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 

texas

 After a week off to enjoy the Auburn win, it's back to business in the biggest of ways. The Red River Rivalry is once again renewed as the Sooners make the drive down to Dallas to meet texas once again. While I am a fan of tradition and historical matchups between teams, when OU left for the SEC I wasn't particularly heartbroken that we won't play KState every year. That game was just another team on the schedule. Even OSU, though I really hate Mike Gundy for innumerable reasons and loved beating him, doesn't really matter to me that much. But texas? That's a big one. John Blake survived two full seasons on the back of beating texas his first year in one of the rivalries bigger upsets. So all the to say, I'm thankful that the rivalry is continued even with the conference shift. 

Now, while I'm glad to be playing texas, I'm not terribly optimistic about this year's matchup. texas comes in as the #1 team in the country. I read that this is the 10th such meeting in the historic rivalry where one of the two teams is #1. Of those, the top team has prevailed 7 times, and one tie. The most recent upset of said #1 was our Sooners losing (what a shock) in 2008, 45-35. Now would be a wonderful time to update that most recent #1 loss. It will be an enormous test. I'm hopeful our Defense (who would've thought??) will be able to keep us in it. Quinn Ewers is back and texas can score with the best of them. While they don't run the ball extremely well, their passing game is borderline unstoppable. Our offense is banged up, and the offensive line is just, well, shitty. Points will be hard to come by. But, we've had two weeks to get ready, hopefully heal up a little and put together a gameplan to slow them down and hopefully score some points ourselves. 

Offense

Michael Hawkins has been solid. He mostly takes care of the ball which is huge. He does however struggle to move the chains. Auburn ate him up but he still managed to put enough together late to salvage a win. But, I think that game was a good one to get under his belt in terms of playing a big game on the road against a tough crowd. But, I think if OU is to hang around today, ball control will be essential and as such I think the offense will attempt to lean on the run game. I'm going with Gavin Sawchuck today. He's not been great so far, I think he breaks out today and has a James Allen-esque (I'm old) performance on the biggest rivalry stage.

Defense

I'm a staunch Danny Stutsman believer. Dude is great, and when our defense was struggling I refused to move away from him. I don't think I've picked a different defender in the past two seasons. But I finally see other guys stepping up. And in the interest of shaking up the mojo today I'm going with R Mason Thomas. He's been a wrecking ball and we will need him to plant Ewers, Manning or whomever is back there and force some turnovers with pressure and sacks. 

Score

texas is favored by 14.5 or 15 depending on your timing. Either way, more than two touchdowns. That's the vegas oddsmakers laughing at OU's prospects. A rivalry game of this nature with that large of spread should be lighting a fire under our guys. texas has all of the pressure, we have nothing to lose and the "nobody-is-giving-us-a-chance" gris-gris (look it up) on our side. OU stuns texas in one of the rivalries biggest upsets, 31-30.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Auburn

The Sooners travel to Auburn today for the first SEC road game and the first meeting against Auburn in the regular season. Auburn is down this year, but down is relative and winning on the road there will be tough. The Sooners played relatively well against Tennessee last week, at least defensively. I think game flow resulted in Tennessee playing a toned down version of their offense but the Sooners responded nevertheless. 

The biggest takeaway from last week, aside from a disappointing loss, was Jackson Arnold being benched. Venables made some uncharacteristically candid (in my opinion) comments regarding Arnold. Basically saying that he had absolutely no idea what Arnold was thinking on the RPO play where Arnold threw a backwards pass that wound up being a fumble. Venables, in so many words, said that handing off to the running back was a no-brainer choice there and on no level was a pass to the wideout even a part of the play. I'm wondering if Arnold is just wildly unprepared. He may have coasted, even dominated, on sheer talent in high school, but that clearly won't work at this level. Thus, the Sooners have made the switch to Michael Hawkins. He didn't look exceptional as a passer, but he made enough plays with his legs to inspire confidence that he might provide a spark on offense.

Offense

I've done an absolutely miserable job of even getting close here. In my defense the offense has been mostly terrible. Losing Farooq certainly hurt but we all know the real story here has been the piss poor offensive line play. Arnold is benched, we will see for how long, and Hawkins is in. I am looking for Hawkins, in a tough spot on the road, to have a solid first start. I think he keeps plays alive with his legs, makes enough throws, and keeps the defense off the field today. He's my OPG.

Defense

Stutsman! Stutsman! Stutsman! (chanting, smashing beer can on forehead, biting the head off a squirrel etc. etc.)

Score

Auburn has not done a great job of taking care of the football. The Sooners defense has done a nice job of forcing turnovers. This is the first road test of the SEC era of Sooners football. They have uncertainty at the QB position. We too have uncertainty at the QB position, coupled with a bad offensive line. Auburn is 2.5 point home dogs today. I think OU does enough today with the defense. Sooners win on the road 27-25.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner!

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

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

 Good afternoon, Sooner fans. It's a hot day and big weekend in Norman. The Sooners kick off their SEC era again Josh Heupel and this town is hyped. Tennessee fans are everywhere. This is big time.

It's so big I have to be brief here. This one feels like when Texas Tech came in thinking they would make a national statement in Norman, at night. The Sooners smoked them. I'm not saying the Sooners smoke the Vols today, but they are not going to run over, around and through the Sooners.

If we know nothing else, it's that being the underdog is when we play our best.

OFFENSE

Obviously, it's the O-line. That's the story for every game from here on out. The Sooners will have Nic Anderson back today. Taylor Tatum is emerging as a stud in the backfield. Jackson Arnold can get you out of a jam. But without that O-Line, we're toast.

Today for my OPOG I'm going Taylor Tatum. If OU can run and win the time of possession battle, we have a chance.

DEFENSE

I saw a stat that said the Vols average more rushing yards per game than OU's entire offense per game. Erego, vis a vis, suffice it to say, the Sooners have to stop the run. 

The Tennessee QB has never played a true road game. The crowd and the D need to frazzle him. 

My DPOG is R Mason Thomas. Dude is a beast.

THE SCORE

I really don't think the Sooners can match the offense of the Vols. But if they do, they will win by of score of, say, 31-28.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Tennessee

 This Saturday marks a new era in Sooner football. For the first time since the formation of the Big 12 our Sooners open up a conference play in The SEC. It’s a big deal and really solidified the SEC as the premier football conference in America (if it wasn’t already). Sadly, our Sooners open this new conference era with a murderers row of opponents. Our next 5 games are against teams all within the top 7 rankings currently. I guess this is what we can expect now. Unfortunately we’ve looked, um, pretty shitty as an offense so far. And while Tennessee is definitely a team more know for their ability to score, SEC football is defense first and then figure everything else out. This doesn’t bode well. 

Accordingly, Vegas has us a 7 point dogs at home. This is probably pretty fair and, honestly probably generous for us. The crimson and cream did manage to right the ship somewhat against Tulane but definitely didn’t put them away until the last few minutes and it was very much anyone’s game in the fourth quarter. Yikes, I’m not optimistic. 

I’d be remiss to not mention this as the homecoming of Josh Heupel. He was a great QB for OU and a very mediocre OC. I know he’s turned Tennessee around but all of this lamenting of his firing forgets the fact that that the Sooners offense was the epitome of mediocre and predictable while he has the reigns. He’s clearly grown as a coach (and a human—physically) since he left. I wish him all the best and I hope he gets a warm reception from the home crowd, but I also hope he loses. 

Offense

Jackson Arnold has been pretty bad. He was better last week, but damn sure not good enough to win against a better opponent. Tennessee plays as close to big 12 football as it gets in this conference. I suspect OU will try to control the ball and win time of possession. As such I am going with Taylor Tatum. He’s been very good, and I know he’s not the number 1 guy yet but I think this week he breaks out. 

Defense 

Who else? Stutsman, that’s who. 

Score

Whew, I’m really pounding the Sooners brew and looking through all the right lenses here. I’ll squint just right and turn my head to precisely the right angle to see OU em stunning Tennessee 27-24. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Tulane Green Wave vs. Oklahoma Sooners

 The Tulane Green Wave come to Norman on a beautiful Saturday to take on our 2-0 Sooners. The Sooners looked like wet turd on offense last week in a much closer than the oddsmakers predicted 16-12 nailbiter against hapless Houston. The defense looked good and sealed the game. It looks like they may have to do that for the foreseeable future. 

Tulane gave a scare to Kansas State last week in New Orleans. The Sooners had better be ready to play.

OFFENSE

The offensive line is putrid. They got no push in the run game and they were undisciplined in the final moments with an inexplicable personal foul almost costing them the game. 

Today's OPOG has to be Jackson Arnold unfortunately. He has to figure out a way to manage this team and figure out a way to get some yards on first down. They can't be living in 3rd a long. This is the last week before it gets "real". With this offensive line, I have serious doubts.

It doesn't look like Nic Anderson is back yet, either, so JA has his work cut out for him.

DEFENSE

This group is playing hard and by and large doing the right thing. They had one bad breakdown last week which is going to happen.

That said they have to be better to cover this offense. That's wild to think in the modern era, but here we are. 

Today I like Gracen Halton for my DPOG. He's at 2.5 sacks thus far and he's a big, disruptive fella. Why not?

THE SCORE

It turns out that some concerning hallmarks of the Brent Venables era is a lack of discipline and poor ball control and clock management at the ends of halves.

I can't believe the lack of confidence in the Sooners offense at this point. Perhaps they can fill a hole or two on the line this week. 

I'll take the Sooners 31, Tulane 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

Tulane

This Saturday our Sooners host the Green Wave of Tulane University. Let us all hope it is a much better performance than the shitshow bs Houston last week. As this game was on SEC Network I was not able to watch it. But, everything I read after the game was over seemed as though the final score was an accurate depiction of how shitty the Sooners played. Some fun numbers: OU punted 8 times, Arnold was sacked 3 times, he threw an interception and only managed 176 passing yards on the day. If we’re playing Georgia, that seems reasonable (if disappointing) but against Houston it’s just terrible. I’m not sure how much of the blame also lies at Arnold’s feet but the OLine has been absolutely dreadful the first two games. 7 sacks vs 2 wildly inferior defenses. Yes, conference play is going to be rough. On the optimistic side of things, the defense seemed to play well. I can’t remember the last time the defense bailed the offense out, but again, this was against a really bad Houston team that got pasted by UNLV in the opening week. 

Tulane, sadly, looks to be a much tougher opponent (it’s all relative). They played very well against a K-State team that (at least according to the current rankings) is similar in quality to our Sooners. Tulane damn near beat us a couple of years ago in what should’ve been a Sooners blowout. Unless our guys really clean up the offensive line play and Arnold steps up, this could be an early upset. 

Offense

It’s really hard to get excited about anyone with the way the O line has played. I have no confidence in a running back behind them and it’s hard to see a big game from our QB as well. But I will go with a WR in Deion Burks and hope that he can sustain drives and get behind the defense once or twice as well. 

Defense

It’s Stutsman here. It’s just too hard not to pick him. He had 15 tackles last week. He’s an animal, he’s everywhere and he’s our best player on either side of the ball. What I lack in creativity is made up for by the fact that I’m right nearly every week. 

Score

Looking back at the numbers for the first two games, Arnold has simply not been good. His QBR was 40 vs Temple and 37.5 vs Houston. That’s pretty dreadful. He’s not had more than 200 yards in a game and his completion percentage is currently 63% vs two of the worst teams we’ll play all year. I just don’t see how we score a bunch with that. I think tulane plays us very tough and I will stick with our Sooners at home 24-20. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Houston Cougars vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Welcome Sooner fans to a gorgeous late summer Saturday where today the boys take on the Houston Cougars in Norman. Last week the Sooners took care of business against an overmatched Temple team and, while there was a lot to like, it wasn't perfect.

The Sooners offense was poor on third down. Like, almost historically bad, going just 1-12. The offensive line was every bit the cobble together work in progress it was billed to be. But a win is a win and today they play for 2-0.

OFFENSE

Not only was the offensive line cobbled together, Center Branson Hickman went down with injury on the first series of the game. The Sooners have three weeks to get ready for Tennessee and Bill Bedenbaugh is going to have to earn his check.

The Sooners need to find a serviceable combo up front and they need to figure out a way to get to third and manageable. Then they need to run the ball. 

Today I'm picking Gavin Sawchuck. 

DEFENSE

Temple is not good, but the Sooner defense looked pretty darn good. They forced four turnovers in the first half and held the Temple offense to just 197 total yards. About 77 players had a tackle. 

They need to build on this and make it their identity. I'll go Kendall Dolby for my DPOG.

THE SCORE

I expect there to be some unexpected murmurs in the crowd stemming from poor offensive play. In the end, the Sooners figure it out. The defense is a welcome safety blanket. This will be a process working towards Tennessee and the heart of the schedule.

Sooners win going away, 45, 10.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Houston

 One week in the books and our Sooners did a classic TCB last week. It was a typically opening week matchup where OU really only had something to lose. While the game went well, Farooq was injured and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with “a foot”. That’s pretty rough to say the least as he was our most accomplished returning WR. But, it’s a position of depth and hopefully the other guys can step up. What concerned me more than anything in terms of game play was the O Line giving up 4 (don’t quote me on that number) sacks to Temple. This is not the 85 Bears or the 00 Ravens. I said going in that the offensive line was a big question mark and frankly the offense is fucked in conference play if that doesn’t improve. Here’s to hoping it’s just them getting to know each other, learning calls, assignments etc. the defense played well but we’ve seen this movie from venables defenses in the past. I’ll believe when a talented offense gets stopped consistently. All things considered it was a positive start and let’s look to keep it rolling and avoid any more injuries this week. 

Offense

It’s hard to argue with Arnold last week. While not the gaudiest of numbers they were very solid and a few drops made them look worse than they should’ve been. Furthermore he threw some absolute dimes while on the move into some tight windows. If he can get some consistency he is going to be really good. But, I’m going with an RB this week. I think we make it a point to try to pound Houston into submission. I like Gavin Sawchuck to have a big day and get in the end zone at least once. 

Defense

I have to go with Stutsman again. Is he our best defender? Is he the most consistent player on either side of the ball? Am I too lazy to put forth the effort to think of someone else? Yes, yes and emphatically yes.  

Score

Sooners are heavily favored in this one which is no surprise. But, I could see this being a little bit of a trap game. Houston, while not great, will have considerably more talent than Temple did. And I still have PTSD from that Ed Oliver game a few years back. Still, I like our Sooners today and though I see them letting Houston hang around a little early, I think we pull away in the second half. Sooners 44-17. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Temple

Welcome back loyal reader(s)! Another season of the steamroller is upon us and that can only mean that Sooners football is set to kickoff once again. The Sooners have three unprecedented factors going into this one, it’s the first ever Friday night game for the Sooners, it’s the inaugural game of the first season in the SEC and it’s the first Sooners game I’ll have missed watching in 20 years (well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad —Meatloaf).

The Temple Owls come to town fresh off three years of being complete trash. The Sooners begin the year with former all-world recruit Jackson Arnold at the helm of the offense. The defense looks as though it has a glimmer of a chance of possibly not being total shit (a glowing review!). These are indeed exciting times. The schedule is daunting and dare I say it is a make or break year for Brent Venables. Let’s enjoy this season of Sooners football friends. On to the picks!

Offense

This unit gives me some anxiety as the offensive line is all new players (didn’t fact check that whatsoever but I think it’s close to true at minimum) and obviously everything starts there. But against temple I think they should be able to get tuned up and hopefully develop some cohesiveness prior to conference play. And while I’m a big fan of Javontae Barns and Gavin Sawchuck, I’m going with our man Jackson Arnold today. I think he played very well and gets Sooner Nation feeling all funny “down there”.

Defense

Absent of doing more research and finding other viable options, I'm going with Danny Stutsman here. Frankly, even if I cared to take the time to find out more about matchups, schemes etc., I would still go with Stutsman. Dude is unbelievable and our best defender, end of story.

Score

As I mentioned earlier, Temple sucks, or at least they have in recent years. I'm not sure a road tilt in Norman is their "get right" game. I like the Sooners big in this one 55-10.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner 

Temple Owls vs. Oklahoma Sooners

 Hello Sooner fans and welcome to the 2024 edition of the Steamroller. Hard to believe we've been doing this since 2010. We've had almost as many page views as we've had years. Maybe the Sooners move to the SEC helps things out a bit.

Speaking of the SEC. Gawt dang, you guys, we did it. We're here. It's the premier league in all of college football. It can't be overstated how big of a deal this is for the University of Oklahoma. 

A step up this big comes with wildly high expectations, and why not. The Sooners wouldn't be here if they weren't considered one of the blue bloods of college football. Yes sir, we belong with anyone.

But what better way to have championship aspirations than by also joining the premier conference with a new Offensive Coordinator, a new Defensive Coordinator, kind of a new Quarterback, and an all new offensive line. Well, that's what our Sooners are doing.

At least the boys start off with a Friday night cupcake against the Temple Owls. 

OFFENSE

We got our first taste of the Seth Littrel/Joe Jon Finley/Jackson Arnold offense in the Alamo Bowl, a loss against Arizona. The offensive line was bare bones in that one and the trio had mere weeks to prepare. The results were uneven with flashes of brilliance from JA along with some boneheaded mistakes.

If what we saw is, in fact, a taste of what's to come, you can expect a lethal offense. There was a ton of shotgun play action, quarterback read plays that led to a lot of defensive hesitation which Arnold exploited either with his legs or by finding easy throws.

Also, and this is important, he can throw a deep ball. Newcomer Deion Burks should feast by getting an extra step on defenders as a result of the play action. If he doesn't Andrel Anthony is back in good health. He was OU's best threat prior to his going down with a "leg" last year. 

This misdirection scheme should also provide opportunities in the flat for Gavin Sawchuck with easy passes or gaping holes via the now patented pulling guard run blocking.

For my OPOG I'm going with Jackson Arnold for the simple fact it's now his team, his time and he needs to get a solid performance at home under his belt to settle any nerves. But, it would be really nice to see this re-assembled hodge podge of an offensive line get some good reps under their belt as well.

DEFENSE

Zac Alley takes over for Ted Roof and, by all accounts, Alley is a Brent Venables clone. Hopefully, unlike Venables, he knows how to use timeouts in end of half situations and can keep himself on the sidelines during game play.

Beyond that, the Sooners seem poised to make a leap on this side of the ball. They return Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman, both studs. The linebacking group must be deep as Jaren Kanek, a starter last year, is now 3rd team. Also keep an eye inside where true freshman Jayden Jackson is getting the start at DR.

What should we look for on Friday from this group? Depth, competitiveness and physicality, all led by my DPOG (and you and I both know it will be Nate's as well) Danny Stutsman. He's one of those heart and soul type guys that will lead this group all year.

THE SCORE

It's kind of cool this one is on Friday night. A lot of eyeballs will be watching. It's also a bit of a bummer it's going to take away from Friday Night Lights in Oklahoma. That said, it will look like a college football elite versus a high school football team. 

This is the scrimmage the Sooners need to shake the rust off and to start getting a comfort level amongst teammates.

It's almost over before it starts but it'll be fun to see some new faces.

OU 70, Temple 6

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner