Tag: oklahoma sooners

Nov 30, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver CJ Daniels (4) is chased after a catch by Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (2) during the first quarter at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Garrett Nussmeier tosses 3 TDs as LSU rolls past Oklahoma

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Garrett Nussmeier threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns, coming back from a first-half injury to lead LSU to a 37-17 win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

The Tigers (8-4, 5-3 SEC) finished the regular season with a two-game winning streak after dropping three consecutive games.

The Sooners (6-6, 2-6) couldn’t maintain their momentum from last week’s stunning home upset of Alabama.

Nussmeier was knocked from the game early in the second quarter, when he was hit from the blindside by R. Mason Thomas on a sack.

But after X-rays to his clavicle were negative, Nussmeier returned with the game tied late in the second quarter and quickly made an impact.

He hit four consecutive passes, the final one a 40-yard touchdown to Chris Hilton Jr. to put the Tigers ahead at the break.

Then Nussmeier directed a nine-play, 88-yard touchdown drive on LSU’s first drive of the third quarter, capped by a 45-yard touchdown to Hilton.

Hilton, who had been limited due to injury for much of the season, did not have a touchdown this season going into the game.

LSU struck first, on Kyren Lacy’s 18-yard touchdown reception from Nussmeier about eight minutes into the game.

Thomas helped the Sooners tie it two drives later.

Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton broke through the line of scrimmage and knocked the ball loose from Nussmeier.

Thomas scooped it up and returned it 9 yards for a touchdown.

It was the Sooners’ third consecutive game with a defensive touchdown and their fourth of the season.

Oklahoma took its only lead of the game midway through the second quarter on Xavier Robinson’s 2-yard run to cap a quick three-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

But that lead was extremely short-lived, as Aaron Anderson returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

The Sooners tied the game 17-17 on a field goal with 2:13 left in the first half before Nussmeier returned to orchestrate the drive that turned the tide toward LSU for good.

LSU outgained Oklahoma 395-277 and held the Sooners to just 4 of 11 on third downs.

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold ran for 75 yards and was 14 of 21 for 110 yards through the air.

Freshman running back Caden Durham, a one-time Sooners commit, had 11 carries for 80 yards and four catches for 32 yards.

–Field Level Media

Nov 16, 2024; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Mercer wide receiver Kelin Parsons (13) is tackled by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back DaShawn Jones (7) and Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Tim Keenan III (96) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated Mercer 52-7. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News

No. 7 Alabama aims to apply defensive pressure vs. Oklahoma

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Alabama is trying to keep its College Football Playoff chances afloat while Oklahoma is working to extend its bowl streak.

The No. 7 Crimson Tide and the Sooners will square off for the first time as Southeastern Conference rivals on Saturday in Norman, Okla.

Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) is riding a three-game winning streak that has put Kalen DeBoer’s team back into playoff contention. The Sooners (5-5, 1-5) have dropped four consecutive conference games to put their 25-season bowl streak into danger.

Turnovers figure to play a significant role on Saturday. The Crimson Tide are tied for fourth nationally in turnover margin at plus-13, while the Sooners are tied for 72nd at minus-one.

Alabama has forced three or more turnovers in each of its last five games, including nine interceptions. Oklahoma has turned the ball over a total of 13 times over its last five games.

On Tuesday, Sooners coach Brent Venables pointed out the scoring margin off turnovers in his team’s wins versus its losses. Oklahoma is outscoring opponents 63-6 off turnovers in its wins and being outscored 58-7 off turnovers in its losses.

“When you take care of the ball, again, good things will usually happen,” Venables said.

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe presents a unique challenge for the Sooners. He is averaging 223.2 passing yards and 60.8 rushing yards per game. He’s thrown for 15 touchdowns with just six interceptions and has rushed for 17 scores.

“He’s, I think, back in a really good spot with trust in the guys around him,” DeBoer said. “There’s been a little more continuity with the practice, skill players, offensive line. … He’s become more comfortable in understanding what our team needs from him to be able to win SEC football games.”

The Sooners aren’t nearly as settled at quarterback, although sophomore Jackson Arnold will make his fourth consecutive start since regaining the role in mid-October.

Arnold fumbled three times — losing two — in the Sooners’ 30-23 loss to Missouri on Nov. 9 heading into a bye week. One of those fumbles came near the end of the game and was returned for what ultimately was the game-winning touchdown.

“I can’t fumble like that,” Arnold said. “Can’t turn the ball over but at the same time, we’ve got two more games. We’ve got two more great teams we’ve got to play so we’ve got to put it behind us and move forward.”

Arnold is hoping to have a couple targets back as a bigger part of the offense Saturday.

Wide receivers Jalil Farooq and Deion Burks returned after long absences against Missouri. Burks finished with five catches for 44 yards while Farooq had two receptions for 11 yards.

Venables said both could see more action against Alabama.

“They had to knock off a little bit of rust,” Venables said. “Certainly the volume, their play capacity wasn’t what it would normally be. … We’re hoping that will continue to improve as we move forward.”

DeBoer said this week that Crimson Tide starting safety Keon Sabb was out for the season after undergoing surgery.

The Tide and the Sooners have met six times previously, with the last coming in December 2018 in a College Football Playoff semifinal. Alabama recorded a 45-34 win.

–Field Level Media

Nov 9, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Deion Burks (6) is tackled by Missouri Tigers safety Daylan Carnell (13) during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

No. 24 Missouri scores 2 TDs in final 63 seconds to steal win over Oklahoma

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Missouri’s Zion Young returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in the final minute to lift the No. 24 Tigers to a 30-23 win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

Young’s touchdown capped off a wild finish, with four touchdowns between the teams in the final 3:18.

The Tigers (7-2, 3-2 SEC) kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive while the Sooners’ bowl hopes took a major hit.

Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) needs one more win in its final two games — against Alabama and LSU — to extend its bowl streak to 26 seasons.

Missouri tied it on Theo Wease Jr.’s 10-yard touchdown catch from Drew Pyne with 1:03 left.

It didn’t take long for the Tigers to come up with another big play.

Triston Newson hit Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold in the backfield, knocking the ball free, and Young picked it up and returned it for the score.

Not long before Wease’s touchdown, it looked like the game had turned disastrous for the Tigers.

Billy Bowman returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown with 2:00 left to put Oklahoma in front 23-16.

But Pyne quickly directed an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it and set up Young’s late heroics.

The teams combined for just 535 total yards, with Missouri outgaining the Sooners 278-257.

Pyne finished 14-of-27 for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Arnold finished 15-of-24 for just 74 yards as the Sooners turned the ball over four times.

Wease had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma tied the game with 3:18 left on a bit of trickery.

Running back Taylor Tatum took a handoff from Arnold on third down then turned to throw it back to Arnold, who caught it and ran in for an 18-yard touchdown.

On the third play of the next drive, Sammy Omosigho hit Missouri’s Jamal Roberts, popping the ball free. Bowman scooped it up and took it in for the score.

Pyne threw three touchdowns in the second half, including a 5-yard touchdown to Brett Norfleet with 8:47 left. But the point-after attempt was missed, keeping Missouri’s lead 16-9.

That’s when the Sooners finally answered, with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game.

Oklahoma’s Zach Schmit hit three field goals, including a career-long 56-yarder as time expired in the second quarter, to send the Sooners into halftime leading 9-3.

–Field Level Media

Oct 26, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables watches during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Skidding Oklahoma looks to keep focus in meeting vs. Maine

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Oklahoma coach Brent Venables wasn’t asked much directly about his team’s matchup with FCS opponent Maine during his Tuesday press conference.

“I could brag on Maine,” Venables said. “They’ve got 17 graduates. What does that mean? They’ve got a lot of experience. Nobody cares. We’re focused on Oklahoma, like we always have been.”

Mired in a three-game losing streak, the Sooners (4-4) figure to need the win on Saturday afternoon when they meet the Black Bears (4-4) in Norman, Okla.

Oklahoma will finish the regular season with a trio of games against now-ranked Southeastern Conference counterparts Missouri, Alabama and LSU.

The Sooners have struggled offensively, averaging just 116.5 rushing yards per game and 292.3 yards of total offense — ranking near the bottom in FBS in both categories.

Oklahoma also has given up 39 sacks, tied for the second-most in program history and closing in on the record of 41, set in 2015.

“We’ve gotta be better,” Venables said of the Sooners’ offensive line. “We’ve gotta know the snap count, get off on the snap count.”

Oklahoma’s offensive line could look different against Maine.

Jacob Sexton, who has started every game this season at either left tackle or left guard, will be out after sustaining an ankle injury in last week’s 26-14 loss to then-No. 18 Ole Miss. Starting tackle Jake Taylor could be out for the second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury as well.

Venables said freshman Isaiah Autry-Dent, who has yet to play this season, could break into the lineup against Maine.

The Black Bears are looking for their fifth win against an FBS opponent and their first since beating UMass in 2021. Maine has shown improvement after back-to-back 2-9 seasons in Jordan Stevens’ first two seasons at the helm.

“We’re going to go compete,” Stevens said. “That’s our mindset. We’ve got to have a great week of practice and … go down there and just let it rip and play football and compete.”

Carter Peevy threw for 279 yards and a touchdown in Maine’s 24-14 setback at Rhode Island last Saturday. Montigo Moss had nine catches for 80 yards.

–Field Level Media

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) warms up before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.

Sooners QB Jackson Arnold enters game, burns redshirt

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold burned his redshirt when he replaced a struggling Michael Hawkins Jr. in the first quarter against South Carolina on Saturday.

Arnold’s fifth appearance this season means the former five-star prospect is no longer able to take a redshirt this season and is left with two years of eligibility after the 2024 season, according to NCAA rules.

Arnold, a sophomore, completed 61 of 102 passes for 538 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in the first four games of the season, leading the Sooners to an early 3-1 record. He also rushed for 138 yards and a pair of scores.

Arnold last saw action on Sept. 21, when he was benched during a 25-15 home loss to then-No. 6 Tennessee after he hit on just 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards and an interception. Hawkins took over, throwing for 132 yards and a TD on 11-of-18 passing, and was named the starting quarterback for Saturday’s game.

However, the freshman was pulled for Arnold after committing turnovers in each of Oklahoma’s first three possessions against the Gamecocks.

Earlier this week, when discussing the possibility of redshirting Arnold, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said the Sooners still have the sophomore passer in their plans this season.

“What was told to Jackson is if we put you in, it’s because we need you to help us go win,” Venables said Tuesday. “We’re certainly sensitive to everything. We’re not sitting here with our head in the sand or naive to what it is. But man, he’s a great teammate. He wants to be the starting quarterback at the University of Oklahoma.”

The Sooners entered Saturday’s game 4-2 overall, with a 1-2 conference record in their first season in the SEC.

–Field Level Media

Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team warm up ahead of the Texas Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 21, 2024.

Texas not planning to play 2 QBs as Quinn Ewers eyes return

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With Quinn Ewers on pace to return from his abdominal injury in the Longhorns’ next game, don’t expect to see Arch Manning on the field, despite the backup’s 2-0 record in Ewers’ absence, according to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.

“When I was a starter, I never wanted the backup coming in the game, even for a play,” Sarkisian told reporters Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call.

“And I remember my senior year of college, I had been banged up and coaches wanted to run a quarterback draw. And they called the play and I scored a touchdown. So I’ve got respect for a guy that’s a starting quarterback and the rhythm that is needed to play with, so no that’s not something I’ve ever entertained.”

Manning went 26-of-31 passing (83.9 percent) for 324 yards in a 35-13 win over Mississippi State on Saturday, a week after a 51-3 home blowout over Louisiana-Monroe in the first start of his college career.

After suffering an abdominal strain that knocked him out of a 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14, Ewers is reportedly on target to return on Oct. 12 when the No. 2 Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 SEC) face archrival Oklahoma for the first time in the Southeastern Conference.

Ewers reportedly practiced with the first team Tuesday, with the Longhorns on a bye before their big SEC showdown in Norman with the No. 19 Sooners.

“He’s just rehabbing as he has been. I think he’s been making steady progress one day to the next, which is a good sign,” Sarkisian told reporters Tuesday. “We haven’t had any setbacks. It’s been steady progress. I think he’s getting stronger and more comfortable and more confident, and so we’ll just kind of stay the course with that.”

Sarkisian had already made clear his desire to have Ewers back at the starting position as soon as possible, saying after Saturday’s win over the Bulldogs, “We need Quinn back because he’s our quarterback, and he’s our leader.”

–Field Level Media

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) throws a pass during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.

Shaky QBs in spotlight as No. 21 Oklahoma visits Auburn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Both No. 21 Oklahoma and Auburn enter Saturday’s matchup in Auburn, Ala., with questions at quarterback.

The Sooners are set to go with a first-time starter for their first-ever Southeastern Conference road game.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables made the announcement Monday that true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. would start at Auburn after replacing a struggling Jackson Arnold in the first half of last week’s 25-15 loss to Tennessee.

“We got to get better,” Venables said. “I know, again, that everybody knows that we’re not playing very well right now on offense, and we’ve got to do a good job of putting our players in position. It’s us. It’s we. It’s ours. And it’s no finger pointing. We got to do a better job.”

After some early struggles, Hawkins gave the Sooners a spark and finished 11-for-18 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown and ran for 22 yards.

The Sooners (3-1, 0-1 SEC) have struggled to find offensive continuity across the board, with a revolving door on the offensive line, where nine different players have started, and a receiving corps that has been battered by injuries.

Jayden Gibson is out for the season; Nic Anderson and Jalil Farooq have appeared in just one game each, and Deion Burks, who leads the Sooners in both receptions and receiving yards, was hurt late against Tennessee. Anderson and Farooq will be out against Auburn, and Burks’ status is unclear.

On the other side, Auburn’s offensive woes have centered on turnovers. The Tigers (2-2, 0-1) have 14, tied for the most in FBS. Eight are interceptions, with five by Payton Thorne and three by Hank Brown.

“It’s hard for me to explain them, truthfully,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said of the interceptions.

All of Brown’s picks came in last week’s 24-14 loss to Arkansas. After two in the final minute before halftime, Thorne took back over at quarterback.

“I know there’s people open and I know that we’re running the football,” Freeze said. “And we’ve got to find a guy that won’t throw it to the other team. And we’ve got to find running backs that hold onto it.”

Freeze said the competition between the two was open.

“It’s going to be a battle this week — try to figure out who can master the plan against all these fronts we’re going to face at Oklahoma,” Freeze said.

Even with Oklahoma’s offensive issues, the Sooners are tied for third nationally with a plus-seven turnover margin. Auburn is at minus-10.

The Sooners have eight fumble recoveries and four interceptions, tied for the nation’s lead in turnovers forced.

“Nothing impacts a game like turnovers,” Venables said. “Everybody wants someone else to blame. We have to take care of the ball, make better decisions. Things we can and can’t do.”

The Tigers have run the ball effectively, with Jarquez Hunter entering the game with 340 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Sooners have never played at Auburn before. Oklahoma has won both previous meetings with the Tigers, the most recent in the 2017 Sugar Bowl.

–Field Level Media