Sooners survive Lobos 14-6, poor offensive show
You knew when the OU twirler dropped her baton and then an errant firework scorched the turf during the pregame run on that things weren’t going to go well for the Sooners the rest of the evening.
Omens aside, the events during Oklahoma’s narrow 14-6 game which it didn’t win as much as it survived, and the post-game remarks about it, made for a disappointing and perhaps foreboding turn in the Sooners’ 2026 season.
Oklahoma’s fans turned on their quarterback, launching the first boos of the still fledgling season when QB John Mateer inexplicably completed his first pass to the wrong team — an interception to begin his first action since throwing a game-losing INT in Ann Arbor a week before.
Later in the second quarter the fans turned on offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, especially when he chose to run the ball in the waning minutes of the half to set up a field goal (that would miss), rather than have Mateer pass the ball for a hoped for touchdown.
This overshadowed a stellar performance by Oklahoma’s defense, making six sacks and 10 tackles for a loss. Their fourth down stop at the end of the game sealed a win.
The night vs day imbalance between Oklahoma’s offense and defense is a mirror image of a Lincoln Riley team — but in Riley’s case, the Sooners’ offense was so potent it didn’t matter as much.
Remembering Charley North
RIP: A great coach and a great guy
My Uncle Ed Deerinwater had a habit of taking me along on his adventures. Along the way, I met some influential people.
Uncle Ed was a 45th Infantry major who took me to his National Guard weekend camp in Oklahoma City and let me fire an M-16. I was only about 10!
He also took me to my first OU football spring game, where I was introduced to journalism as a career. I couldn’t believe people were paid to watch a football game.
Uncle Ed also was a member of the football booster club in McAlester. On Friday nights in grade school and junior high, I ended up at McAlester High football or basketball games.
One evening, my mom told me Uncle Ed was dropping by and taking me to a football game in Wewoka. When he pulled up, I got into his Chevy Impala and said hello to his passenger.
It was Charley North, an assistant coach at McAlester High.