In reality this turned out to be a one touchdown game if you don’t take the points off the board on OU’s successful first two point conversion attempt. Vegas called it a one touchdown game and that’s exactly what it turned out to be in a second half of which OU won 12-6 with Michael Hawkins taking over for a shell-shocked Jackson Arnold.
The positives….
1 OU’s defense was superb from the beginning of this game to the end. They overcame all the first half blunders by Jackson Arnold and in reality only gave up 23 points on the night. The OU defense also created two recovered sack fumbles which in a normal game would have at the least translated into +10 points if not for the play of Jackson Arnold.
2 Special teams for the most part were solid…especially the coverage teams and the punt team.
3 MICHAEL HAWKINS was excellent…. he looked like he belonged on the big stage under the bright lights. Deion Burks, Jasquez Pettigrew, and the other receivers held on to the ball and shined with Hawkins in the second half. Plus… RB Devontae Barnes, OC Seth Littrel is going to have to continue to explore ways to get Barnes the ball in space since it appears Nic Anderson still has an injury issue.
The negatives….
1 Jackson Arnold was unplayable deep into the second quarter. The coaching staff is going to have to make some tough decisions this week. I’m not giving up on Jackson, but you cannot have those mistakes and be a competitive team at this level of play. I felt for him. It was one of the worst QB performance at OU in this century. I would liken it to Landry Jones’ woeful performance in the 2011 Bedlam Game in which Landry gifted 21 points to O State on a rainy night.
2 The offensive line wasn’t all that much better. The coaching staff’s decision of Michael Hawkins should be made easier given how his speed will help alleviate some of the O line’s woes.
All in all though…I’m proud of the OU effort. They competed their asses off for sixty minutes and never surrendered even through one of the worst QB performances in contemporary OU football history.
On that light I’d go….1 Landry Jones vs. O State in 2011, 2 Jackson Arnold vs. Tennessee, and 3 Paul Thompson in 2005 vs. TCU.
Here’s the deal though…two words…’Get Better’ this week in practice and go see if you can beat a struggling Auburn team.
If you’re a competitive person like I am…this is when you find out about yourself and your inner core.
Boomer!
MJ