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Jackson Arnold

Sooners make a game of it in Oxford

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This game will go down as an “L” in the win-loss column. But there was something different about it.

The 26-14 loss to Mississippi felt more like the loss on the road at Oxford that we expected pre-season instead of the humiliation we had recently expected (and Vegas predicted, making the Sooners a three-score underdog) after pitiful Sooner performances in October.

For the first time this year, we saw beginner QB Jackson Arnold look like a young quarterback — making some plays to show his talent and failing at some plays to show his inexperience — but, progressing in his development, rather than the young QB regressing into shell shock (which had been the case earlier in the year, resulting in his benching).

“I thought Jackson did a lot of really good things at times,” Coach Brent Venables said of Arnold.

So did the rest of the team. Given recent developments that has had fans in meltdown mode, it was possible this team could have tanked by now. But, their performance against Mississippi showed they have not.

“These guys aren’t going to flinch — I promise you… I think everyone on the outside might assume guys will give up or check out… Not these guys,” Coach Brent Venables said.

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Sooners lose game, but may have gained a QB

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After QB Jackson Arnold committed two turnovers midway through the second quarter, the story of No. 15 Oklahoma’s 25-15 loss to No.7 Tennessee might have been about when the pitch fork carrying fans would storm Brent Venables’ office demanding a change in quarterback.

But before that could happen, the Sooner coaches replaced the five-star QB with backup freshman Michael Hawkins, who added a second-half spark to an Oklahoma offense that had withered in the blistering heat brought by the Vols’ defense.

Hawkins came in and played with heart. His emergence in this game may be the silver lining for the loss.

He finished 11 of 18 for 132 yards and one touchdown passing, and ran for 22 yards — having played a little more than one half of football.

This should be an interesting week of practice. The coaches will discover what Hawkins can do when spending more practice time with the first team offense.

Venables said he would “evaluate” the situation between Arnold and Hawkins.

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Dave: Injuries abound, time to get creative

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Houston…. we have several problems.

Oklahoma came dangerously close to being the second big upset of the day when they escaped the Cougars 16-12 last Saturday night at Owen Field.

Venables made the comment at his press conference that it was probably not a good thing that he was bragging on his punter who had to take the field eight times.

But the punter and the defense won the game for the Sooners that night as the offense was a no show. And of course, that is extremely concerning.

Being a 28-point favorite and only posting 14 points, the other two points provided by the defense by way of a safety, against a bad Houston team is not good.

Some over all offensive stats after 2 games are startling: 109th nationally in passing offense, 108th nationally in total offense, and 131st in 3rd down conversion percentage, against less than stellar competition. Sounds suspiciously like rankings the Sooners defense had when “he who must not be named” was at the helm.

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