Oklahoma Sooners vs. Navy Midshipmen

 Well folks happy Friday. I hope you holidays have been fantastic thus far. It's time for the underwhelming conclusion to the 2024 edition of the Oklahoma Sooners football season. The Sooners take on the Midshipmen of Navy in the US Armed Forces Bowl in tropical Fort Worth, Texas.

The Sooners will be without Jackson Arnold and virtually every wide receiver. Quarterbacking will be Michael Hawkins, who probably won't be the starter next year. Joe Jon Finley will be calling plays, and he won't be in that role next year, either.

Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman are also out of this one for the defense. The Sooners are short handed all the way around and this one doesn't even offer much hope for seeing what the future might look like for the Sooners. 

Excited yet?

OFFENSE

New Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle is on campus and is apparently involved in the game planning of this game. Kevin Johns or whoever the hell stepped in to help after Seth Littrel's dismissal. So, maybe he's got a handful of plays that Mikey Hawkins is comfortable running. 

I don't know why Arbuckle wouldn't step in and start calling plays. That's what Littrel did last year in the bowl.

Alas, not knowing anyone else who might play, I'll take Hawkins for my OPOG. He's liable to be running for his life all game. Whatever.

DEFENSE

No Stutsman, no Bowman. There are some portal losses here as well, though not nearly as detrimental as on the offense.

If there is something to look forward to in this game, it might be seeing some familiar faces in bigger roles today.

I like Kip Lewis for my DPOG. He's probably the heir apparent to Stutsman.

THE SCORE

I don't know what Navy brings to the table, aside from their coach is from Oklahoma. That said, they probably do some ball control. The OU defense probably holds them to something like 24. The Sooner offense shows flashes of creativity, but probably steps on their own ding ding with turnovers. You know, the story of the season. We are who we think we are.

Sooners 27, Navy 24.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

The 120th Red River Rivalry

Happy college football Saturday, Sooner fans. It's a big one today, you guys, as our beloved Oklahoma Sooners take on the deservedly reviled texas longhorns in the 120th edition of the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It marks the first time meeting as SEC foes, and it's already one of the top games in a conference where, "It just means more". Hopefully, it lives up to the hype.

The Sooners are 4-1 and happy to be there after an amazing come from behind win at Auburn two weeks ago. It was Michael Hawkins Jr's first start and it was memorable. MHJ was 10-15 for 161 with a dazzling two point conversion to cap the comeback after a Kip Lewis interception return for a touchdown.

Today, the longhorns come in ranked number one, a two touchdown favorite, with an 85% chance to win according to ESPN's matchup predictor. This one is going to be tough. 

OFFENSE

Michael Hawkins is the guy. The line play has been better since he took over, probably because he can read a defense and communicate what he sees. For the Sooners to win today, MHJ will need to take another big leap, so to speak, and sustain some drives. We know he can do it with his legs, and against Auburn he threw some dimes when he had to. I think to win, he's really going to have to demonstrate he can throw the ball to different levels of the defense and move it around so the Sooners can have some semblance of a running game. They have to be able to sustain drives, win the time of possession and essentially play keep away.

Also, to have any chance, it would be nice if the Sooners could get some or all of their banged up receivers and running backs. Some combination of Nic Anderson, Deion Burks and Taylor Tatum would be huge.

I'm going MHJ for my OPOG today. He's the first true freshman quarterback to start this game for OU in the entire history of this rivalry. Can he meet the moment?

DEFENSE

These boys are elite and they'll need to be today. Quin Ewers is back in the saddle for the longhorns and he obviously is the reason the horns are such prohibitive favorites. I like the Sooners chances of getting to him. Steve Sarkisian is a bit of a mastermind, I have to admit, so this one could be an epic chess match.

For my DPOG, I'll go with R Mason Thomas. This guy has that dawg in him when it's on the line. Today, it's on the line.

SCORE

Quite literally, everything has to go right for the Sooners to have a chance today. MHJ has to take another step forward. The Sooners need some key personnel on offense to be available and effective and the defense has to be their best version of who we now know they are. The Sooners need to win time of possession, keep Ewers off the field and get at least two turnovers.

Put it all together in a rivalry game and you can chuck that line out the window. If the Sooners win, it'll be a score of about 27-21

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

If it all works out, the Sooners can win 

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Auburn Tigers

 Welcome to another Saturday of Sooner football. The Sooners are coming off one the  more memorable games in the modern era. They lost while playing host to Josh Heupels Tennessee Volunteers in the first ever SEC tilt for the Sooners.

Jackson Arnold played poorly, posting a 4.7qbr while coughing the ball up three times in the first half. His nuts were so far up in his throat it was choking off oxygen to his brain. Thankfully, the coaching staff realized this and benched him in the first half. Kudos to them for doing so.

The defense played lights out and showed they can keep the Sooners in any game. We now live in a biazarro world where the Oklahoma Sooners have a defense that can hold teams under 31 points and an offense that might have trouble putting up 24.

The Sooners are now 3-1 and today they face a beatable Auburn Tigers team. Unfortunately, nothing is going well for the Sooners. They bring in a true freshman quarterback with a still banged up patchwork offensive line. Michael Hawkins Jr. will be without Taylor Tatum at running back. Nic Anderson is out at WR, along with Deion Burks. Of course, this is in addition to the other injuries at wide receiver.

OFFENSE

My theory is that we haven't seen a real Seth Litrell offense yet. He's got the same record as Jackson Arnold and the same patchwork O-Line. I'm not sure Lincoln Riley could call a game with JA. That said, I'm definitely not expecting 60 today or any time this season. I'm just saying, improvement with MHJ seems plausible.

My OPOG is Michael Hawkins, Jr. He is the only reason for hope as last week he settled into a nearly impoosible situation, against the best defensive line the Sooners will see all season. He looked sharp, decisive and, importantly, he wasn't scared and he showed his team he'd lay it out for them.

He's going to have his struggles and I sure hope he stays healthy. The rumor is he's been better than JA since he got on campus. Maybe the Sooners have their guy after all.

DEFENSE

This is easily the best defense we've had in the last 15 years. It's a shame such a good effort resulted in the L against the Vols. 

Today, they face a mistake prone Tiger offense with their own questions at Quarterback. They could feast if there isn't a letdown.

I'm going with Jayden Jackson for my DPOG. That young fella is disruptive and always in good position to make plays.

THE SCORE

It's time to see what the kids can do and hope for incremental improvement today. We've got a freshman qb with a depleted wr group. Keep an eye out for Jacoby Johnson. They are moving him from db to wr and, according to rumor, he is playing so well he could start. He's 6'2" and could be a good target.

I do think the Sooners win today just because, thankfully, Auburn is not good. I'll take the Sooners 34, Auburn 17.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner