🏈 It's Nebraska week!
✌🏽Happy Monday, friends. Let’s ride.
🤔 Trivia: How many times did OU and Nebraska meet in the Big 12 Championship Game? [Answer in footnotes]
💭 Wrapping up Western Carolina
Just as we all expected, Oklahoma crushed Western Carolina on Saturday. The level of competition was a huge step down from Tulane, but the Sooners played a more polished game.
Spencer Rattler’s play was especially encouraging, making smarter throws and trusting his array of receivers. 👉🏽 Click here to read my 10 takeaways from the game, which was sent out to paid subscribers on Sunday.
🗣 Postgame talk
A few interesting quotes from the Sooners’ postgame media availability on Saturday.
Lincoln Riley, head coach
On team’s response from last week: “For us, it was a battle against ourselves.
Our team was much more mentally in tune to play four quarters and, I think, you saw that.”On Spencer Rattler: “He was more patient. He had a mindset to just go execute and really never got off that. That's what the best ones do.”
Alex Grinch, defensive coordinator
“I think the key thing that we walk away from the game with is knowing that we got a lot of guys opportunities to play, some by design, some obviously as a result of the score.”
On Perrion Winfrey: “I think we expect more from him that way to not just get in the backfield, but to make plays. You know if you're senior we know it's a contract year for you (👀). And when I say that bluntly, it's a contract year.”
Spencer Rattler, quarterback
On improving from last week: “When we got in the facility on Monday, even on Sunday, the vibe was uncomfortable.
We knew what we had to do. We were challenged this past week and came out here today and executed our plays, went through the reads, played hard for four quarters.”
Jadon Haselwood, receiver
On program’s history with Nebraska: “I mean, I did hear when I was a kid that Nebraska was like a big rivalry and stuff like that. But I feel like it's a big game because it's the next game. We're gonna prepare the same. We're gonna prepare the same as if we're playing Texas. We're going to prepare the same as if we play who we played tonight.”
📈 OU moves to No. 3
The Sooners moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Top 25. The Sooners are in front of both No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Iowa, both of which upset the likes of Ohio State and Iowa State, respectively, over the weekend.
The Sooners rank only rank lower than No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia.
Full poll: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Clemson, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Cincinnati, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Notre Dame, No. 13 UCLA, No. 14 Iowa State, No. 15 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Coastal Carolina, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Arizona State, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 21 North Carolina, No. 22 Auburn, No. 23 BYU, No. 24 Miami (FL), No. 25 Michigan
Fun fact: The last time OU was ranked No. 3 the week it played Nebraska? 2000. I think something really cool happened at the end of that season.
🔋 Big 12 Power Rankings
Aside from TCU’s win over Cal, it was a fairly dreadful week for the conference. New rankings:
Oklahoma (2-0, Last week: 1): The Sooners came to play in Week 2, beating up on Western Carolina. Next up is Nebraska.
TCU (2-0, Last week: 6): The most impressive win might actually belong to the Horned Frogs, who beat Cal over the weekend. TCU's Zach Evans had a massive day on the ground with 190 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas State (2-0, Last week: 3): Kansas State overcame Southern Illinois 31-23, but starting quarterback Skylar Thompson is out indefinitely with a knee injury. It’s uncertain whether he’ll return to action this season.
⏰ On this day
On this day 13 years ago, Oklahoma beat Washington 55-14. One of the many highlights from the day was a Ryan Broyles touchdown reception that went for 77 yards. 🎥 Click here to watch.
🙏 Thanks for reading!
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Once again, thank you for stopping by. Until next time.
- Joe
Twice. 2006 and 2010. OU won both meetings.
Say you’re playing a crappy opponent, without saying you’re playing a crappy opponent.
Get that Heisman campaign going, Linc.
I mean this sincerely, this is the type of honesty you need from your leader.
Feel old yet?