The Oklahoma Sooners cruised to a 51-3 victory over Temple in their Southeastern Conference debut. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold threw four touchdown passes, three of which went to transfer wide receiver Deion Burks. Oklahoma’s defense dominated, forcing six turnovers and limiting Temple to just 197 yards of total offense.
What Went Well
- Dominant defensive performance. Temple had less than 200 total yards of offense. The Sooners recorded six sacks, recovered four fumbles, and had two picks. Of Oklahoma’s 51 points, 33 came off the six turnovers recorded by the defense.
- The defensive line. Yes, we bragged about the defense already, but the line deserves its own bullet point. The Sooners had complete control of the line of scrimmage from start to finish.
- Zero turnovers! That’s a great way to get the bad taste from the Alamo Bowl out of their mouths.
- Deion Burks was a touchdown machine. I’ve got some more thoughts about the receivers coming, but Burks was as good as we thought he would be. The best part is that after Farooq’s injury, Temple knew that Arnold would be looking for Burks and they still couldn’t stop him.
- Kendel Dolby showed why he won the position battle for the Cheetah position. He was a difference maker.
- Tyler Keltner brought stability to the kicking game. I’m not a big fan of the fact that the Sooners had to settle for three field goal attempts, but I do like that Keltner was 3-for-3, including a 50-yarder that he absolutely drilled.
What’s Concerning
- The offensive line may be worse than we thought. The Sooners never seemed to find a rhythm with the running backs and Jackson Arnold was sacked three times. Losing starting center Branson Hickman in the opening series certainly didn’t help matters. Hickman has an ankle sprain and will need to be examined further.
- Nic Anderson was missed. For all of the preseason talk we gave about Oklahoma’s receivers, the unit was a bit of a disappointment. Losing Farooq had a lot to do with that but Brenen Thompson and J.J. Hester struggled with drops.
- Jalil Farooq’s injury. The Sooners were already without Nic Anderson and now Farooq is out for six to eight weeks. What was thought to be a deep and talented receiver room may not be as deep as we thought it was.
- 1-12 on third down. Wow!! That’s awful, especially considering the competition.
- The running game never really got going. Yes, the Sooners had 217 yards on the ground but four different running backs, two quarterbacks, and a receiver carried the ball. Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barned combined for 48 yards on 11 carries.
The Future is bright
- Taylor Tatum! Four carries for 66 yards and a score. There’s really nothing else to say.
- Michael Hawkins Jr. is very talented.
Your Thoughts:
These are just my initial thoughts on Oklahoma’s victory over Temple. What do you think? What did I miss? Share your opinions in the comments below.
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Arnold played a good game, Barns looked good. Burks was very good. The D was impressive. Temples D was good.
Keltner was great. Sharp was solid.
The frustrating things were the receivers running routes on 3rd down on the wrong side of the sticks. WTH ?
At least 3 times they were short of the 1st because of that.
The line was a little embarrassing. Late in the game the calls weren’t coming in quick enough and backup guys were in disarray.
I loved the way we attack the ball though and cause TO’s.
I though we should’ve ran some draw plays as hard as Temple was pressing Arnold.
And the snap holder on extra points, WTH?
QB Great
RB Average
TE Good
Line Below Average
D Line Great
LB Good
DE Good
DB Good
K Great
I’m glad that you mentioned Sharp. I published this and then thought that I definitely should have included him. Five catches for 47 yards and a TD from that position were definitely encouraging.
The reports were accurate of what to expect. Haven’t seen a better OU defense in my lifetime.
Offensively, the OL was about what I expected. Running game was weak and JK was pressured with some passes. He did impress with accuracy, but some easy catches were dropped. No room for that in the SEC. The good news is that JK can run. He will have to scramble a lot in the SEC if the OL does not strengthen. Hawkins and Tatum are young electric players. Farooq loss is painful. Hopefully, Hickman is able to return quickly. He may have made the OL more stable last night.
The new FG kicker is a sight for sore eyes. He will win some games for us this year.
Venables’ young talent that got in late showed how hard they have been working on recruiting for 2026 and 2027. I do wonder how the portal will impact all of college football, because young players will continue to be recruited throughout their college careers. Ibsee nothing good about the portal. Transfers should have to sit a year in my opinion.