Hot Links: A rebounding Oklahoma team

Oct 1, 2022 - 3:43 AM

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What’s good?

My goodness. What a long week. Covering a team like Oklahoma is incredibly intresting and weeks like these always remind me why I love this job. No, I don’t mean the loss. I mean the “I thought I knew something but I was wrong... why?”. I have wrestled with that question all week.

If you read my preview from last week you know I thought the opposite was going to happen of what did Saturday. I read the beats correct. The pregame story lines correct. I could not have been more wrong on the response. I bought into the culture flip, and not to say that this team doesn’t have a different culture, but to simply say that maybe it takes longer than nine months to change the bones of a team. Cleaning out a closet of boogeymen can take some time. Fixing a problem, that is older than the Lincoln Riley tenure as head coach.

How stupid am I? That in one offseason Oklahoma would reach culture Nirvana? In nine months? Lord, I can’t believe I am paid to do this sometimes with how wrong I am.

Now, does this change anything I think about the direction of this Oklahoma team? No. Of course not. Long term, I like how this is going from the outside but again. Fundemantal shift of this entire program today? Take a shower Chisholm and cool off.

OU Links

• How does Oklahoma jump back into the saddle after a loss? How does OU handle failure and does it lead to change? Does Oklahoma’s new coach handle it differently than the last, gaining different results? Joe Buettner gets us to that answer here.
• Mobile QBs for years have given Oklahoma issues. Ethan Downs tackles the reality of that after failing to do it last week, and the Sooners will get another crack at it this week with Duggan.

• Where are we right now with the Sooners? The path looks less clear and the happy road map we saw after Nebraska was hiding a few pot holes. Emig talks about this OU team today and where they stand.
• Sooners have to run the football against this TCU team. Have to. If they don’t against another three down lineman dime team, we might see the real heat under coach Lebby this season. Hoover addresses the urgency of the run game and how Oklahoma needs to value this part of the game early.
• How do you choose to explain the Adrian Martinez performance? Bad defense? Witchcraft? Maybe even something involving a wishing well? Well my friend Ryan Chapman tries to attack that now. The defense and their questions ahead of them.
• David Hicks committing to Texas A&M was the second tough loss for Oklahoma this week. Hicks is a game wrecker (we think) and would’ve been the lighthouse on the shores of “the OU defense is back” island. Not the case though, so what does this mean for OU? Bob Przyblo nails it here.

• Basketball season is around the corner, Eli Lederman was at media day and has a great write up on what is going on with the Oklahoma Sooners and Porter Moser.
• What is the one big thing for Oklahoma against TCU? Is it color scheme? Jersey selection? Hoover actually told me the real answer. He also told us the keys to the Sooner win here.
• Hoover also wrote, in my opinion, the best article of the week about Dillon Gabriel. How does handling the standard at Oklahoma and the QB position? Especially whenever walking in when everyone knows you can’t meet it.
• Groves to keep headband? WE CAN ONLY HOPE.

• Who is the most important player in Oklahoma’s offense? Marvin Mims? Who is the most NFL ready? Marvin Mims. Who has been the best... Eric (ducks) Gray (ducks) NO SERIOULSY. Here is Bob’s case!

Anything else going on?

• Blake Griffin, who was reported to be almost traded to the Celtics in a previous life, has landed with Boston. I don’t know what Griffin has in the tank, if anything at all. Hopefully Griffin catches some traction on a bench that very much needs help.

• This Tua story is insane and the very obvious and terrible under bellly of football. Watching that lasy night was so hard and I for one, felt sick. Especially remembering seeing this tweet before the game.

Can I talk about nonsports things?

• Coolio passes at 59, which is a tough one for me. My dad and I used to listen to Coolio all the time driving around. Someone I have alot of memories with and sad to hear him pass. If you are unfamiliar with his work, here is his most popular song. I reccomend listening and enjoying this funk on my behalf.

Talk to you knuckleheads on Monday.