Norman, Oklahoma USA

Tag archive

Tennessee

Sooners lose game, but may have gained a QB

by

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.

Keep Reading

Advice: Don’t taunt Josh Heupel

by

On a post-Thanksgiving Saturday in 1999, Josh Heupel — the JUCO transfer that mad scientist Mike Leach had found on a Utah mountain somewhere — was quarterbacking the unranked 6-4 Sooners in his first Bedlam experience.

It was early in the game and the Sooners had a third down and long.

Across the way, on Owen Field’s east sideline, Oklahoma State’s scatological defensive coordinator Rob Ryan screwed up his face and started screaming: “F**k you, Hype. You’re a P***y! You’re a bitch!”

Ryan’s screams caught Heupel’s eye as he began barking signals from his shotgun position. He turned and faced Ryan, pointed ahead toward the Cowboy end zone and mouthed the words, “Watch this.”

You know what happened next, of course. A Heupel big-play pass to wide receiver Curtis Fagan — one of many that obliterated Ryan’s Poke-y defense in the Sooners’ 44-7 win. The win put an end to OSU’s previous two-game series win streak which contributed to ending John Blake’s head coaching career and led to Bob Stoops’ hiring and, well, you know the rest.

More importantly, that moment, which I witnessed firsthand in my role as a sideline photographer standing near Ryan that day, said all you need to know about the competitiveness of the man coaching the Tennessee Volunteers on that same field this Saturday night. Only this time it will be Heupel on the visitor’s sideline wearing the orange.

Keep Reading

Dave: Even with help returning, expect a tight game against Vols

by

Looking back on Saturday afternoon, one of the hottest in the stands I can remember, there was
improvement with the offense. Of course, there is still room for a lot more improvement.

The rushing game produced a respectable 182 yards. The concern with that is almost 100 of those yards came from Jackson Arnold. I know that a quarterback run game can be a useful weapon. But if we must continue to rely on Arnold to do the bulk of the rushing, he is going to get his head knocked off one day.

They have to find ways to get the running backs room to roam to help the passing game, which is still
somewhat anemic when compared to recent years.

After three outings, Arnold has yet to crack 200 yards passing in a game. Fingers crossed; help is on the way.

From everything coming out of the Palace on the Prairie this week, I would be surprised if Nic Anderson doesn’t suit up for the big game Saturday night. In fact, he is listed as probable in this week’s injury

Keep Reading

1 2 3 4
Go to Top