Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (2) brings down Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (17) 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.
The Oklahoma Sooners fell flat offensively last week against Tennessee, losing at home by a score of 25-15 in front of a national television audience. OU was kept in the game by an excellent defensive performance, but first-half turnovers and offensive ineptitude led to the loss.
Now, Oklahoma needs to regroup and get to 4-1 heading into the first of two bye weeks during the regular season. They’ll head to Auburn in week five, but the national media is discussing the Sooners loss to Tennessee.
In that vein, Oklahoma found themselves on USA TODAY Sports’ misery index following the loss against the Volunteers. College football writer Dan Wolken had this to say about the Sooners:
… the actual story here is Arnold. He completed just 7-of-16 passes for 54 yards, threw an interception and fumbled in the first half when the Sooners were within sniffing distance of the end zone. He got pulled for Michael Hawkins Jr., who wasn’t amazing but looked steadier and more confident in the second half. – Wolken, USA TODAY Sports
The Sooners need a steadier hand at the wheel as they continue to work through injuries at wide receiver and offensive line inconsistency. Hawkins proved more comfortable and has earned the trust from the coaching staff.
Oddly enough, OU’s opponent this week is also on the misery index, as Auburn is in the midst of a difficult 2024 season. The Tigers are 2-2, with losses to Cal and Arkansas, and desperately need a win on Saturday.
The reason you want Hugh Freeze to coach your program is to score points. That’s why you overlook the NCAA violations at Ole Miss, the inappropriate phone calls that got him fired and the general sense of phoniness that has made him college football’s version of Jimmy Swaggart over the last decade. It’s not a bad tradeoff, in theory. If you believe the entire sport is a cesspool, then Freeze is worth the bad publicity — as long as he’s winning. But in two years at Auburn, the cost-benefit analysis on Freeze has hit a snag. His team doesn’t win. It doesn’t score points. It isn’t entertaining to anyone, unless punting and committing an unusual number of turnovers (14 through four games) is your idea of a good time… Freeze version 2.0 just isn’t working in the SEC. And if you want to blame the quarterback position — neither Payton Thorne nor Hank Brown has looked the part — then you have to blame Freeze too. He’s had two years to improve that position, and so far there’s zero promise of a better future. – Wolken, USA TODAY Sports
Neither team is playing well offensively at this point, but the Sooners have displayed an excellent defense through four games. With a new starting quarterback in tow, as Hawkins takes over for Arnold, Oklahoma hopes the offense can find a spark and the defense can continue to shut down opposing offenses, starting with Auburn.
The Sooners and the Tigers will kick things off at 2:30 p.m. The game will broadcast on ABC.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze featured on USA TODAY Sports’ ‘Misery Index’
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Publish date : 2024-09-24 05:22:00
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