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We predicted 10-2 and a Big 12 title for Texas. Are those expectations still accurate?
We are halfway through the season. The Texas Longhorns sit at 5-1 ranked No. 9 in the nation. Continue reading “Resetting expectations for the Texas football team in 2023”
The eyes of the nation were all on the Sooners and the Longhorns as they had the most watched game of the weekend.
The eyes of the nation were on the [autotag]Cotton Bowl[/autotag] on Saturday, literally. The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns played for the 119th time in an all-time classic, and Sooner Nation reacted accordingly on social media.
Outside of the blowout from 2022, the Sooners and Longhorns have been all-time games across the national landscape. The run of classics began in 2018 when Oklahoma came all the way back just to lose on a walk-off field goal. Then there was the four-overtime game in 2020, the 28-7 comeback game in 2021, and now this one.
The Sooners led for much of the game, but the Longhorns’ defense did a great job in the second half stifling the Sooners’ offense. The Longhorns took the lead with 1:17 remaining, and then what [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] did next will go down in the rivalry’s history.
LOOK: Best photos from the Sooners 34-30 win over Texas.
Gabriel led the Sooners on a 75-yard drive in 1:02 to take the lead and seal the win. That game was the most watched game of the weekend, totaling 7.87 million (On3).
The Red River Shootout certainly lived up to its name last week as Oklahoma fought off Texas to win the highly anticipated showdown. As a result, the Sooners moved up to No. 5 in the AP Top 25, and the victory had some of the highest TV ratings of the college football season so far. – Nick Schultz, On3 Sports
The ironic part was all offseason these two teams heard from the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] and its commissioner about how they don’t run the conference. They had to hear about it not being that big of a loss when they leave next year for the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was in attendance
The other eight Big 12 schools that played combined for 4.681 million views. So, as the old saying goes, numbers never lie.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.
While Oregon State and Washington State plan their futures, another Pacific Northwest school could join the Big 12.
Realignment isn’t over. The wheel is still spinning. We know that the Pac-2 — Oregon State and Washington State — are trying to find the right conference arrangement and sift through a lot of legal matters connected to the splintering of the Pac-12. Lawyers and administrators are heavily involved in figuring out how Oregon State and Washington State can potentially recoup Pac-12 revenues in a reconfigured conference with Mountain West schools. While all of that gets sorted out, however, another Pacific Northwest school might be making a move toward another Power Five conference.
Seth Davis of The Messenger reported Monday that the Big 12 and Gonzaga have resumed negotiations about potentially bringing the Zags into the conference. Gonzaga might enter the Big 12 as early as next year. This has people talking.
Let’s see what the reaction is in the college sports world:
See where Colorado ranks among Big 12 schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 college rankings
Colorado’s final football season in the Pac-12 is about halfway through and we’re already looking ahead to what next year will present in the Big 12 Conference.
CU, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12 after this academic year.
Although the Big 12 isn’t as academically impressive as the current Pac-12 is with Stanford and Cal, Colorado’s decision to leave was needed from an athletics perspective.
Colorado, in fact, will soon become one of the Big 12’s best universities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 college rankings. Here’s where CU ranks among its 2024 Big 12 counterparts:
For his efforts in the Red River Rivalry win over the Texas Longhorns, Dillon Gabriel was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
There have been some incredible performances in the 119-game history of the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag]. The latest display came from Oklahoma starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
It wasn’t the biggest statistical day in Gabriel’s career, but he came up clutch in the biggest moment of the game. For his efforts, Gabriel was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. It’s the second time he’s earned player of the week honors from the Big 12 this season.
Gabriel was perfect on the Sooners’ final drive to lead OU down the field and score the game-winning touchdown.
On the final drive, Gabriel was 4-for-4 for 58 yards. On the final play it looked like he was about to be sacked as the pocket closed in around him. Instead, he stood tall in the mass of humanity just long enough for Nic Anderson to release, and Gabriel threw it to the back corner of the end zone where Anderson was waiting wide open for the touchdown.
Gabriel played an incredibly gutsy game for the Sooners, helping OU get out to a 27-17 lead in the second half. Though the offense struggled to move the ball for much of the second half after the opening drive touchdown, Gabriel shrugged it off and took control of the game in the final minute.
Gabriel completed 61% of his passes for 285 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 14 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. He scored Oklahoma’s first and final points of the game in the win.
He was also sacked just one time, showing off excellent pocket awareness and poise as the Texas defensive front attempted to apply pressure.
LOOK: Best Photos from the Sooners win over Texas Longhorns.
This win sets the Sooners on a trajectory to get back to the Big 12 title game for the first time since 2020 and potentially the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.
Oklahoma rests up for the bye before taking on Gabriel’s former team, the UCF Knights in Norman.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.
The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team was voted fifth in the Big 12 presason poll.
In two seasons in Norman, [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] has helped lead a talented Oklahoma Basketball program to a pair of NCAA tournament berths, advancing to the round of 32 in both seasons.
The Sooners were one of the best offenses in the nation, which helped them to a share of the Big 12 regular season title.
Their offense was led by [autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag], and [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag], and [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag]. Williams and Robertson have moved on and the Sooners are hoping Scott and Vann can take on the added leadership as they welcome one of the best players in the nation to the roster in [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag].
Big 12 basketball media day is two weeks away, and the coaches have voted on their 2023-2024 preseason poll.
The Oklahoma Sooners come in at No. 5. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own squad. The Texas Longhorns came in at No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll, picking up 12 of the 14 first-place votes. The Longhorns are followed by Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma rounds out the top five.
Taking the last four spots in the preseason poll are BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF.
The Sooners begin play with an exhibition on Oct. 31 against West Texas A&M and then play their first regular season game against the Wichita State Shockers on Nov. 6 at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners are hoping to build on their back-to-back round of 32 appearances in the NCAA tournament and build a team that’s able to break through to the Sweet 16 and beyond.
This is the Sooners’ final year in the Big 12 before joining the SEC, which boasts some of the best women’s basketball programs in the country. Tennessee, South Carolina, and LSU have been some of the best in the sport over the last two decades, providing fun and new challenges starting in 2024-2024.
For all of the criticism Dillon Gabriel has received, one website thinks he’s still the best in the Big 12 conference.
Through Week 5 the [autotag]Big 12 conference[/autotag] as a whole has really struggled. The four new teams haven’t won a conference game except against themselves and some of the staples like [autotag]TCU Horned Frogs[/autotag], [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] and the [autotag]Baylor Bears[/autotag] are off to poor starts.
One of the main problems has been the play at the quarterback position across the conference. But there’s been one guy in the Big 12 who has been the most consistent.
Ironically, he might be the one who has received the most criticism from his own fan base. That would be [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Gabriel is completing 75% of his passes for 1,593 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only two interceptions.
Still, people want to focus on the few underthrows he has each game or the one overthrow against the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag]. On3 put out their list of the top 25 quarterbacks heading into Week 6, and Gabriel came in at No. 8 overall and No. 1 in the conference.
Oklahoma rolled through Iowa State on Saturday, setting up an undefeated Red River matchup. Gabriel was his usual self, accounting for five total touchdowns. He went 26-of-39 through the air for 366 yards and three touchdowns, plus a pick, and added 37 yards and two touchdowns rushing. He’s tied with LSU’s Jayden Daniels for No. 2 in the country in touchdown responsible for with 19. – Andrew Graham On3
The key part of that is being second in the country in touchdowns responsible for. That’s a stat that oftentimes gets overlooked. Of the Big 12 schools, only two other quarterbacks made the top 25. Texas Longhorns Quinn Ewers at No. 16 and Kansas Jayhawks Jalon Daniels at No. 19.
Gabriel is not the perfect quarterback. He has his flaws. But ask a lot of the schools in the conference, and they would be much happier with him under center than what they currently have. Oklahoma fans should appreciate him a little more.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.
Big 12 Power Rankings. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns stayed unbeaten after week 5 setting up an undefeated showdown in Dallas.
The result that everyone hoped for came to pass. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns will meet in the Cotton Bowl undefeated next Saturday.
Their big wins over the weekend provided the precursor for the Sooners and Longhorns to have another highly-anticipated and epic showdown in Dallas.
The game will play host to ESPN’s College GameDay.
Though it’s early in the Big 12 season, OU and Texas have separated themselves as the class of the Big 12 at this point. Though there’s a long way to go and both programs still have a lot to prove, next Saturday’s Red River Showdown will provide a strong measuring stick for both teams.
Elsewhere, the West Virginia Mountaineers have been the surprise of the Big 12 this season and improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play after beating the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. The Mountaineers were voted to finish last in the conference. Neal Brown and West Virginia seem to have taken that personally.
Let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.
One week into Big 12 play, there’s already a pretty good indication of who the contenders and pretenders are in the Big 12. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, UCF, and TCU have all looked good through the first four weeks of the season. …
One week into Big 12 play, there’s already a pretty good indication of who the contenders and pretenders are in the Big 12.
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, UCF, and TCU have all looked good through the first four weeks of the season. West Virginia provided the first surprise with their upset of Texas Tech last week.
Kansas State and Oklahoma State are off this week, but there are six conference games in week 5.
But how will week two of conference play go? Here are this week’s Big 12 predictions.
Fans are excited for Texas to kick off Big 12 conference play tonight.
No. 3 Texas kicks off Big 12 conference play against the Baylor Bears on Saturday night. Continue reading “Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 3 Texas vs. Baylor”
