Opening line has OU at +7.5

One of the biggest games in Norman in a long time. Some would argue this is OU’s most important game in decades. A win in the first SEC matchup against a highly ranked Tennessee team would make a statement. A loss and doubt creeps in whether OU can really truly compete at the highest level in CFB.

I don’t think a loss to a top 10 Tennessee team means anything other than…we lost to what may end up being the best team we’re going to play this year in what is essentially a rebuilding year for the offense. 5 of our remaining 9 games are against top 10 teams and 1 of the 4 that isn’t is number 16. Given the state of the offense, if we win a few of those games this will have been a good first season in the SEC regardless of what happens next weekend.

I don’t think a loss to a top 10 Tennessee team means anything other than…we lost to what may end up being the best team we’re going to play this year in what is essentially a rebuilding year for the offense. 5 of our remaining 9 games are against top 10 teams and 1 of the 4 that isn’t is number 16. Given the state of the offense, if we win a few of those games this will have been a good first season in the SEC regardless of what happens next weekend.

This is true.

Opening line has OU at +7.5ESPN is giving Tenn a 71.2% chance of victory. I sure hope it's at least close.

Opening line has OU at +7.5

wow, that actually seems like a pretty decent value imo.

Yeah, this is definitely not the biggest game in a long time. With this offensive line, WRs, and a young QB, this OU team is more likely a 6 to 9 win team. Tennessee has looked really good, and I'd be really surprised if OU can hang, but hopefully things can come together and OU wins the turnover battle to hang in it. Still, OU has played in far more important games, including national championships and playoffs, than this one in the last few decades.

Yeah, this is definitely not the biggest game in a long time. .

this is by far the biggest home game since Ohio st in 2016 and ND before that .. add to that the 1st SEC conf game .. and yeah it is Huge .

and ticket prices reflect that ..

What do we know about injuries if anything yet for this week?

We are gonna need 2-3 defensive TD's I feel like & no major mistakes by JA to have a chance. Unless he puts on a superman cape all a sudden we just don't have a line to block.

What do we know about injuries if anything yet for this week?

We are gonna need 2-3 defensive TD's I feel like & no major mistakes by JA to have a chance. Unless he puts on a superman cape all a sudden we just don't have a line to block.

well this is the first time we get the SEC required injury report on thursday ..... but the thought is that Anderson and Dolby will be back and Hickman is a maybe ..

College Gameday in Norman this Saturday. Any guesses on who the guest picker will be? Maybe CeeDee Lamb? Blake Griffin?

College Gameday in Norman this Saturday. Any guesses on who the guest picker will be? Maybe CeeDee Lamb? Blake Griffin?Barry Switzer.

Boz, Lana Del Rey or Chet Holmgren are my guesses.

Trae Young makes a lot of games too.

I forgot that Lana Del Rey said she was a big OU fan. Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon Drummer) and Patty Gasso would be other good guests.

Does anyone know of any OU specific bars in OKC that are doing anything for the OU-Tennessee game this weekend?

I will say the recent no rain has the field looking rough.

I will say the recent no rain has the field looking rough.

Norman in general is looking rough because of the recent drought - not a good look for our SEC visitors but alas not anything we can change..

I will say the recent no rain has the field looking rough.

I wonder what the issue is using sprinklers?

I will say the recent no rain has the field looking rough.

But not as rough as the qb play, lol.

Hot take over reaction is that Jackson Arnold is a total bust and likely done at OU. Littrell needs to be fired immediately but JA is a turnover machine.

We have the literal opposite of Lincoln Riley but at least his games were always exciting to watch albeit frustrating. 6 wins will be a struggle at this point with several blowouts to be expected from here.

I wonder what the issue is using sprinklers?

While it hydrates my yard, well water doesn't have all the nutrients that rain water has to green up the grass quite as good as rain. You just don't get the exact same results from sprinkler water than you do rain. I guess they could use a ton of fertilizer and chemicals to supplement the sprinkler water maybe.

Well water sure makes my tomato plants grow better than watering them with city water.

I questioned the Seth Litrell hire from the get-go. I understand that the administration was still probably healing from the burn by Riley so they went with a safe, home-grown hire. But he was fired from North Texas for his lack of offense. I just thought OU needed to make a splash hire at OC especially going into the new league, not trying their hand at an unproven, or already failed coach.

The piecemeal offensive line is not working.

Jackson Arnold has lost the luxury of having a long leash. He's a paid professional raking in $1M in NIL money. With this new era of NIL comes the scrutiny of being a professional player. NIL has changed my perspective on the leeway these kids have historically received. Since the Alamo Bowl last season to now, Arnold is a turnover machine. I'm not saying I'm ready to give up on him, but I also saw great potential in his backup.

It is possible for five-Star players to not work out. We've had some five-star QB recruits not work out, but that's not unique to the QB position. Some players simply just don't pan out. Arnold was a great QB in high school, but that doesn't always pan out in college like we all hope it will. That being said, he probably would be better if he had an OL that could actually block and give him time so he's not constantly running around trying to force throws, but he could protect the football better.

Hawkins provides an element that can help our QB play overcome our abysmal offensive line and lack of running game. He was very flashy, made some great throws on the run, and was fun to watch. I think we saw a preview of our next QB.

In this day and time and playing in the SEC now, if there's no real improvement we need to ditch Litrell after his first season and get that splash hire.

I absolutely LOVE the defense.

I agree with all that say the offensive play calling is really bad. And the QB play has been also. But the OC's playbook is smaller when the O-line can't keep the defense out of the backfield for more than 2 seconds. Often not that long. Defenses just push this line around.
The one thing the OC could do is rely more on quick, short passes. But good defenses will stop that if it's all you can do.
Deep routes aren't going to happen because there's not time. Trick plays like reverses or RB passes aren't possible for the same reason. We should have a better OC. No doubt about that. But this year I'm not sure how much difference it would make. Pat Jones's very common quote "It's not the Xs and Os, it's the Jims and Joes" is fitting in the case of this O-line.

I feel like we would have been fine had Lebby stayed or we brought in a better hire. Decision was made to stay in house with Littrell probably for continuity with JA but it looks like a horrible decision now. It's multi-faceted but we have one of the worst offenses in the entire FBS.

Kinda makes you wonder if offensive recruiting is about to take a major hit & what talent we do have starts hitting the portal. There's really no excuse to be as bad as we are. We look like a team from the mid 90's.

Edit: Double post, board is lagging.

Does OU win 2 SEC games this year?

I questioned the Seth Litrell hire from the get-go. I understand that the administration was still probably healing from the burn by Riley so they went with a safe, home-grown hire. But he was fired from North Texas for his lack of offense. I just thought OU needed to make a splash hire at OC especially going into the new league, not trying their hand at an unproven, or already failed coach.

I don't have any qualms with the Littrell criticism, but your Littrell story is mostly OU fan fiction rage. Littrell took a moribund UNT program and led them to more success they'd had in a long time. A lot of it happened when Oklahoman Mason Fine was the QB. Littrell was fired because UNT couldn't win bowl games, but before Littrell was there, UNT didn't make bowl games. Littrell also had offensive success as the offensive coordinator at Indiana and North Carolina. He has a track record. So, it's fine to think Littrell is doing a poor job, particularly due to the lack of execution, but you don't have to make stuff up to make the argument.

Personally, I think it's hard to fully evaluate Littrell considering (a) Arnold seems to possibly be a bust (he wasn't a Littrell recruit), (b) the offensive line lacks talent and is deeply injured (much of this blame lands with Bedebaugh), and (c) the injuries at wide receiver are devastating (only 1 of the top 5 WRs remains). I don't think the play calls have been the problem (unless you want to argue that it requires too much for Arnold to evaluate on plays), but the execution has been bad. The only hope is that (a) Hawkins can be better, (b) the offensive line gets healthier and is able to develop some cohesion and continuity, and (c) some young WRs like Pettaway step up. I definitely don't think firing Littrell during the season would serve any purpose, especially considering there's no logical heir to take over the offense.

I don't have any qualms with the Littrell criticism, but your Littrell story is mostly OU fan fiction rage. Littrell took a moribund UNT program and led them to more success they'd had in a long time. A lot of it happened when Oklahoman Mason Fine was the QB. Littrell was fired because UNT couldn't win bowl games, but before Littrell was there, UNT didn't make bowl games. Littrell also had offensive success as the offensive coordinator at Indiana and North Carolina. He has a track record. So, it's fine to think Littrell is doing a poor job, particularly due to the lack of execution, but you don't have to make stuff up to make the argument.

Personally, I think it's hard to fully evaluate Littrell considering (a) Arnold seems to possibly be a bust (he wasn't a Littrell recruit), (b) the offensive line lacks talent and is deeply injured (much of this blame lands with Bedebaugh), and (c) the injuries at wide receiver are devastating (only 1 of the top 5 WRs remains). I don't think the play calls have been the problem (unless you want to argue that it requires too much for Arnold to evaluate on plays), but the execution has been bad. The only hope is that (a) Hawkins can be better, (b) the offensive line gets healthier and is able to develop some cohesion and continuity, and (c) some young WRs like Pettaway step up. I definitely don't think firing Littrell during the season would serve any purpose, especially considering there's no logical heir to take over the offense.


Does OU win 2 SEC games this year?

OU needs to beat Auburn and South Carolina. Losing by 10 points to the #6 team in the nation is not the disaster some are claiming, but none of these wins will come easy. OU will have to take them.

I don't have any qualms with the Littrell criticism, but your Littrell story is mostly OU fan fiction rage. Littrell took a moribund UNT program and led them to more success they'd had in a long time. A lot of it happened when Oklahoman Mason Fine was the QB. Littrell was fired because UNT couldn't win bowl games, but before Littrell was there, UNT didn't make bowl games. Littrell also had offensive success as the offensive coordinator at Indiana and North Carolina. He has a track record. So, it's fine to think Littrell is doing a poor job, particularly due to the lack of execution, but you don't have to make stuff up to make the argument.

Personally, I think it's hard to fully evaluate Littrell considering (a) Arnold seems to possibly be a bust (he wasn't a Littrell recruit), (b) the offensive line lacks talent and is deeply injured (much of this blame lands with Bedebaugh), and (c) the injuries at wide receiver are devastating (only 1 of the top 5 WRs remains). I don't think the play calls have been the problem (unless you want to argue that it requires too much for Arnold to evaluate on plays), but the execution has been bad. The only hope is that (a) Hawkins can be better, (b) the offensive line gets healthier and is able to develop some cohesion and continuity, and (c) some young WRs like Pettaway step up. I definitely don't think firing Littrell during the season would serve any purpose, especially considering there's no logical heir to take over the offense.

He was a .500 coach at North Texas. 5-8, 9-5, 9-4, 4-8, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 -- these are his wins and losses -- only 3 winning seasons. I think it was probably more than goose eggs in bowl games that got him fired.

He was 4-8 as OC at Arizona.
He was 4-8 in 2012 as OC at Indiana, 5-7 in 2013.
He was 6-7 in 2014 as OC at NC, 11-3 in 2015.
This is one winning season from 2011 to 2015.

That's his track record. Hardly offensive success, as you say.

Again, hardly a splash hire.

Brush up on your numbers before you start calling out fan-fiction.

OU needs to beat Auburn and South Carolina. Losing by 10 points to the #6 team in the nation is not the disaster some are claiming, but none of these wins will come easy. OU will have to take them.

Well Vegas only has them winning 3 more games. Auburn who is awful, Maine and South Carolina. They need to beat LSU or Missouri and go 7-5 or 8-4 . I think 8-4 would be consider a good season.

He was a .500 coach at North Texas. 5-8, 9-5, 9-4, 4-8, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 -- these are his wins and losses -- only 3 winning seasons. I think it was probably more than goose eggs in bowl games that got him fired.

He was 4-8 as OC at Arizona.
He was 4-8 in 2012 as OC at Indiana, 5-7 in 2013.
He was 6-7 in 2014 as OC at NC, 11-3 in 2015.
This is one winning season from 2011 to 2015.

That's his track record. Hardly offensive success, as you say.

Again, hardly a splash hire.

Brush up on your numbers before you start calling out fan-fiction.

Again, just cherry-picking evidence to make your point while ignoring context. UNT had one winning season in the last 11 seasons before Littrell. He was a big success for their program. He had a lot of offensive success at programs who win very little.

Again, just cherry-picking evidence to make your point while ignoring context. UNT had one winning season in the last 11 seasons before Littrell. He was a big success for their program. He had a lot of offensive success at programs who win very little.

Context is not needed. As OC or head coach, he only had four winning seasons and only two of those winning seasons had more than seven wins.

Numbers don't lie.

OU has higher standards than that, and rightfully so.

He was a .500 coach at North Texas. 5-8, 9-5, 9-4, 4-8, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 -- these are his wins and losses -- only 3 winning seasons. I think it was probably more than goose eggs in bowl games that got him fired.

He was 4-8 as OC at Arizona.
He was 4-8 in 2012 as OC at Indiana, 5-7 in 2013.
He was 6-7 in 2014 as OC at NC, 11-3 in 2015.
This is one winning season from 2011 to 2015.

That's his track record. Hardly offensive success, as you say.

Again, hardly a splash hire.

Brush up on your numbers before you start calling out fan-fiction.

I'm not saying he is Lincoln Reilly, but I think the 6-7 seasons were both 6-6 with a bowl loss. Looks like he took North Texas bowling 6 years out of the 7 he was there (left UNT before the bowl game in 2022) and lost all 5 bowls he coached. Not sure who ever did better there. Maybe Hayden Fry.

Littrell isn't a Nepo Hire. He is a capable football coach who is working with personnel challenges. Offensive line appears to be either low talent or injured; receivers are injured; quarterback has underperformed. He has in the past been able to get a team playing better through those type challenges. The NIL and Transfer Portal era, plus the looming salary cap that should be more fully explained after the class action settlement is announced in the coming months, are wild cards that can't be explained away with current info.

I think this is the most volatile time in college football history. Hiring based on coaching skills that will probably be as important in the future as they have been in the past is about the only guideline to follow, How those skills fit in the upcoming "professional player era", that will probably change on a monthly basis, is a mystery to us all, IMO.

Context is not needed. As OC or head coach, he only had four winning seasons and only two of those winning seasons had more than seven wins.

Numbers don't lie.

OU has higher standards than that, and rightfully so.

+1000
SL is not the answer

Context is not needed. As OC or head coach, he only had four winning seasons and only two of those winning seasons had more than seven wins.

Numbers don't lie.

OU has higher standards than that, and rightfully so.

Winning 50% of your games at UNT after taking over a 1-11 team with a long history of losing is actually an impressive accomplishment. But I know you're just going to double down with "numbers don't lie, bro" arguments so let's move on. And I am not even arguing Littrell is good or should be retained after the season. I would like to see what happens with Hawkins and/or if oline/WR health improves. We're going to learn a lot on Saturday. Huge game for the season.

Something needs to be done with the NIL money. Was happy to learn that players would get paid; that isn't the case.

Think about this, if you're a linemen out there risking your chance to make it to the next level (NFL, UFL, CFL) why should you put your career on the line 'blocking' for a player making $1 million in NIL money.

You would have thought that a system could been figure out where 'all players' shared in NIL money, while one player is raking in money that should IMO be shared with the team.

They should have figured out where 'ALL PLAYERS' shared in NIL money instead of a few. The NIL with 'no shared money' will have a negative impact on most teams. A million for one player; this IMO will throw the collegiate game into a totally different light.

Along those lines I bet Arnold's NIL boosters are real salty

It would be one thing if he wasn't the highest ranked recruit OU has ever had but with that comes big time expectations & million dollar money now.

To have one of the worst offenses in all FBS injuries or not there is really zero excuse it's not like there isn't still plenty of talent. The offense went back 3 decades this season.

Something needs to be done with the NIL money. Was happy to learn that players would get paid; that isn't the case.

Think about this, if you're a linemen out there risking your chance to make it to the next level (NFL, UFL, CFL) why should you put your career on the line 'blocking' for a player making $1 million in NIL money.

You would have thought that a system could been figure out where 'all players' shared in NIL money, while one player is raking in money that should IMO be shared with the team.

They should have figured out where 'ALL PLAYERS' shared in NIL money instead of a few. The NIL with 'no shared money' will have a negative impact on most teams. A million for one player; this IMO will throw the collegiate game into a totally different light.

I'll stir the pot a bit but were they not already getting paid with scholarships? I mean having your $20,000 a year college paid for, free room and board, free meals is a pretty big deal is it not?

i mean the lack of looks SL got after two back to back 9 win seasons at North Texas should have been the sign... the fact that he wasn't able to turn that immediate into at least an OC job at a top tier program was always a huge red flag to me

I'll stir the pot a bit but were they not already getting paid with scholarships? I mean having your $20,000 a year college paid for, free room and board, free meals is a pretty big deal is it not?

i mean, they were already getting paid in Football even not including all the things you mentioned. it was just hushed and done covertly. NIL just made it open, and allowed for it to help other sports.

I'll stir the pot a bit but were they not already getting paid with scholarships? I mean having your $20,000 a year college paid for, free room and board, free meals is a pretty big deal is it not?

Considering the money that football players bring in to the university, a scholarship and meals is chump change. I don't think NIL is perfect yet, but it's been absurd young people have been prohibited from making money off their own Name, Image, and Likeness. Donors can be mad, but you can never guarantee any player is going to work out. Maybe prices will come down some as donors realize this.

Something needs to be done with the NIL money. Was happy to learn that players would get paid; that isn't the case.

Think about this, if you're a linemen out there risking your chance to make it to the next level (NFL, UFL, CFL) why should you put your career on the line 'blocking' for a player making $1 million in NIL money.

You would have thought that a system could been figure out where 'all players' shared in NIL money, while one player is raking in money that should IMO be shared with the team.

They should have figured out where 'ALL PLAYERS' shared in NIL money instead of a few. The NIL with 'no shared money' will have a negative impact on most teams. A million for one player; this IMO will throw the collegiate game into a totally different light.

plenty of the linemen are getting paid a ton ...

He was a .500 coach at North Texas. 5-8, 9-5, 9-4, 4-8, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 -- these are his wins and losses -- only 3 winning seasons. I think it was probably more than goose eggs in bowl games that got him fired.

He was 4-8 as OC at Arizona.
He was 4-8 in 2012 as OC at Indiana, 5-7 in 2013.
He was 6-7 in 2014 as OC at NC, 11-3 in 2015.
This is one winning season from 2011 to 2015.

That's his track record. Hardly offensive success, as you say.

Again, hardly a splash hire.

Brush up on your numbers before you start calling out fan-fiction.

does the OC at Arizona, Indiana or NC handle the defense too? W/L record isn’t always a great indicator of how successful an OC is. I looked at the stats then they announced SL as the OC. He had good offenses at all those stops, especially in the second season at each stop.

you can be critical without omitting pertinent information. No offense but making a page long post acting like the win loss record is the only indication of a good OC does make you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Context is not needed. As OC or head coach, he only had four winning seasons and only two of those winning seasons had more than seven wins.

Numbers don't lie.

OU has higher standards than that, and rightfully so.

okay. Just stop. Seth may turn out not to be the answer long term. But you clearly don’t know ball if that’s the hill you’re going to die on.

Winning 50% of your games at UNT after taking over a 1-11 team with a long history of losing is actually an impressive accomplishment. But I know you're just going to double down with "numbers don't lie, bro" arguments so let's move on. And I am not even arguing Littrell is good or should be retained after the season. I would like to see what happens with Hawkins and/or if oline/WR health improves. We're going to learn a lot on Saturday. Huge game for the season.

Yeah that guy really doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about or does and just has an ax to grind against Littrell. I don’t know if he’s the answer either and he definitely deserves some blame for how they’ve played but not all of it.

That said, there have been people that wanted to fire BV as DC, Kevin Wilson, and every coach on every successful staff we’ve had and most of those hot takes were way dummer than this guys. If things don’t improve, I think anything is on the table at the end of the season but let’s see what they can do with Hawkins at QB for a few games.

THIS IS THE SEC You have to do better and be better than ever before. A good OC isn't going to cut it. You need the best of the best. Everything thinks OU defensive is the best it's been in a long time. I think there are 7 maybe 6 teams currently in the SEC that have better defensive numbers and are ranked higher on defense than OU. Were not in the Big 12 anymore. Like Colin Cowherd said who I really don't care for but like he said this could turn into a Nebraska situation all over again if we don't demand greatness.

Hawkins officially named the starter last night, wow that was quick. BV had his mind made up already.

Only question now is where does Arnold transfer & who will the the OC next year. This season may set us back multiple years, hard to foresee Arnold being a total bust as high as he was ranked but here we are.

But really it seems our last 2 coaches have only understand one side of the game & the other has suffered tremendously.

Hawkins officially named the starter last night, wow that was quick. BV had his mind made up already.

Only question now is where does Arnold transfer & who will the the OC next year. This season may set us back multiple years, hard to foresee Arnold being a total bust as high as he was ranked but here we are.

But really it seems our last 2 coaches have only understand one side of the game & the other has suffered tremendously.

Ya Arnold will be at TCU next year. I think he doesn't come back in. He looked pretty shook against Tennessee.

I would never wish badly on anyone but the way Hawkins was playing with abandon, there is a good chance Arnold will get back in because Hawkins gets injured.

Yeah that guy really doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about or does and just has an ax to grind against Littrell. I don’t know if he’s the answer either and he definitely deserves some blame for how they’ve played but not all of it.


Just like you think you know what you're talking about, I think I know what I'm talking about and I'm not going to passively argue with you about it in other posts.

Krutka, I understand where you're coming from and what you're saying and while I do not completely disagree, I do think numbers are important and tell a big part of any story. I think we can blend both of our arguments into one. Most of my argument is that I would have liked to have seen more of a splash hire -- lure an OC from a highly successful program and not someone having just been fired. I would have liked to have seen Brent try and get Kotelnicki from Kansas, Stein from Oregon, Hinshaw from UCF, Grubb from Washington, or Ludwig from Utah -- those are proven guys in big leagues. I didn't like the SL hire at the beginning and thus far he hasn't shown me any reason to love him but one thing's for sure is that we don't have the luxury of time for him to learn as he goes. But as of now, SL hasn't handled this adversity very well with Arnold being on the field.

This is a big picture problem that starts with the head coach. He's hyper focused on the defense and this offensive problem has been a clear oversight of him; I mean he's ultimately in charge of this whole thing. While Texas was bolstering and spending a bunch of money on its O-Line starting a couple years ago in a move to go into the SEC with the bang they have, Oklahoma has spent most of its money on defense -- which seriously is glorious given the lack of any defense under the leadership of the weasel (Lincoln Riley.) Brent needs to make sure there's balance and that's why I'm critical of the SL hire. Is he big time enough to lead the offense alone since Brent is such a defensive guy? That remains to be seen but so far it just doesn't look good.

That being said, Just maybe this spark with Hawkins will change mine and a lot of our minds. When Hawkins came in during the last game you could see that the entire offense seemed to have woken up and played with the heart that had been sort of missing. So maybe Seth had been crutched with having to start and be loyal to Arnold until he was pulled by Venables. We'll see how he does with Hawkins at the helm and see what adjustments he makes in play calling. But one thing's for sure, I don't want to see him calling run plays right up the middle half as much as we saw the last game. Without a good OL, he's just running our RBs into a brick wall over and over again.

Another glaring problem is that we do not have a dedicated QB coach. We've got some assistant working with the QBs that came from Duke, but clearly our QB play has regressed. Can't fault Litrell for that totally since the HC deals with the personnel, but he needs to be like "hey Brent, I need ....." Maybe he has, who knows. But getting a QB coach in here needs to be priority number one. We were spoiled with the weasel and his QB development skills which was followed by Lebby. After addressing the QB situation, he then needs to spend money on getting some key pieces of an O-Line in here for next season.

Boomer Sooner everyone.

Just like you think you know what you're talking about, I think I know what I'm talking about and I'm not going to passively argue with you about it in other posts.

Krutka, I understand where you're coming from and what you're saying and while I do not completely disagree, I do think numbers are important and tell a big part of any story. I think we can blend both of our arguments into one. Most of my argument is that I would have liked to have seen more of a splash hire -- lure an OC from a highly successful program and not someone having just been fired. I would have liked to have seen Brent try and get Kotelnicki from Kansas, Stein from Oregon, Hinshaw from UCF, Grubb from Washington, or Ludwig from Utah -- those are proven guys in big leagues. I didn't like the SL hire at the beginning and thus far he hasn't shown me any reason to love him but one thing's for sure is that we don't have the luxury of time for him to learn as he goes. But as of now, SL hasn't handled this adversity very well with Arnold being on the field.

This is a big picture problem that starts with the head coach. He's hyper focused on the defense and this offensive problem has been a clear oversight of him; I mean he's ultimately in charge of this whole thing. While Texas was bolstering and spending a bunch of money on its O-Line starting a couple years ago in a move to go into the SEC with the bang they have, Oklahoma has spent most of its money on defense -- which seriously is glorious given the lack of any defense under the leadership of the weasel (Lincoln Riley.) Brent needs to make sure there's balance and that's why I'm critical of the SL hire. Is he big time enough to lead the offense alone since Brent is such a defensive guy? That remains to be seen but so far it just doesn't look good.

That being said, Just maybe this spark with Hawkins will change mine and a lot of our minds. When Hawkins came in during the last game you could see that the entire offense seemed to have woken up and played with the heart that had been sort of missing. So maybe Seth had been crutched with having to start and be loyal to Arnold until he was pulled by Venables. We'll see how he does with Hawkins at the helm and see what adjustments he makes in play calling. But one thing's for sure, I don't want to see him calling run plays right up the middle half as much as we saw the last game. Without a good OL, he's just running our RBs into a brick wall over and over again.

Another glaring problem is that we do not have a dedicated QB coach. We've got some assistant working with the QBs that came from Duke, but clearly our QB play has regressed. Can't fault Litrell for that totally since the HC deals with the personnel, but he needs to be like "hey Brent, I need ....." Maybe he has, who knows. But getting a QB coach in here needs to be priority number one. We were spoiled with the weasel and his QB development skills which was followed by Lebby. After addressing the QB situation, he then needs to spend money on getting some key pieces of an O-Line in here for next season.

Boomer Sooner everyone.

We can both think we’re right but there’s nothing to argue about if you’re using the win loss record of mostly subpar football programs as the sole indictment of the success of an OC. It’s just an ignorant way of evaluating performance or it’s intentionally dishonest. SL’s offenses were very good for each of the schools he coached at (which became nationally relevant in offense when they were previously abysmal) and showed a ton of improvement over what he started with (generally making a massive leap from season 1 to season 2). His offenses at UNT were good as well and he was one of the most successful head coaches in that trash program’s history…but even if you disagree with that, the lack of translation to wins is a bigger indictment on his ability as an HC than an OC.

Someone on soonerscoop posted a chart showing the improvements his offenses made over a year or two at other stops that better illustrates my point. I’ll try to find a way to post it here. Like everyone else here, I don’t know if he is the answer at OU but to act like he hasn’t been a very good OC elsewhere, especially within the context of the programs he’s coached for, is just ignorant.

I would never wish badly on anyone but the way Hawkins was playing with abandon, there is a good chance Arnold will get back in because Hawkins gets injured.

Aside from diving into the endzone, he wasn’t playing with abandon as much as he was just running for his life. I can’t remember the stat exactly but PFF showed that Tennessee starting blitzing a lot more after Hawkins went in (which frankly makes his performance in that situation more impressive).

Hawkins officially named the starter last night, wow that was quick. BV had his mind made up already.

Only question now is where does Arnold transfer & who will the the OC next year. This season may set us back multiple years, hard to foresee Arnold being a total bust as high as he was ranked but here we are.

But really it seems our last 2 coaches have only understand one side of the game & the other has suffered tremendously.

I don’t think the assumptions behind either of those two questions are a foregone conclusion until we see how the rest of the season shakes out. Either way, I think it’s probably a lock that one of the two, most likely JA, won’t be here next year.

If SL makes some changes, turns this thing around and we go 7-5 or 8-4 with this schedule, no one is getting fired. On the flip side, go 4-8 and no one’s job is safe nor should it be.

We can both think we’re right but there’s nothing to argue about if you’re using the win loss record of mostly subpar football programs as the sole indictment of the success of an OC. It’s just an ignorant way of evaluating performance or it’s intentionally dishonest. SL’s offenses were very good for each of the schools he coached at (which became nationally relevant in offense when they were previously abysmal) and showed a ton of improvement over what he started with (generally making a massive leap from season 1 to season 2). His offenses at UNT were good as well and he was one of the most successful head coaches in that trash program’s history…but even if you disagree with that, the lack of translation to wins is a bigger indictment on his ability as an HC than an OC.

Someone on soonerscoop posted a chart showing the improvements his offenses made over a year or two at other stops that better illustrates my point. I’ll try to find a way to post it here. Like everyone else here, I don’t know if he is the answer at OU but to act like he hasn’t been a very good OC elsewhere, especially within the context of the programs he’s coached for, is just ignorant.

Wins and losses matter, and to say they don't at all is just ignorant.

I don’t think the assumptions behind either of those two questions are a foregone conclusion until we see how the rest of the season shakes out. Either way, I think it’s probably a lock that one of the two, most likely JA, won’t be here next year.

If SL makes some changes, turns this thing around and we go 7-5 or 8-4 with this schedule, no one is getting fired. On the flip side, go 4-8 and no one’s job is safe nor should it be.

Fair enough. Hawkins might save some jobs. Praying we can salvage the season but if he's not the savior we so desperately need and we only get 4-5 wins because they completely mismanaged the offensive side & BV might not even be safe to your point.

Wins and losses matter, and to say they don't at all is just ignorant.

Saying wins and loses are the only stat that matters when you are only evaluating the performance of the coach who is responsible for the offensive half of the team is ignorant and shows that you don’t know ball, which is becoming very apparent the deeper you dig your feet in. I’m not sure what world you live in that has offensive coordinators coaching the defense as well at the division 1 level, but I’m sure as hell glad that’s not happening at OU. Offensive stats, performance and improvement through a coaches tenure are more important than wins and losses when evaluating an OC. Good offense with a terrible defense doesn’t always translate to a favorable win/loss record when you cant out athlete 90% of the league you’re playing in (ie. OU under Riley).

But hey! When all else fails 4 games into a coaches’ tenure after losing to the number 6 team in the country, hit the dumb fan panic button and fire everyone immediately!!! That’ll fix it! We can ignore the fact that SL has managed to improve offenses he’s coached throughout the first season with a significant jump in the second season for instant gratification!

Again, I’m not here to say SL is the answer long term but to act like all of the sudden he has a terrible track record and that we just hired some loser who went to OU and was on the staff for comfort’s sake is just ridiculous. The dude can coach offense or they wouldn’t have given him the chance and will do well again else where if he doesn’t work out here. I mean Josh Heupel sucked according to a bunch of fans too…right?

Fair enough. Hawkins might save some jobs. Praying we can salvage the season but if he's not the savior we so desperately need and we only get 4-5 wins because they completely mismanaged the offensive side & BV might not even be safe to your point.

It’s what you’ve got to go on. This is the earliest a true freshmen has ever started a game at QB for OU since at least WWII (Troy Aikman was the earliest previously but got the job a few weeks later during that season), so there’s definitely going to have to be some patience involved all around. I think JA just already wasn’t a quick decision maker at this point in his career and he just seemed completely shell shocked…Hawkins probably needs to work on knowing when to throw it away but he at least seemed to be willing to make decisions faster and is more elusive. But the Hawkins led offense scored 2 more TDs on Tennessee’s defense in a half than any other team has since the final week of the regular season last year and they dialed up the pressure on him vs what they were bringing against JA…so if they can retool the offense around him, put him in positions to easily be successful, drop the RPO stuff for a bit and be smarter with time management (ie. Stop running the no huddle stuff unless the offense finds a gear that it hasn’t been able to approach this season)…I think we have some reason for optimism. That said, it isn’t just him. The OL needs to play better and the WRs need to get healthy or have some young guys step up…he can’t do it by himself.

If the defense stays where it’s at, SL can get the offense to where it’s productive and we finish 7-5 or 8-4, that will have been a hell of a coaching job. 6-6 doesn’t save anyone but given the schedule and depending on how thise 6?loses look, it still may not be worth any mass changes. Like you, end up in 4-5 win territory and I think that Is dangerous ground.

Saying wins and loses are the only stat that matters when you are only evaluating the performance of the coach who is responsible for the offensive half of the team is ignorant and shows that you don’t know ball, which is becoming very apparent the deeper you dig your feet in. I’m not sure what world you live in that has offensive coordinators coaching the defense as well at the division 1 level, but I’m sure as hell glad that’s not happening at OU. Offensive stats and performance are more important than wins and losses when evaluating an OC. Good offense with a terrible defense doesn’t always translate to a favorable win/loss record.

But hey! When all else fails 4 games into a coaches’ tenure after losing to the number 6 team in the country, hit the dumb fan panic button and fire everyone immediately!!! That’ll fix it! We can ignore the fact that SL has managed to improve offenses he’s coached throughout the first season with a significant jump in the second season for instant gratification!


You must not have seen us struggle big time against the mighty defenses of Houston (249 total yards) and Tulane (349 total yards -- that's a little better). SL couldn't even put together a good offense for those teams. You call yourself a stat guy, but you've made your point more than once that wins and loses as stats don't matter to you one bit. We get it.

I love how your defense is to call someone ignorant, because that's pretty ignorant in itself. You love to call people ignorant across the website. I shouldn't have taken the bait, shame on me!

That would be cool if you would post a link to those offensive stats. I'd like to check those out.

Hey, I'm not going to argue. We are all upset about our Sooners.

See ya. . . . .

I'm not saying he is Lincoln Reilly, but I think the 6-7 seasons were both 6-6 with a bowl loss. Looks like he took North Texas bowling 6 years out of the 7 he was there (left UNT before the bowl game in 2022) and lost all 5 bowls he coached. Not sure who ever did better there. Maybe Hayden Fry.

Littrell isn't a Nepo Hire. He is a capable football coach who is working with personnel challenges. Offensive line appears to be either low talent or injured; receivers are injured; quarterback has underperformed. He has in the past been able to get a team playing better through those type challenges. The NIL and Transfer Portal era, plus the looming salary cap that should be more fully explained after the class action settlement is announced in the coming months, are wild cards that can't be explained away with current info.

I think this is the most volatile time in college football history. Hiring based on coaching skills that will probably be as important in the future as they have been in the past is about the only guideline to follow, How those skills fit in the upcoming "professional player era", that will probably change on a monthly basis, is a mystery to us all, IMO.

Agreed. It's way too early to make final judgement on Littrell. No one can win at UNT and he hasn't really had a fair shake yet at OU (depleted roster due to injuries, NFL, and transfer). How was his play calling affected by the o-line? Poor QB play? No healthy WRs?