Postgame P: Bernie Sanders, melted chocolate and fair fare

As many of you are aware, I got married back in August.

It’s an enormous understatement to say that the experience of planning and executing our wedding was exhausting. Most all of you that are (or have been) married can relate. Now, don’t get me wrong — I wouldn’t have had it any other way. My wife is from a small town outside San Antonio, and I grew up in Nebraska. We met, dated and eventually were married in Oklahoma. Thus, we had folks from three different communities that all went to great lengths to celebrate us and our future life together, which left us feeling very grateful and blessed.

After a myriad of various pre-wedding festivities, we held our ceremony on the first Saturday of August. The following weekend, we drove up to Nebraska for a wedding shower, just days before we were scheduled to leave for our honeymoon. The shower took place at the church my father has pastored since its inception some eighteen years ago, and when you’re the pastor’s kid, apparently everybody knows who you are. I wasn’t cognizant of this until numerous church families that I had literally never met arrived at the shower with gifts and cards and well-wishes.

We drove back to Oklahoma with dozens of envelopes and packages in tow, and when we returned, we instantly had to begin preparations for our trip to Hawaii. Understandably, in the midst of wrapping up one trip and getting ready for another, there were a few things that got lost in the shuffle and forgotten. One such thing was a particularly delectable gift from a childhood neighbor. It was a bag of high-quality chocolate bark, studded with raspberries and almonds and accompanied by a thoughtful note. The note made it back to our apartment in a large basket with all of the other cards we’d received, but somehow the bag of chocolate bark ended up on the floor of my wife’s car underneath the passenger seat.

It wasn’t until we returned from Hawaii that we discovered the bag, and by that time, the chocolate had melted together into one heterogeneous, gloopy conglomerate. Unwilling to accept the fate of this delicious confection, I immediately took it inside and refrigerated it, determined to restore it to some semblance of consumable form. After several hours, I pulled it out of the fridge and was pleased to find that it had cooled into a very edible (and in fact quite appetizing) chocolate block. Over the next two weeks, I gradually enjoyed that entire chocolate block by chipping off one chunk at a time, and it was no less delicious than in its original packaged form.

As I began to consider what might be analogous to last night’s game, I thought of that chocolate bark. I certainly hadn’t expected to enjoy it in block form, and if you’d seen the block with your own two eyes, it had much less aesthetic appeal than the original product. But even so, it was ultimately the same chocolate, and it tasted like the same chocolate.

I can’t imagine any of you expected the Sooners and Cyclones to combine for 60 points in the first half alone. I can’t imagine you expected Iowa State to have two passing touchdowns of over 50 yards, and I can’t imagine you expected Oklahoma to become just the second team in the Matt Campbell era to drop a 50-burger against Iowa State’s iconic 3-3-5 defense. Especially over the first two quarters of play, it certainly didn’t look the way you expected a 30-point victory to look. But when the clock hit zeroes, it was still a 30-point victory.

The Sooners hadn’t defeated Iowa State by more than two possessions in the entirety of Campbell’s tenure. As we discussed this game throughout the week leading up to the matchup, one constant in the discourse was the cautionary observation that Iowa State would probably stay within striking distance. After all, it had become a perennial occurrence with the Cyclones. Instead, the Sooners reeled off 29 straight points to close the game and pitched a shutout in the second half, eventually prompting the deployment of the second-stringers for both teams.

So even though it didn’t come without a few ugly moments along the way, enjoy this win. It’s still the same chocolate. Anyway, let’s talk about the stuff that sucked.

— In the spirit of Bernie Sanders, I am once again asking what on God’s green earth is going on in the Oklahoma backfield. Marcus Major is a homegrown fifth-year senior who’s been patient and stayed loyal to the program, even when many in his position would have transferred by now. I want to see Marcus Major succeed. But it’s not happening. I would say the Sooners’ run game is suffering for lack of explosive plays, but more fundamentally, it’s suffering for lack of consistent positive gains. Major has not been good at making defenders miss, and that’s the main reason why Tawee Walker has been far more effective than Major. Walker isn’t making anyone miss; in fact, he’s not even trying. He’s just willing and able to go careening right through would-be tacklers. For the most part, the holes have been there for Major. He’s largely been unable to beat the one man that stands between him and a 10-yard gain as opposed to a 3-yard gain. We’ll dig into this more come the mailbag section, but I’m not thrilled about this backfield right now with Major as the lead dog.

— If you take away two plays, the Sooners succeeded in stifling the Iowa State offense for the majority of the contest last night. The problem is that you can’t take away two plays. A horrific mistake by Key Lawrence and a similarly egregious error by Billy Bowman allowed the Cyclones to turn what would have otherwise been two mundane first-down completions into long touchdowns. It didn’t hurt the Sooners last night, but give the wrong team that kind of momentum and you’ll be on the ropes in no time. Brent Venables promised that they’d clean up the mistakes on the practice field this week, and they’ll need to. Their schedule down the stretch is rife with opponents that won’t be as easy to bury with a pretty effortless 50-point effort.

— Dillon Gabriel was excellent, and more on that in just a minute, but there was one scar on the evening and it was a pretty bad interception in minus territory. That interception didn’t appear to be on Gabriel, as he had a pretty spirited conversation with Jalil Farooq as the two trotted off the field. Based on Gabriel’s frustration and demonstrative gesturing, it seems there was miscommunication between quarterback and receiver that led to the turnover. Again, all in all, it was a pretty forgettable blip on an offensively prolific evening for Oklahoma. But when you’re 5-0, ranked 12th in the nation and suddenly turning some heads across the country, everything matters. In that instance, the Cyclones didn’t have enough offensive firepower to punish Oklahoma for handing them the ball in outstanding field position. But better football teams will punish that type of mistake.

— Okay, let’s revisit the Dillon Gabriel conversation. He accounted for five touchdowns last night, giving him 19 total TD’s on the year to just three turnovers. He’s got the fourth-highest QBR in the nation and is hitting on 75 percent of his passes through five games. He’s crossed the 300-yard mark through the air in four of those five contests. Objectively, Gabriel is playing at an incredibly high level right now. Subjectively, I would argue he’s playing at a nationally elite level. Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr. and Jayden Daniels comprise the clear top tier right now, but Gabriel is playing as well as any other signal-caller in the country. And perhaps what’s most encouraging is that you’re starting to see the Sooners’ redshirt senior quarterback play with an edge. He showed off his fiery side last night, talking some smack when he truck-sticked an Iowa State defender on his first touchdown run. And after hurdling Cyclone defensive back TJ Tampa on his second rushing score of the night, Gabriel popped off the ground and let Tampa hear about it. He’s the straw that stirs the drink for this Oklahoma football team, both as a player and a leader.

— Remember the 2022 receiver class? Remember when the Sooners had Luther Burden, Talyn Shettron and Jordan Hudson committed? Seems like a fever dream these days. All three receivers ended up decommitting from Oklahoma, and the Sooners’ only signees in the class were a couple of late flips — two gentlemen by the names of Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson. Neither player caught a pass as a true freshman, as Anderson battled through injuries and Gibson struggled with drops. But as sophomores, the two freakishly athletic wideouts have made their presence known, and that’s putting it lightly. Anderson has five touchdown catches, the latest of which came on a 39-yard strike from Dillon Gabriel last night. Gibson hasn’t been as much of a regular in the end zone as Anderson, but he made perhaps the most impressive individual play of the contest Saturday, reeling in a fourth-and-7 throw from Gabriel and brawling his way through several Iowa State defenders en route to a 40-yard touchdown. Meanwhile, Burden is undeniably having a banner year at Missouri, where he’s actually leading the nation in receiving yards (644). But Hudson and Shettron have combined to catch just 13 passes this season. All in all, it seems as if the Sooners won the exchange.

— This defense is creating turnovers, and they’re not cheap turnovers, either. They’ve forced 12 of them through five games, which puts them well ahead of the fabled Alex Grinch Quota, and 10 of those turnovers have come via interception. Seven different players have recorded an INT, and Billy Bowman’s pick-six last night was the Sooners’ second of the year (Danny Stutsman housed one against Tulsa). Here’s what I find impressive: almost without exception this year, the Sooners haven’t had interceptions dropped in their lap. They’ve made phenomenal plays on the ball. For the first time in a long time, and I do mean a LONG time, the secondary looks like it might be one of the legitimate strengths of this football team. It’s been a liability at best and a cluster-you know what at worst for the better part of a decade. But the days of faceguarding down the seam appear to be buried in the annals of history. These Oklahoma defensive backs are well-coached, they’re athletic and they’re aggressive.

In this new addition to the column, Parker’s father, a known OU football doomer and Uncle Rico-esque former high school quarterback, speaks via in-game text messages on behalf of the fans who tend towards a nonconformist perspective on the Sooners.

Baffling busts: On both their touchdowns our safeties were in position but ran right past the receivers… what gives

Dad still rides with JFA: Dillon finally makes a decent deep throw to Nic Anderson for the TD… but then PAINFULLY underthrows Thompson and then Farooq in 2nd Q… He is SO inconsistent on the deep throws

EVERYTHING SUCKS: Missing field goals is bad… Allowing rushers to be unblocked is bad… Davis Beville still being on the roster is bad… Only scoring 50 points is bad… We took our foot off the gas in the third quarter… We could have hung 65 on them easily

On seven points that turned into two: Blocking a punt and then booting the ball out of the back of the end zone is bad… Easy six points… Trace Ford should have to run sprints all week… FALL ON THE BALL

keithppd: I don’t have any questions but I will say DG is unanimously the best QB in the Big12 heading into the Texas game. It wouldn’t even be close if he had a stronger arm.

I accept your non-question nonetheless. And I would agree with you. He does have his limitations and the ball doesn’t have elite zip coming out of his hand, but he’s become adept at playing within the confines of those limitations and compensating for them. The only remaining question I have about Gabriel is how he’ll respond when he’s thrust onto the big stage, because I would argue he hasn’t yet stepped onto the big stage as a collegian. It’s not as if he’s exclusively played in unimportant contests up to now, but there is no precedent on Gabriel’s resume for what awaits him next Saturday. He’s never played in front of a crowd that large, and he’s never played in a game with implications this significant. We’re going to learn a lot about the Sooners’ southpaw signal-caller down in Dallas.

bigmikey: Did Thompson get injured blocking on Tawee’s long run?

Yes, Brenen Thompson did come up a little gimpy after blocking downfield for Tawee Walker in the fourth quarter. But we did get to speak with Thompson in postgame availability sessions, and he didn’t show any impaired mobility when he ambled into the interview room. The Texas transfer was asked repeatedly about next week’s matchup and his unique perspective, and he repeatedly expressed his excitement to compete next week. It doesn’t seem as though anybody is counting on Thompson missing time, even during the week on the practice field. I fully expect him to be a go.

Alamanque: Special teams, specifically kicker/punter, big issues?

Josh Plaster’s only punt of the evening MIGHT have gotten 20 feet off the ground. It was not a picturesque boot. And Zach Schmit’s periodic struggles from medium range returned last night, as he yanked a 36-yarder wide left. In general, but especially this coming weekend against Texas, the Sooners can’t afford to give away free points or lose the field-position battle. Yes, there are issues here. Sooner Nation can only hope those issues don’t become costly.

Sooner_Maniac: If it hasn’t been asked, what fair food will you most definitely be eating Saturday? And what is one you have never had and want to try?

It is time for me to come clean: I typically don’t eat fair food on the day of the game. There’s simply no margin. If I don’t arrive at the fair by 7am, I end up stuck in standstill traffic trying to get into a parking lot for 60-90 minutes. And by the time my coverage responsibilities at the stadium wrap up, there’s really no convenient way to sample the fair fare. When I leave the bowl, I’m carrying a camera bag and tripod — which collectively weighs around 40 pounds — in one hand. I’ve got a still camera with a telephoto lens in the other. I’ve got a backpack slung up on my shoulders. I want to get to my car and ditch the equipment as fast as possible. And once I leave the fairgrounds, I can’t get back in without paying the admission fee. I know I have immeasurably disappointed some of you with this concession, but these are the facts surrounding my circumstances.

Hoodleehoo: Is it as simple as DG plays like a Heisman candidate at home, but struggles in true road games?

I’m curious as to what empirical evidence led you to even present this as a theory. The Dillon Gabriel that I know has thrown for 743 yards and accounted for seven total touchdowns in road games this year. The Dillon Gabriel that I know had a road passer rating of 150.9 last season (compared to 156.4 at home). The Dillon Gabriel that I know threw seven interceptions on the road as a true freshman in 2019 — and has thrown all of five since. So no, it is not that simple.

oklasooners1434: Why are they forcing major? It’s pretty clear Walker is the best back.

I agree with this assessment, and I simply do not know why the Sooner staff insists on using Major as the lead back. I am mindful of the fact that DeMarco Murray has forgotten more about the running back position than I will ever know. But when I see one guy averaging 5.1 yards per carry and the other averaging 3.9 yards per carry, I struggle to understand why the latter individual continues to pace the team in touches out of the backfield. The running back picture is murky heading into the Red River Shootout, and one can only hope that is by design. Because if what we’ve seen through five games is an accurate representation of the state of the Sooners’ backfield committee, I don’t love their prospects of establishing an offensive rhythm next weekend.

Ok-Boomer: Is this team just not going to have a strong run game this season?

I have my fears and I have my suspicions. But I think we’ll find out all that we need to know based on the distribution of touches — and the collective success — within the backfield come next Saturday.

jackGmain: You might not be able to answer this question, but I’ll try. Against SMU we saw Billy Bowman give up a huge play because he thought he had an INT, tonight it happened twice as well from the safeties and they were nearly identical to the SMU game. What’s up with that and are safeties just looking at the QBs eyes and not WRs? Are they getting too antsy to make a play on the ball?

I have no idea what the hell Key Lawrence was doing on the first of Rocco Becht’s pair of long touchdown passes. There’s no remotely valid excuse for how he played that ball. Similarly, I’ve watched the second Cyclone touchdown a couple dozen times over, and I can’t figure why Billy Bowman took the angle that he did. It was entirely unlike Bowman, who’s proven time and again to be a very cerebral and savvy safety. In postgame availability sessions, Bowman himself called it an “eye discipline” issue. Whatever the case, I’m willing to write off Bowman’s mistake as a one-off gaffe, and I think Lawrence is poised to see his snap count diminish as Peyton Bowen gets more and more comfortable. I believe strongly that Bowman and Bowen are the best two safeties on the roster, and coverage busts will be very few and very far between if that pair is patrolling the defensive backfield.

Rufnex1: Why is Bowen not starting and on the field at Safety all the time? Is he hurt or something? He’s one of our top 3 defensive players on the team.

How about it? Right on cue, we have a Bowen question. And it’s a good one. Bowen did play more snaps than all but seven Oklahoma defenders last night, so clearly, the level of trust is continually increasing. He’s also earned more than a few brownie points with his play on special teams, as he’s already become the first Sooner to block two punts in a season since 2004. Reggie Pearson’s injury and Lawrence’s inconsistencies have jointly created a pretty sizable crack in the doorway for Bowen, and it does feel like he’s truly on the verge of throwing the door open with emphasis. True freshmen don’t play substantial snaps in the Red River Shootout unless the coaching staff trusts them to an immense degree. But there are two true freshmen that have earned that degree of trust, at least for my money. You ought to see a lot of Bowen and PJ Adebawore next weekend, and I will have plenty of highly justified questions if those two aren’t on the field early and often against the Longhorns.

taylorladwig11: The big hitter. Who ya got and by how much. OU/UT.

We’ll break this matchup down from every imaginable angle over the next six days and my opinions will no doubt evolve throughout the week, but my early thought is that Texas has the upper hand. Were we sitting in the same room right now, I’m sure many of you would be pulling out the bag of tomatoes, but it would be intellectually dishonest for me to act as though Oklahoma is the better team on paper. Admittedly, the game isn’t played on paper, but the most conspicuous difference between these two football teams right now is in the run game. Oklahoma hardly has a rushing attack, and Texas has one of the nation’s strongest. The Sooners need a coming-out party for Gavin Sawchuk or the performance of a lifetime from Tawee Walker, because if they’re one-dimensional on offense at the Cotton Bowl, I don’t like their chances.

Brenen Thompson, on Dillon Gabriel’s impassioned play: “I think it was a little personal game, not only because it was Iowa State, but just being that the game’s always been close. And we knew they had a great defense, probably one of the best in the nation. So I think for him, he wanted to go prove that point. I think he’s been doing so good. I think he needs to be on the Heisman list, at least. He’s been a great leader, a great role model, and I couldn’t be happier for Dillon.”

I believe this officially makes Thompson and Jalil Farooq the founding members of the Dillon For Heisman campaign. Thompson got behind the Cyclone secondary in the second quarter for a 54-yard gain, which would have gone the distance had Gabriel hit him in stride. Even so, Thompson adjusted to the underthrown ball and snagged a memorable first reception in an Oklahoma uniform — in program history, only Joe Mixon and Marvin Mims have covered longer distances with their respective first catches. Until last night, Thompson had yet to touch the field in 2023 due to a nagging ankle injury, and Gabriel’s willingness to go deep to a receiver that isn’t even listed on the depth chart speaks volumes to his confidence level. It also speaks volumes for Emmett Jones, who deserves much of the credit for the transformation of Oklahoma’s receiver room.

Danny Stutsman, on what improvement from 2022 to 2023 looks like: “Looks like 5-0. We’re playing really good football.”

Stutsman looks and sounds more and more like Teddy Lehman with each week that goes by. Of the injury that sidelined him in the fourth quarter, he joked that it was a stubbed toe, so his infamous sense of humor hasn’t departed. But on the field and in front of the media, it’s easy to see that Stutsman’s mentality has shifted as much as anybody’s. He doesn’t pontificate in interviews anymore; he’s concise and businesslike in getting straight to the point. In many ways, he’s the thermostat for this program — much like the team as a whole, he’s not above having a little bit of fun when the time and the place deems such an exploit appropriate. But the primary focus is the task at hand.

Jayden Gibson, on the team’s ability to rally from adversity: “We’re just not on none of that soft stuff. Nothing. We’re going hard. Someone punches us in the mouth, we finna punch them back. I’m not going to say any specific games; I just remember some games we got punched in the mouth, man. I feel like we never recovered last year. This year I feel like we can recover from anything, man.”

To hear this quote come from Jayden Gibson’s mouth is incredibly fitting, as there’s arguably no player that embodies the shift more than him. Last season, he was mentally immature, and that translated to dropped passes and pointless skirmishes with opponents. This year, he’s caught virtually everything thrown his way, and he’s channeled his aggression into healthy intensity on the football field. Consequently, he’s gone from an afterthought on the depth chart to a key cog in the passing attack, much as Oklahoma has gone from an also-ran in 2022 to a trendy sleeper CFP pick midway through 2023.

Jeff Lebby, on several spectacular competitive catches from his receivers: “You gotta have it. Got to have it. Even when you know a guy is not wide open… put a ball in a place where a guy can go make a play. And Dillon has done a nice job of that, but our guys on the perimeter have done a really good job of making those plays.”

This is perhaps one of the most conspicuous areas of improvement across the entire roster in 2023. The Sooners have a bevy of receivers that can — and do — make plays on the ball when Gabriel gives them opportunities. Thompson provided perhaps the best illustration of this reality on Saturday night. On the Sooners’ preseason depth chart, he was listed at 5-foot-10 and a couple ribeyes short of 160 pounds. Yet despite his slight frame, he had the tenacity to fend off two Cyclone defensive backs and reel in the deep ball from Gabriel. It’s not just the walking trees like Gibson and Anderson that are making competitive catches right now; it’s everybody.

Brent Venables, on whether it’s true that we wouldn’t learn anything about this team until the Texas game: “I would completely and totally disagree. For some people, that's the benchmark. I get that… They’re not handing out any trophies for being 5-0, but we’re where we wanted to be. We’ve made some improvement in some areas that we knew we had to get better; we still have a long way to go, but this is a group of guys that are willing to put in the work to do it.”

What you hear Brent Venables saying is something that shouldn’t need to be said: the success of the Sooners’ program isn’t measured relative to the success of any other program. Regardless of what happens in the Cotton Bowl, the mission remains the same. Whether the Sooners are 5-1 or 6-0 one week from today, you’ll hear the same message proclaimed from this staff and players: nobody is satisfied. And that’s the mark of a program with a championship identity. Though everyone in the locker room has the express desire to curb-stomp Texas, the Sooners’ Super Bowl isn’t six days from now. They’re playing for larger goals; the Cotton Bowl is simply a checkpoint along the way.

— So we kind of already touched on it, but Texas actually looks like a football team that might be legit. On the road in Austin, Kansas only trailed 20-14 midway through the third quarter, but the Longhorns kicked it into fifth gear down the stretch and pulled away for an eventual 40-14 victory. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the program’s statement road win over Alabama was no fluke; what remains to be seen is whether the Horns can keep this thing on the tracks for a full 12-game season. One thing I mentioned on the postgame podcast that’s worth reiterating is that the outcome of the Red River Showdown likely won’t be decisive, because I’d bet good money that Oklahoma and Texas meet again in Arlington for the Big 12 championship. Here’s what that means: you ought to celebrate or commiserate accordingly next weekend. Should the Sooners prevail, keep in mind that they’ll likely have to beat Texas a second time come December. Should the Longhorns prevail, operate with the expectation that the Sooners will get a shot at redemption if they handle their business down the stretch.

— Texas A&M absolutely throttled Auburn from start to finish last weekend, which left little doubt that Georgia would have their way with the Tigers in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Instead, Auburn caught the back-to-back defending champions sleepwalking, and very nearly handed the Bulldogs their first loss in nearly two full years. However, Brock Bowers came to the rescue with a late touchdown reception to break a deadlock and hand Georgia a 27-20 win, underscoring two realities in the process: 1) Bowers himself is legitimately one of the most dominant tight ends of the 21st century, and 2) Georgia is as fallible as anybody in the upper echelon of college football right now. Pound for pound, Michigan might be the best team in the nation, but the Wolverines haven’t faced a serious challenger yet, so even they are tough to gauge. What’s becoming apparent is that if ever there were a year in the CFP era that a team like Oklahoma could make a run out of nowhere, it’s this year.

— Because USC is a private school, they’re not obligated to disclose the salaries of their employees. Thus, we do not know and may never know how much money Alex Grinch is stealing from the Trojan administration on a weekly basis. Late in the third quarter Saturday, USC held a 48-21 lead over Colorado behind six touchdown passes from Caleb Williams. With 1:43 to play, the scoreboard read USC 48, Colorado 41, and had the Buffs bothered to pay any mind to clock management down the stretch, they may well have had an opportunity to tie the game in regulation. Instead, Colorado had to try an onside kick to try and complete the comeback, and as with most onside kicks, their attempt was unsuccessful. The Trojans escaped Folsom Field with another quintessential Riley/Grinch victory, a barn-burner ultimately decided by the wondrous play of a borderline superhuman talent at quarterback. And per the usual, Lincoln Riley remains thoroughly unwilling to acknowledge a reality that’s blatantly obvious to everyone else with a pair of eyes…

The honors go to Cajun Brian and the LSU Tigers, who have a Heisman-caliber quarterback in Jayden Daniels and are giving him absolutely no help whatsoever. On the road in Oxford, the LSU offense racked up 637 yards of total offense and hung 49 points on the scoreboard. And at night’s end, none of it mattered, because Ole Miss put up 706 yards against a porous Tiger defense and scored in the final seconds to eke out a 55-49 victory. On the heels of an appearance in the SEC title game last season, expectations were sky-high for the Bayou Bengals heading into 2023, but their College Football Playoff hopes are already dead just five games into the season. Harold Perkins is one of the freakiest football players in the nation, but he’s essentially the Bugatti in the Baton Rouge trailer park. Heck, at this point, there’s no guarantee that LSU knocks off Missouri next weekend — Eli Drinkwitz somehow has his Tigers at 5-0, by the way. LSU is an elite football institution with elite tradition, elite uniforms and an elite home-game environment. And yet Kliff Kingsbury might as well be the man pacing the sidelines for this program right now. One of their defensive tackles decided to try and fight a fan after game last night, which is about as much tenacity as an LSU defender showed all evening. Their wet paper towel of a defense has now officially surpassed Brian Kelly’s accent and Brian Kelly’s dancing as the most embarrassing thing about the program.

Have an outstanding work week, folks, and we’ll talk again next Sunday.