The Oklahoma Sooners are used to high-flying offense powered by good to great quarterback play. For 25 years, the Sooners have had some of college football’s best quarterbacks.
From [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag] in 1999 to [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] last year, Oklahoma’s passing era is chock-full of prolific passers. In 2024, we get to witness another quarterback hoping to establish himself alongside those great quarterbacks of the last quarter century: [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].
Arnold was the subject of much offseason discussion, with most of the rhetoric focusing on the four turnovers from his first career start in the Alamo Bowl. Few people talked about the 360 passing yards or the two touchdown passes. But such is life.
Arnold had a good first start in his journey as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. He was 17 of 25 for 141 yards and four touchdowns and carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards. Sooners head coach Brent Venables lauded Arnold’s efficiency in the 51-3 win over Temple.
Take away the four drops and a throwaway and Arnold’s adjusted completion percentage was 83.3%, according to Pro Football Focus.
Arnold showed off his high level arm on his first throw of the game where he took a big hit, but stood tall in the pocket and delivered a strike to Jalil Farooq on an over route.
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On Arnold’s first touchdown to Bauer Sharp, he showed off an ability to throw on the move with great touch.
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And he showed great touch and accuracy on each of his touchdown throws to Deion Burks.
It was the first time an Oklahoma Sooners quarterback had thrown four touchdowns in their first home start since Heupel did back in 1999. It’s easy not to get overly excited about yardage total, but Oklahoma didn’t need Arnold to do a whole lot in the win over Temple. When a team has a defense like the Sooners do, you don’t need your quarterback to play superhero ball. Arnold made the throws he needed to make and gave the Oklahoma Sooners an opportunity to put points on the board.
As a team, Oklahoma needs to be better on third downs. Some of the issues were due to down and distance and Arnold looking to get the ball out quickly. The other issues were related to wide receivers catching passes short of the first down marker or dropping it altogether.
It wasn’t a perfect start for Arnold, even he’d tell you that, but it was a good one. It provided a strong foundation for the Oklahoma Sooners to build their offensive philosophy.
This week against Houston will give the Sooners an opportunity to roll out more of what Seth Littrell’s offense should look like. And with better offensive line health, leading to better play, Arnold and the Sooners should continue to light up the scoreboard.
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