The Oklahoma Sooners opened the season with a 51-3 win over the Temple Owls on Friday night. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but there were a great many positives to take away from the win.
But on both sides of the ball, there were impact players, so let’s take a look at this week’s three stars of the game.
Third Star: Jackson Arnold, QB
Seth Littrell and the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t ask [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] to do too much in this game, but he was effective with what he was asked to do. The first throw of the game was fantastic, a deep strike to Jalil Farooq for 47 yards.
Arnold attempted just two passes beyond 20 yards, which will not indicate his passing chart week-to-week. One was the reception by Farooq and the other was a beautiful deep ball down the sideline to a covered J.J. Hester who let the ball go through his hands.
Behind a patchwork offensive line, Arnold made good decisions, got the ball out quickly and tried to make things happen with his legs when it wasn’t there for him through the air.
Accounting for drops and throwaways, Arnold’s adjusted completion percentage was 83.3% on the evening and finished with an NFL passer rating of 121.8. A strong start to the season for the former five-star quarterback.
Second Star: Deion Burks, WR
Deion Burks was as advertised in the Sooners’ win, catching three touchdowns in the first half, which is the most ever by a player in their Oklahoma debut.
As was the case for the offense, the Sooners didn’t unveil all of the ways in which they’ll utilize Burks, but he was efficient and effective on his targets. He had six catches on seven targets for 36 yards and three touchdowns. He also took three sweeps for 14 yards, showing off his speed.
Burks displayed really good route running, creating separation in the red zone for his scores.
With the wide receiver depth chart taking a hit due to Farooq’s injury, the Sooners will need Burks to have a big season and he’s off to a great start.
