The college football season is all about learning. You have to learn about the things you do well, but you’ve also got to learn from your mistakes.
The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff showed they are a group that learns. In the loss to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag], the Sooners had the ball needing one first down to win the game. The Sooners ran it on first and second down and didn’t get much traction, setting up a 3rd and long. [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] decided to run the ball, forcing the Jayhawks to burn their third and final timeout.
The Sooners failed to get the first and had to punt. Kansas marched right down the field to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Fast forward to Saturday’s game, and the Sooners would once again have the ball needing a first down to win the game. This time they would be without their fifth-year senior quarterback, and instead, it would be true freshman Jackson Arnold.
The offense once again faced a third and long and had a decision to make.
Do they do what they did a few weeks ago and run the ball, forcing the [autotag]BYU Cougars[/autotag] to call their third and final timeout, or would they go for the throat?
This time, they went for the throat. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] would take a quick drop and hit Jalil Farooq on a slant pass, who fought his way for the first down to seal the game.
[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was asked about that and talked about how they learned from their past mistakes. “I think it’s fair to say we learned,” Venables said. “Let’s go win the game. Faith in the play caller to put them in the position there.”
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Venables on the third and 8 and the decision to throw: “I think it’s fair to say we all learned… Let’s go win the game… Faith in the playcaller to put them in the position there.”
Obviously referring to the situation Lawrence a few weeks ago. #Sooners
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) November 18, 2023
That seems like a minor deal, but that is a huge deal. That shows great leadership and growth from this young staff. But it gets even better from there. Not only did they go for the throat, [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] even said Arnold changed the routes from what he saw from the defense.
More: 5 Takeaways from the Sooners 31-24 win over BYU.
Jayden Gibson says Jackson Arnold audibled to slants on that third down to Farooq. He saw the coverage and felt Jalil had an advantage on the outside.
What a call from a freshman. #Sooners
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) November 18, 2023
That is a big-time play by a true freshman quarterback and another reason why Sooner fans are so excited for the future.
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