Dean's List: Sooners, Pokes & Title-Bound Thunder

Sooners snap 3-game skid going to 5-4 with home win over a weak Maine football team.

Offense: A

52 unanswered points. 12 of 16 on 3rd & 4th downs.

Zero sacks, 1 punt, 1 lost fumble.

665 yards, 10 players caught pass.

Defense: B

Gave up opening drive TD, but the backups allowed the final TD. 1 takeaway, 3 sacks, got to play a lot of young guys.

Must play much better to win in 3-game closing SEC gauntlet.

Special teams: B

Bad punt, 1 for 1 FG.

Good execution, but still no successful fake punt/onside kick/big returns.

Overall: A

Excellent overall in getting as much out of a lopsided game as possible.

Hits and misses:

How many points would OU have scored if it hadn’t made coordinator changes?

What we saw, was what we would’ve seen all year, if Jackson Arnold had a good supporting cast.

It’s a short list of college QBs who could’ve scrambled to throw from 3 yards deep in end zone to fire a 50-yard dime that ended in the longest TD pass in OU history at home: a 90-yard TD to a bobbling JJ Hester.

After never having adequate time from good pass protection, Arnold found success both hanging longer in the pocket and coming off his first receiver.

15-of-21 with multiple drops and no interceptions – something he’s avoided since return to starting.

Getting 59 of the 80 total snaps, Arnold posted his highest QB rating of 192.5. Head Coach Brent Venables praised his scramble and QB run plays, seeing him “run through trash and arm tackles."

Under the radar reality is that since the OC changes, there’s night and day improvement with in-game communication between Kevin Johns—the former college starting QB/play-caller/offensive coordinator—and his QBs. Hey, it resembles a real, live college football offense! A big step in the right direction.

Of all people, who’d have guessed in August that Arnold’s most trusted receiver with the ability to get open, secure catches and even find YAC yards would be true frosh walk-on Jacob Jordon.

If. And it’s a big if. But if potentially elite transfer slot Deion Burks returns Saturday, Arnold would have two receivers he’d trust who are capable of explosive plays. But whispers are that Burks and OU’s other top four receivers will not return for the final games. OU needs that to be wrong, but Jalil Farooq is the only other receiver who realistically could return and contribute. But that’d potentially be three capable receivers, which is three more than they’ve had for a while.

Kudos to OU’s 8th different starting O-line. Losing its tackles—including best O-lineman Jacob Sexton—didn’t help. But what did was the inferior caliber of defensive linemen and backers. Their run blocking, along with good play-calling and the constant threat of Jackson’s arm, helped Javonte Barnes be at his best. When people take sides in a QB argument, there’s a factor that very seldom is mentioned: the effect of defenses having to play looser because of Arnold’s exceptional pass ability.

Barnes posts 203 of OU’s 381 rush yards, 222 total yards, as local rookie Xavier Robinson shined, too. It’s great to see the promising rookie-turned-sustained-injury back give an inkling of his potential.

The $64-K question is… will this newfound offensive steam produce enough success in a couple of these tough closing games to give OU’s defense a chance to pull off the upset? - a win that would make them bowl-eligible.

Back to special teams: There’s one area of significant improvement that needs to be more commended. After failing in his first two years with overall special teams coaching, Brent Venables’ hire of Doug Deakin as special teams’ coordinator has been a significant upgrade. With strong punting and kicking and no snafus to date with execution, it’s not an adventure any longer for OU to trot out these units; units stocked with elite athletes who have done everything well, aside from the aforementioned lack of big returns or successful fakes.

Poking around:

OSU losing its sixth straight Big 12 game is something none of us anticipated. And Saturday’s home blowout loss to Arizona State exposed even more flaws for a team searching for positives; including what you never want to see: a lot more less-than-100% effort & loafing than a Gundy-coached team I’ve ever seen. The continuous failures are getting worse by the game. And I’d never had guessed that with three games remaining we’d see a national media opinion that Todd Monken will be the coach to succeed Gundy. Makes sense but doesn’t mean it’s going to happen anytime soon. We’re curious to see how Gundy handles the mounting losses and how he navigates through the mess as speculation swirls of possible major transfer portal additions in 2025.

His Zoomed Monday presser didn’t help the former Cowboy great. When any head coach essentially criticizes the fan base of the team, he’s going to get an earful. Especially when you’re a preseason Big 12 favorite who is 0-6 in league play.

Heisman update through week 10:

I gave former Sooner Dillon Gabriel a 38% chance of winning the Heisman last night on the Blitz. And that may be enough for him to be the favorite between now and the finish line – which is three remaining games for the No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks. He may need to finish the regular season undefeated to edge out Colorado’s two-way phenom Travis Hunter or Miami star QB Cam Ward.

BTW, Hunter will face OSU with its bad defense in his final regular season game in Boulder. He’s got four remaining games. Miami’s been fortunate to remain unbeaten, but I just don’t feel the love for them or even their special talent.

Speaking of the Blitz and predictions… I gave the Thunder a beefy 70% chance of winning an NBA title either this or next season. At 6-0 and winning all by double-digits, I find myself smiling as I mostly watch OKC play alone at home. The pending impact of Isaiah Hartenstein could be the determining factor. He’ll be back from injury in a few weeks, and how he fits in and will contribute in the playoffs could be the X factor.

Thanks for checking in. We’ll chat later, but as of 5 pm Monday, I’m giving the Sooners a good chance of upsetting talented but struggling M-I-Z-Z-O-U.