Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

An interesting day. We set an all-time high temp record in OKC today with a mark of 96 degrees. One more day of 90’s it appears and that will fall on OU-Texas gameday.

OU reserve running Marcus Major got himself eligible and will provide OU with another physical runner besides Kennedy Brooks. Eric Gray will in my mind become more of a specialist in the Percy Harvin/Alvin Kamara mode and run and catch primarily outside of the tackles.

This is good for OU. Another weapon for Lincoln Riley and quality depth at running back.

The point spread dropped to 3 points. I’m taking OU at -3 as one of my two spread picks tomorrow. The other pick will be Alabama at -17.5 at College Station against the listliss Texas A&M Aggies’ offense.

It’s not that I think OU is in the sphere of Alabama or Georgia, just more that I think the Texas defense isn’t very good. And I won’t be shocked at all if these two teams meet again in December at Jerry’s World.

I’ll go OU 38 – Texas 34.

I believe Chris Jackson is too nervous to pick OU and is consequently going with Arkansas +6.5 at Ole Miss and with Georgia -17 at Auburn. He and Little Robert will be watching their first Red River Rivalry together from the backyard patio in Bonnie Brae. I can’t wait to see that video from Elaine.

Chris leads 6-4 to 5-5 heading into Week 6 in our very informal contest.

So basically…every game we’ve picked this week involves SEC teams present and future.

O State prez Casey Shrum… which scintillating Big 12 game are you going to watch tomorrow outside of OU-Texas? Which three hours of your time are you going to invest watching a Big 12 team play not named OU or Texas? See my point.

You know… Casey Thompson at one time was committed to OU in 2017– then it fell apart. I think he’s the second best QB in the conference behind Spencer Rattler. A very down overall year for the QB position in the Big 12. I’m not sure who I would say is the third best QB in the conference. Spencer Sanders still needs to show me he understands how to manage a game. That he understands how critical turnovers are to the outcome in games against quality opponents.

Here’s a great stat…in the RRR since 1999– the team with the quarterback who has started a previous Red River Rivalry game is 14-4-1. This stat becomes even more interesting when you consider two of the four who won in their first RRR game were Jalen Hurts and Spencer Rattler.

We all remember last year with Spencer Rattler being benched then coming back and winning the game in quadruple overtime. Jalen Hurts was Jalen Hurts. Two national championship games and three Iron Bowls so this stat didn’t really apply to him.

But what will it be like for Casey Thompson in that first half as he gets his indocrination as to what makes OU-Texas such a special game. Good thing for Casey is he’ll have the best running back in America to lean on as the nerves settle down.

I still can’t believe Steve Sarkisian picked Hudson Card as the Longhorn starter given how Casey performed in the Alamo Bowl.

It almost makes me give the Horns a pass for their loss at Arkansas. But here’s the thing….the Razorbacks shreaded the Horns on the ground for 333 rushing yards.

That stat and Spencer Rattler are why I ultimately have to pick OU and give the three.

I’m just settling in tonight drinking a little red wine and listening to music. Maybe I’ll watch the Dodgers-Giants game.

Or maybe I’ll just zone out sports for the second straight night in mental preparation for the Red River Rivalry.

I love this rendition of Every Little Thing She Does by this band even more than the original by the Police. I love bands like this.

It was in the 70’s today in Denver. Snow expected next week. My grandson starts ski school pretty soon. I have to get my knee fixed so I can chase him on the slopes. He will be fearless. There won’t be any snowplowing.

It was a hot day in Oklahoma today. Upper 90’s are being predicted on Friday and I would think it will be hot on the Cotton Bowl floor this Saturday.

OU is a 3.5 Vegas favorite. I have the game at OU at 2.5. Both teams have excellent kickers. The two best quarterbacks in the league. The two best coaches in my estimation.

So like most football games it should be decided by who controls the line of scrimmage from a physicality standpoint and who doesn’t do stupid things to hurt themseleves throughout the game.

No sports on television for me tonight after wotk. Maybe…I’ll catch the Dodger-Giant game on Friday night. I’m clearing my head right now on Thursday.

That epic wildcard baseball game is enough to keep me jacked up until Game Day on Saturday morning. ESPN Game Day will be at the Texas State Fair for this Red River Rivalry despite the fact Iowa vs. Penn State is a battle of two top four ranked teams on the last poll.

What does that tell me?

That tells me ESPN thinks this is the game this week in college football.

I hope my daughter in-law has Chris and Little Robert dressed to kill in crimson for Little Robert’s first Red River Rivalry where he actually knows what’s going on watching the game.

We all in Sooner Nation get jacked in our own ways for this game.

This video is an annual rite of passage for me.

Spencer Rattler…this is the game. You set the tone. You lead and they will follow. Let’s go, buddy.

BOOMER!

THIS WAS A GREAT BASEBALL GAME!!!

It had everything you’d ever want in a one game winner take all wild card game which sends the Dodgers to the next round versus the San Francisco Giants.

For me it was especially great because Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager all came thru Oklahoma City in AAA ball.

And of course I have this thing for Nolan Arenado who now plays for the iconic St. Louis Cardinals instead of the going nowhere Colorado Rockies.

So…I was going to come of this as a winner either way the game went down on Wednesday night.

Chris Taylor was/is my favorite Oklahoma City/LA Dodger because of his vesatility and his blue collarness. Chris Taylor is to the Dodgers is kind of like what Nick Collison was to the Oklahoma City Thunder. My kind of player…as in old school. He does whatever his teams needs from him to be better. What a quaint notion.

I was very conflicted with his game winning at bat though. There was that part of me which wanted Nolan to be the hero. That part which wanted Adam Wainwright and Yadi to advance in what was their next to last season playing major league baseball.

I wish there were more games to be played between these two teams.

And then Max Scherzer the Hall of Famer from the championship Washington Nationals who I thought was going to kick LA manager Dave Roberts’ ass when he took the ball away from Max in the fifth inning.

I love Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer is a bulldog. In fact—I can’t wait to see him against the Giants and beyond.

Coming into this game the 106 win LA Dodgers were the first ever Vegas favorite as a wild card to win the World Series.

What would I say to Nolan and the Cardinals? Come out of the gate strong next season and win your division. Don’t wait until September to start balling. Use this experience as a building block.

Mookie Betz and Trea Turner…nice players. But this was Chris Taylor’s night. This is a guy who didn’t make the Dodgers’s roster in 2017 and was sent to Oklahoma City. Tonight shows what hard work and tenacity can do for you.

Good for you, Chris Taylor…even though you were just trying to hit a single to bring in Cody Bellinger from second base.

This was a great baseball game!

We came in from dinner on Sunday evening and this was on TV…so we settled in and watched this remarkable segment on Sixty Minutes.

Tony Bennett is my favorite of all-time. Period.

In the course of my wife and I being together now over forty years…we’ve seen Tony Bennett four times in a variety of venues.

I love Frank Sinatra, but Tony Bennett is the stud hoss in our home.

Nothing relaxes me more than turning down the lights and listening to the beautiful voice of Tony Bennett.

I should do this for my son Chris forty minutes before the Red River Rivalry kickoff just to bring him down to earth a bit.

And that’s what I’m going to do Friday night before the War in Dallas…listen to Tony Bennett for two hours and drink a glass or two of wine.

My three favorite Tony Bennet songs…1 I Left My Heart in San Franciso, 2 Fly Me To the Moon, 3 I’ll Be Seeing You.

I would say we’re going to find out on Saturday inside the Cotton Bowl.

He’s got that Barry Sanders shift of gears. Plus, like Sanders he finishes his runs after contact.

Last season with fired Tom Herman as the Longhorn coach…Bijan never got more than fifteen carries in a game. On Saturday vs. TCU he got 35 carries from Steve Sarkisian and a total of 37 touches in the game.

To put this in perspective…OU’s Kennedy Brooks has 53 carries the entire season.

Barry Tramel asked about this at Lincoln Riley’s presser today. Too much of a load on Bijan or just right?

Load management or old school?

Good questions. Why doesn’t Tramel ever do this at a Thunder presser I ask myself aloud?

Lincoln Riley and Mike Gundy get a gazillion times more scrutiny than anyone involved with the Thunder not named Russell Westbrook.

That was all rhetorical…btw.

With temps expected in the 90’s on Saturday inside the Cotton Bowl… I wouldn’t expect Bijan to carry the ball 35 times, but he is the heart and soul of this Texas offense.

I would expect Sarkisian to mix it up…maybe even use Bijan as a misdirection decoy at times.

Depending on who wins the game… I feel either Bijan or Spencer Rattler get back in the Heisman discussion after this game. Maybe both.

Over-under on Bijan touches on Saturday?

I’m going 28 touches for Bijan in the Red River Rivalry if the game doesn’t go beyond regulation.

I didn’t watch the Thunder preseason game against the Charlotte Bobcats because of the Chargers vs. the Raiders game last night on MNF. I like watching events where both teams are trying to win.

And of course—the Thunder lost last night.

But in looking at Josh Giddy’s highlights on the internet this morning he looked good. He had an 18 point, 7 rebound, 3 assist night in what was essentially his NBA debut since he didn’t make it past the five minute mark in the Summer League before getting injured.

His athleticism was better than I anticipated and his body development was further along than I thought it would from seeing him on video in Australian League hoops.

My approach with the Thunder this season will be low key because they’ve been built by Sam Presti to intentionally lose somewhere between 55-60 games this season.

One preseason game doesn’t mean a corner was turned or anything, but it was nice to see Josh Giddy doing things against an NBA team which indicate he could be a pretty nice NBA player down the road.

Since I’m primarily going to be following six NBA teams, Miami, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Memphis, Sacramento, and the Lakers this NBA season, who are all trying to win games–my blog coverage will be on them…not the Thunder. Plus…I’m jacked about following OU, O State, and even Texas with new coach Chris Beard in Big 12 hoops.

I mean…why would anyone cover any sporting event which was rigged beyond the Harlem Globetrotters? There is no competitive legitmacy to what Sam Presti is doing. He’s basically tanking because NBA free agents don’t want to come to Oklahoma City.

But still I have to admit I’m curious as to the development of Josh Giddy and Poku this season.

The Daily Thunder is basically owned by Sam Presti nowadays…so I would suggest that blog to follow the Thunder loss by loss in what will be the internet equivalent of getting Michael Cage’s hot takes on the Thunder television network.

There was a nice writeup by someone named Jaden Rule on Josh Giddy’s bebut on DT which I thought all things considered was pretty solid.

In closing…a promising start for Josh Giddy in Oklahoma City. One game doesn’t make Josh Giddy the next Larry Bird or Luka Doncic, but he looked good.

I saw some bullshit Big 12 Poll with all fourteen teams today on the internet which must have come either from the Big 12 office or the O State athletic department.

The ratings were nonsense to some degree, but I like the premise of adding Cincy, BYU, UCF, and Houston to the poll while OU and Texas are still in the league.

This is how I would rank the teams 1-14 heading into Week 6.

1 OU (winners of 13 straight heading into RRR)

2 Cincy

3 BYU

4 O State

5 Texas

6 Iowa State

7 UCF

8 Baylor

9 K State (with Sklar Thompson)

10 TCU

11 Texas Tech

12 Houston

13 West Virginia (Big drop from me when you lose at home to Texas Tech)

14 Kansas

O State’s schedule is set perfect if Spencer Sanders could ever turn the turnover switch off. They get an off week before playing Texas after the Horns come off of the RRR. Then, O State gets OU in Stillwater to close out their Big 12 schedule.

All Spencer Sanders needs to be doing at this point is manage the game, move the chains with his legs, and go say 16-28 with a couple of chunk plays and no interceptions.

I don’t know if that would be enough to beat OU with Spencer Rattler pulling it together and Lincoln being more creative….but it might be interesting.

It would be a great last chapter to my book Mullet King: The Boone Pickens-Mike Gundy Saga.

Hell…I’ve got Gundy promoed (word?) on my blog cover with Boone. I need O State to win for the book to have any sort of climatic ending.

Oh, boy. This is the week. My ritual as an OU fan is to play Eyes of Texas on Sunday evening to start the process of getting my game face on for Saturday.

I wear my Beat Texas hat as part of the zen-like pre game-day process. You’d be amazed how the hat resonates with others when you wear it in public. No one tanks in this game. Can you imagine anyone in either state thinking about tanking in this game?

I don’t think so.

I worry about my son Chris every year at this time. As a family we’ve encouraged him to stay at home and watch the game in the privacy and safety of his own home.

Boomer!

Kirk Herbstreet does a six team Top 6 poll. I don’t think that’s enough given we all assume it won’t be long before we have a twelve team playoff at some point.

We have Iowa vs. Penn State next week-end plus Texas vs. OU. So next week’s Top 12 will be in flux just like this week when four Top 10 teams lost…Oregon, Florida, Notre Dame, and Arkansas.

1 Alabama

2 Georgia

3 Penn State

4 Iowa

5 Cincy

6 Oklahoma

7 Michigan

8 Oregon

9 Ohio State

10 BYU

11 Michigan State

12 Oklahoma State

On the bubble:

13 Arkansas

14 Texas

15 Kentucky

What a Saturday of college football! In part I think I watched twelve games and part of the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 loss to the pathetic Chicago Cubs.

Before I get to OU’s 37-31 road win at K-State..I’m giving out my No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 helmet stickers.

No. 3 goes to Texas running back Bijon Robinson who is back on my Heisman watch list after his scintillating performance over TCU on the road. I sincerely hope the OU linebackers understand what they have in front of them next Saturday in Dallas. The tackling will need to be much better than it was in Manhattan.

No. 2 goes to Cincy QB Desmond Ritter who got his team a Top 15 resume win on the road in South Bend against Notre Dame. Kudos to that young man and the entire Bearcat program.

No. 1 goes to Auburn quarterback Bo Nix who was one of the very reasons beyond El Boutte that I picked LSU to win in Death Valley. Bo Nix after being benhed last week for his abysmal performance against Georgia State and then being benched again last night for a period of time responded with one of the guttiest performances I’ve seen in a while in college football.

Nix brought his team back from a 13-0 hole on the road in the toughest stadium in the country to be playing a road game. LSU fans are noriously nasty. I wouldn’t surprise me a bit if most of them have ‘Hang Mike Pence’ T-shirts in their trucks. But Bo Nix on this night was my Player of the Week in college football.

His father was crying in the stands as the final seconds ticked off and it was a reminder of what competition is supposed to look like in college football beyond the transfer portal and NIL deal.-

I gotta tell you…it put a lump in my throat. You saw in the father’s face how tough the past week was for the entire Nix family.

Now…OU’s 37-31 road win over K State. First off it was Lincoln Riley’s first win over Wildcat coach Chris Klieman… so that’s a positive.

In fact I would describe most of the second half as positive with the exception of Tyrese Robinson’s boneheaded personal foul penalty which gave K State the opportunity for that last kickoff return touchdown. Stupid football plays won’t get it done in Dallas. Just an incredibly stupid football play. There’s a time and a place to hit someone in the mouth. That wasn’t the time.

As Pat Jones said to Garrett Limbrick back in ’88 when his team choked in Bedlam, ” Son…you can’t play like an unchained idiot out there.”

Otherwise mostly positives:

Spencer Rattler was sharp and played like the best quarterback in the Big 12.

Kennedy Brooks ran like he did two years ago before missing last season to COVID precautions.

Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line played its best game of the year. I think it helps that Raym and Morris now have more defined roles at center and tackle.

Gabe Brkic was excellent as usual.

WR receiver Mike Woods continues to evolve and Marvin Mims became a factor again in the offense.

Jaden Hazlewood’s block on the goal line took out three Wildcats and enabled OU to score an impressive late rushing touchdown.

Lincoln finally seems to be of the thought Eric Gray is a finesse runner and receiver outside the the tackles while Kennedy Brooks will be the main guy between the tackles running back.

It was nice to Jeremiah Hall see get involved carrying and catching the ball again. He needs to be a sigfificant piece of the offense moving forward. I would love to see the wheelhouse route out of the backfield in Dallas for an early touchdown.

I thought Brandon Willis made a few big catches as well. Spencer Rattler will need both Brandon and Austin Stogner to bring their best games of the season in Dallas in the Red River Rivalry.

For all of you who booed because Caleb Williams didn’t replace Spencer Rattler last week…how did you feel when Caleb couldn’t catch a somewhat tough snap on the one yard-line and in essence gave K State four points. Would you have booed him if this game was in Norman?

The game in Texas like it used to be back in the Wilkinson, Switzer, and Stoops days will literally be the crossroads game for this OU football season.

The one thing which I cling to most is that Texas got gashed on the ground to the tune of 330 rushing yards in their loss to an Arkansas team which got tossed around like little girls in Athens yesterday.

It should be a great game and possibly a preview of the Big 12 Championship Game at Jerry’s World showcasing the two best quarterbacks in the conference in Spencer Rattler and Casey Thompson.

I would think OU will be somewhere around a Vegas 2.5 favorite. Spencer Rattler has played in this game…Casey Thompson hasn’t. That’s where I get the 2.5 point spread otherwise I would call it pick em’. You’ll recall Spencer had a few Bo Nix moments last year in Dallas which caused Lincoln to sit him for a bit of time.

The last positive is that despite not hitting on all clyinders—this OU team to date has shown an ability to make plays late in games in tight fit one possession games. Plus, OU has the best placekicker in college ball. So there’s that.

BOOMER!

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