

Last year, OU clobbered the Red Raiders 55-16 in Norman. Former OU quarterback Jalen Hurts (now with the Philadelphia Eagles) passed for 413 yards and three touchdowns and he ran for 70 yards and one score while former OU wide receiver Ceedee Lamb (now with the Dallas Cowboys) had career highs of 183 yards and three touchdowns.

Tech, in eighth place in the Big 12, opened the season with a win over Houston Baptist but then lost to Texas 56-63 in a shootout and fell to Kansas State (21-31) and Iowa State (15-31).

Texas Tech beat West Virginia 34-27 Saturday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are surrendering 37 points per game and rank only above Kansas in that category in the Big 12. Texas Tech’s defense is allowing 486 yards per game, 337 passing yards and 207 rushing yards.

Oklahoma’s defense is giving up 344 yards per game, 252 passing and only 92 yards rushing. OU’s opponents are averaging 26.8 points per game.

“We have a long ways to go. It feels good. It was definitely a step in the right direction,” Riley said. “We did some things better today than we’ve done the majority of the year. A lot of work that we’re putting in behind the scenes is starting to show up on game day.

“We have another tough one coming up in going down to Lubbock. Hopefully we can go and play even better than we did today.”