Editor's note: This addition to OU Insider VIP is in Year 3 and is set to be the best series yet! Each week I put a bow on the previous game then transition to the upcoming game. Per usual, there will be “bold predictions” at the bottom and I implore you to add your ownin the message board replies. Each year the comments immediate ask “Where are the recipes, Grill Boy??”. Well, this year I am giving you just that! Each week I will be filming a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a dish that coordinates with the opponent for that week. This will live on theOUInsider YouTube Channel.

1. I am the resident Sunshine Pumper here, so we’re going to start with the defense so I don’t throw up on my laptop. The defense gave Oklahoma every opportunity to win. They were the best unit on the field Saturday. I would rank them as follows:

1. OU Defense 2. Tennessee Defense 3. Tennessee Offense 4. Second Half Offense 5. Pride of Oklahoma 6. Kickin’ for Chicken 7. First Half Offense

Oklahoma forced Nico into (by far) the worst game of his career. They forced turnovers. They stopped the run. They laid BIG hits. Outside of one bust/miscommunication with Billy Bowman and Kani Walker, I think that when you consider the opponent, it was the best defensive performance I’d seen in Norman in maybe a decade. That is a defense that you can win 10+ games with if you even have an average offense. Does that sentence sound familiar? It’s the exact opposite of what we said under Riley’s rule. I don’t know how it happened, but we’ve done about as clear of a one-eighty as possible. Can you think of another program in history that went from “elite offense, inept defense” to “elite defense, inept offense” in such a short amount of time? If you can, please tell me in the comments.

2. I let the offensive issues creep into point one and for that I apologize. But like Brent Venables in his presser, I just couldn’t help but start with the offense. He immediately brought up not taking care of the football. Brent knows that if the quarterback can just protect the ball, his defense can win games. He brought up the twelve points off turnovers. Tennessee would've called it differently in the second half, but bringing up the twelve points off turnovers in a ten-point loss stings.

He continued on the turnovers, “Our first interception, we just threw it up there, we just can’t make that mistake. Then we throw one behind the line of scrimmage, we don’t have that option on that play. That’s what is based on what the defense gave us. It’s a give all of the way. That’s one of those mistakes you just can’t make. Then coming off our own end zone, our own goal line, really poor execution, just really, really poor.”

I find it interesting that Brent leaned into the execution and not the playcalling or design. Because through all of the handwringing over the playcalling, none of the turnovers were seemingly the fault of play calls. He threw Jackson Arnold under the bus when discussing the last turnover when he dropped the bomb that that throw wasn’t even an option on that play with the defensive alignment. That begs the question. IS Jackson just a turnover machine that can’t count how many defenders are in a boxor see coverage downfield? OR has he had insufficient coaching? Is this a Jackson issue or a Kevin Johns/Seth Littrell/JP Losman issue? Which do you all think that it is?

3. Tennessee shifted to a run-heavy offense in the second half for two reasons. First, they trusted their defense to protect a lead. Second, Oklahoma’s defense was hitting Nico and hitting him hard. But don’t let people tell you that Michael Hawkins Jr. just scored some garbage time touchdowns against walk-ons in prevent. Pro Football Focus (don’t roll your eyes) shows that Hawkins Jr. was blitzed at a significantly higher rate that JacksonArnold. Now, this is no-brainer defense from anyone playing a true freshman QB in his first game action. But the fact of the matter is that Michael Hawkins did not panic. He did not make the mental errors. He did not give the ball to the defense. Also? Tennessee had not allowed a touchdown on defense THIS SEASON, so they wanted to keep that strea kalive. I’m writing this after Hawkins has been named the starter. I think it’s probably the easiest decision of Brent’s career. The real question is if he’ll lost any sleep to the “what if” of Hawkins starting the Tennessee game. Do YOU think we win that game if Hawkins starts? Personally I think we might have had a better chance.

4. We had suspected that Brent Venables and Zac Alley were holding things back for this matchup. I said on the Under The Visor pregame podcast that Brent knew that this was a fork in the road for his career. That if Tennessee came in and dropped 40 on his defense in year three, that the hire would be seen as a failure nationally and the extension would be mocked. Conversely, with a win, OU could be proven correct with the hire and the extension. Well, here’s a little-know fact about forks, they have more than two tines. There was a third outcome that had the national narrative discussing Brent turning OU’s defense into an elite unit, while all of the blame was laid at Jackson Arnold and/or Seth Littrell’s feet. This is why I disagree with any hot seat discussions about Brent. I think he gets at least another coordinator hire before any of those discussions even start. Also,what IF the crazy rumors are true that the Arnold camp wanted Lebby’s RPO to stay in place? What IF Hawkins being the starter allows Littrell to call like he did at Indiana, North Carolina, and North Texas? Michael Hawkins Jr. could save multiple people’s jobs if he goes out there and shines. No pressure, kid.

5. With this last point I could pile on the offense, I could back the bus up and drive back over Jackson Arnold, heck I could even compliment the defense further. Instead, I want to shout out the fans and the in-game entertainment folks. Holly Rowe said that they measured the loudest decibels of any SEC game in four years. Campus Corner was a-buzz. Tailgating was slammed.The drone show was great. At every step Oklahoma looked like they belonged in the upper-echelon of gameday experiences. That’s why it breaks my heart that the team wasted the opportunity to catapult this program forward. This felt all too similar to the basketball team getting dominated in the last home bedlam. The LNC was the most full it had literally ever been due to free (weather related) admission. Then the team laid an egg. I know winning is hard. I know your best atmospheres and crowds often come when the opponent is the toughest. But the men’s side of this athletic department is letting golden opportunities come and go far too often. Here’s to hoping this changes moving forward, because the fans deserve it.

1. Many nationally have turned this contest into a “winning coach gets to keep his job” scenario. I think that speaks to more of the engagement-bait culture than it does actual reality. I also think (as evidenced often by this board) that people get fire-happy when things go wrong. With that being said, I think Littrell needs to have a good day on Saturday. If Brent’s defense goes out and balls out in a loss again, I’m not sure what a path forward looks like for the leadership of the offense. Auburn’s offense was allergic to possessing the football against Arkansas. They threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. So as the SEC’s best turnover team comes to town, maybe the offense won’t have to score? (I jest)

2. On KREF, we do a segment called “Under the Radar,” where Tyler McComas and I pick our under-the-radar players for the week. Two weeks ago, I said Sammy Omosigho because he was flashing some NFL-prospect-type stuff. Well, he just shot up the “most important players” list when Kendel Dolby’s ankle went the wrong way. I had OUInsider Stats and Info (Jesse) dig up Sammy Omosigho’s snap count from Tennessee once Dolby went down. They (he) said 31 snaps. That’s significant for a true sophomore in a highly demanding position against one of America’s top offenses. Remember Gavin Freeman’s speedy return touchdown early last year? At 6’2, 225 lbs, a freshman, Omosigho escorted Freeman stride for stride into the end zone after lead blocking down the sideline. That size with that speed could be lethal at the Cheetah position.

3. I want to talk about the wide receiver room as it pertains to sophomore CB Jacobe Johnson moving to the offensive side of the ball. Now, I know that he’s a“natural,” as Brent Venables said in his presser on Tuesday, and I know that he was a prolific receiver at the Mustang nearby. But am I allowed to have a conspiracy theory in this article? I don’t think they make this move if Jackson Arnold is still the triggerman. I think they know that Michael Hawkins can get the ball out quickly to a bubble and he himself likes to run outside. I think that they know that Jacobe understands how defenses want to stop those plays and they’re trusting that he can use leverage and physicality to help. In short? I think they care more about his blocking than they do about his route-running. Does that mean I think he can’t run routes? Of course not. But I think they see his immediate impact as a run game or quick pass game difference maker. I had floated that to some on Monday. Well, Brent was asked about the move on Tuesday, and after he talked about Tennessee’s first play of the game and Texas’s first play of the 2021 Red River Shootout, he added this little tidbit, “Jacobe’s aggressive and he’s physical, and he knows what an offense is trying to do just say on a perimeter screen and what kind of leverage he needs to maintain.” I don’t think my theory is all that crazy.

4. The change from Jackson Arnold to Michael Hawkins Jr. will grab the headlines, but you could have Prime Shane Falco back there, and he would struggle with the absolutely putrid running game that currently resides in Norman, Oklahoma. Much has been made of the decision-making on RPO, the insanity of repeating inside zone runs, the running backs lacking the ability to make a man miss, the offensive line not moving bodies, and the truth is it’s all of it. If one person misses a block or makes the wrong read, or if there’s a bad snap, it can all implode. The problem? It’s CONSTANT. Oklahoma ran the ball 34 times for 36 yards. That’s a whopping 1.1 yards per carry. I don’t remember the last time it was that bad. Auburn held Arkansas to 183 yards on FIFTY-FIVE carries. That’s good for 3.3 yards per carry. So help is not on the way if you’re the Sooners from a challenge perspective. I remember Barnes taking one to the field side for a chunk gain around the outside. The next play Burks took a sweep to the opposite field side for a chunk gain around the outside. I’m hoping they see something there that will get the run game going. Because it is dead on the operating table right now 5. Before the season, many people who don’t understand that free safety and strong safety are two different positions were calling for Robert Spears-Jennings to be replaced by Peyton Bowen. Brent and Zac Alley have gone with morethree safety looks, so the young dynamo is getting plenty of run. But RSJ has elevated his game in a way even 918-biased people like myself didn’t even see coming. Among the Sooners he ranks second to All-American Danny Stutsman in tackles (with 13 more than the third most), he’s tied for the team lead ininterceptions and fumble recoveries while solely leading the team in forced fumbles. His 29 tackles tie for fourth most in the loaded SEC. Oh, and he’ll absolutely lay the wood to you given the opportunity. Many forget that when he was in high school in Mansfield, TX Jeff Lebby was recruiting him to Ole Miss asa wide receiver. He didn’t start playing any defense until the back end of his senior year for Broken Arrow. It stand to reason that he’s still nowhere near his ceiling. With Kendel Dolby sidelined and a Hugh Freeze offense that features theSEC’s receiving TD leader in Keandre Lambert-Smith waiting on Saturday, we’ll need RSJ to continue his best impression of Roy Williams. Lambert-Smith had a gaudy 156 yards and 2 TD’s on only 5 catches against Arkansas. He scored the Tigers’ only points of the game.

Each week we’ll see if anyone can nail the exact score. If you do, I’ll try and get Parker to sendyou some mens skincare product or something. (I have not discussed this with him, but I can atleast try!)Thank God nobody got the score prediction correct. That would’ve been upsetting

.My prediction:

OU 17, Auburn 14

Throughout the season, we will make bold predictions for each game. I will start us off, and then I will ask the members to give me some bold predictions in the comments. From the member-produced predictions, I’ll add any that came true to the next article.

Best predictions from last week: NONE - It was so bad that nothing bold happened in a positive way.

1. Oklahoma sacks Auburn 5 times. Trace Ford came alive against Tennessee, Gracen Halton and R Mason Thomas are both Top 10 in the SEC in sacks, and we even had a David Stone sighting against the Vols.

2. The SEC’s REC TD leader is held out of the end zone. Brent can usually take away what you do best and make you win in other ways. Keandre Lambert-Smith leads the SEC in receiving TDs, but I think he’s blanked in this one.