Tag: Michael Hawkins Jr.

Brent Venables names starting quarterback for week 9 vs. Ole Miss

Brent Venables named his starting quarterback for week 9 vs. Ole Miss.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been forced to play multiple quarterbacks this season. After [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s turnover frenzy against Tennessee, he was replaced by [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag], who turned the ball over on Oklahoma’s first three drives against South Carolina. Amid questions about red shirting in 2024, the Sooners reinserted Arnold into the lineup to try to find a spark offensively.

And the Sooners appear ready to hand the keys of the offense back to Arnold. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] stated during the Rudy’s Coach’s Show that Arnold will start for Oklahoma when it makes the trip to Oxford to face the Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday.

SoonerScoop’s Georgia Stoia shared the news on X.

Now, the turnovers aren’t completely on the quarterbacks, as the offensive line play, lack of separation from wide receivers, and poor game planning from the now-departed Seth Littrell put way too much on the quarterback’s shoulders in 2024.

But as Arnold replaced Hawkins in the first quarter against South Carolina, the Sooners found a little offense, even if it’s still not to the standard expected at Oklahoma.

In the loss to South Carolina, it was the first time a quarterback had thrown for more than 200 yards in a game this season. Arnold showed improved poise and decision-making. He was 18 of 36 for 225 yards and a touchdown. Pro Football Focus credited Oklahoma pass catchers with six drops, though it felt like more than that.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, and there is still a lot of development that needs to happen, but Arnold had a few solid moments like the 54-yard touchdown to Brenen Thompson.

The Ole Miss Rebels will provide another challenge for Oklahoma’s offense. It can’t be all on the quarterback to help the Sooners find their scoring touch, but if Arnold can build on his performance against South Carolina, it might give them more confidence in the direction of the offense under Joe Jon Finley.

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Best Photos of Oklahoma Sooners matchup with South Carolina

Best photos from Oklahoma Football’s matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners were blown out again for the second straight week. But this time it was by the South Carolina Gamecocks, a team that came into the game an even 3-3 on the season.

They’d played some good ball, losing close ball games to Alabama and Georgia but had also narrowly beat Old Dominion and were blown out by Ole Miss. On Saturday, the Gamecocks took advantage of three early turnovers caused by pressure from their dynamic defensive front to jump out to a 21-point lead. And that was all she wrote.

With Oklahoma in catch-up mode, the Sooners tried to throw more than they would have liked to get back in the game. That was a recipe for disaster, playing into exactly what the Gamecocks do best: rush the passer. Jackson Arnold didn’t have much of a chance.

By the end of the game, the Sooners had allowed nine sacks and lost by 26 points.

It was another wasted defensive performance by an offense that has been mostly anemic in 2024.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Sooners loss to South Carolina

Turnovers and a poor performance on the offensive line sunk the Oklahoma Sooners in their week 8 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners fell to 4-3 on the season with their loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. In the offseason, most observers would have chalked the Gamecocks off as a win in their preseason predictions.

I, and many others, underrated the Gamecocks and vastly overrated the Sooners. In particular, the turnover the Sooners faced on the offensive line this offseason turned out to be too much to overcome.

Sure, the wide receiver injuries and the inconsistent quarterback play haven’t helped, but on Saturday Oklahoma’s pass protection was inadequate and didn’t give either quarterback a chance. After the three turnovers to open the game put Oklahoma in a 21-0 hole, South Carolina was in a perfect position to get after the quarterback.

Ultimately, the Sooners are a long way off from being a contender in the SEC. There’s a lot of work to be done.

Let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Week 8.

The Good – Defense Steps Up

The defense played really well. There might be a case to be made that South Carolina got conservative in the second half and that’s probably accurate. But they didn’t need to do anything more on offense to win the game.

But the defense did their job even in the first half.

Zac Alley’s unit gave up just one touchdown drive when South Carolina started on their side of the 50-yard line. Other than that, the Gamecocks were gifted with short fields by the offense.

The Sooners held South Carolina to 1.8 yards per carry, recorded six sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Can’t play much better than that, especially after the offense puts you in a 21-0 hole less than six minutes into the game.

More: Sooners Tumble, new No. 1 in SEC Power Rankings

Up Next: Turnovers Bad, but not all on QB

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Early turnovers, offensive ineptness doom Oklahoma Sooners in loss to South Carolina

The Oklahoma Sooners offense turned the ball over four times and allowed nine sacks in their 35-9 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners were going to need at least a solid performance from their offense to have a chance against a talented South Carolina defense. And they didn’t get it.

Oklahoma turned it over on their first three drives. Two interceptions and a fumble by [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] The Gamecocks took advantage of the short field and took a 7-0 lead. South Carolina then forced a fumble of Hawkins and returned it for a touchdown, and then they got a pick-six on the third offensive possession for the Sooners.

That was the day for Hawkins, who was replaced by [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Less than six minutes into the game, South Carolina was up 21-0 and the hole was too big for an offense that has struggled during SEC play.

Oklahoma was held to just a field goal in the first half for the second straight week and trailed 32-3, the largest deficit the Sooners have trailed at half since the late 90s.

Though Arnold came in and moved the ball, the Sooners offensive line couldn’t hold up against a relentless South Carolina pass rush. The Gamecocks came through with nine sacks on the day. No player had more than one sack on the day.

It was going to be a difficult matchup for Oklahoma’s offensive line, but the Sooners struggled not just with the pass rush, but the Gamecocks coverage units made life difficult for the Sooners offense.

Oklahoma turned the ball over four times and nearly had several more turnovers in the game. South Carolina had just one drive that originated in Gamecocks territory. That one drive was an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Otherwise the Sooners’ defense forced eight punts and 254 yards of total offense, including just 185 yards in the first half.

Coming off the bench, Jackson Arnold finished the day 18 of 36 for 225 yards and a touchdown. The highlight came on a 54-yard touchdown strike to [autotag]Brenen Thompson[/autotag].

True freshman and walk-on wide receiver Jacob Jordan led the Sooners in receiving with six catches for 86 yards. [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] played hard all day, carrying the ball 17 times for 70 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry for his best day of the season. Barnes also added four catches on five targets for 21 yards.

Still, it was a bad offensive performance for the Oklahoma Sooners who have yet to have a good performance in SEC play. The offensive line isn’t capable of providing enough protection for Oklahoma’s quarterbacks and the they haven’t gotten enough help from the players around them to be successful.

But the start to the game torpedoed any hope the Sooners had of winning the game. With the loss, the Sooners fell to 4-3 on the season and 1-3 in SEC play. Next week, Oklahoma goes on the road to face the Ole Miss Rebels.

More: 5 Takeaways from Oklahoma’s loss to South Carolina

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3 Keys for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

How can the Oklahoma Sooners pull off a in over the South Carolina Gamecocks? Here are three keys to the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a big opportunity to right the ship with a tough matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday.

On the surface, you might say, “South Carolina? Tough?” Yeah. This is a team that beat Kentucky, who beat Ole Miss in Oxford. These Gamecocks were a two-point conversion attempt away from sending their game with Alabama to overtime. In Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks played LSU to a three loss. South Carolina had the lead until the final minutes of their loss to the Tigers.

Shane Beamer has them playing tough regardless of opponent. Although they were blown out by Ole Miss, they’re a better team than they showed on that day in Columbia.

It’s a tough matchup for a Sooners team hoping to rebound from their blowout loss to the Texas Longhorns. So what do they need to do to pick up the win? Let’s check out this week’s keys to the game.

1. Get the Ground Game Going

The best way to take the pressure off of your young starting quarterback is to find an effective running game. The best way to neutralize an elite pass rush is to find an effective running game. Ipso facto, Oklahoma needs to find an effective running game.

That may be a tall ask at this point in the season as the Sooners have struggled throughout and are one of the worst rush offenses in the country. At the same time, there have been positive signs in each of the last two games. Yes, even against Texas.

After Oklahoma forced a three-and-out on the Longhorns’ second drive, the Sooners opened up with a three-yard run by Gavin Sawchuk, followed by an eight-yard run by Jovantae Barnes for a first down. From that point, Seth Littrell had Michael Hawkins throw it on three straight plays, one of which turned into a 13-yard sack knocking them out of Texas’ side of the field and ultimately forcing them to punt.

A three-yard run might not be much to write home about, but getting to second-and-seven gives you more options than throwing incomplete on first down and being in second-and-10.

Second and third-and-long is a place Oklahoma doesn’t want to be in against the Gamecocks. They can get after the passer as well as anyone in the country with their talented defensive front. South Carolina can get home with just four, so they can drop seven into coverage and make Hawkins dink and dunk. But if the Sooners can grind out some yards in the run game, it may force the Gamecocks to commit more defenders to the box on early downs.

The dirty, three-yard runs can be effective. Just keep churning them out and grinding away. While there’s been a lot of talk about explosive plays, Oklahoma simply needs to move the ball. If it’s only three and four yards at a time, so be it.

Sure, a lot of the outcome of this game does ride on the quarterback, but the Sooners need to get the run game going. Lean on Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk, Taylor Tatum, and an offensive line that’s coming together instead of putting everything on your young quarterback.

Up Next: A Complete Game

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Predictions for Oklahoma Sooners vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Oklahoma Sooners take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday and here are Sooners Wire Staff’s predictions.

To say a game in week eight is a must-win feels weird, but at the midway point of the season, sitting at 4-2 and with their remaining schedule, the Oklahoma Sooners have a tough road ahead.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are a tough matchup for anyone. Just ask LSU and Alabama. Shane Beamer’s squad lost two really close games to the SEC titans by a combined five points. Sure, this year’s Bama team isn’t the same as the Nick Saban squads from year’s past, but they’re still a talented team.

The Gamecocks boast one of the more impressive defensive end duos in college football with Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart. They’re long, athletic, and disruptive. Along with an athletic and aggressive secondary, the Gamecocks will pose a difficult challenge for the Sooners offense and true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag].

Offensively, the Gamecocks are a bit of a roller coaster, riding the arm and legs of first-year starter LaNorris Sellers. Though only a three-star prospect coming out of high school, Sellers sat for a year behind Spencer Rattler and has a high ceiling because of a strong arm and great athleticism.

This has a chance to be another thriller in SEC play and there’s no telling how the game could go. But our staff here at Sooners Wire shared their thoughts on how Oklahoma’s first matchup ever with the Gamecocks will go.

Up Next: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

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3 freshmen to watch for Oklahoma Sooners against South Carolina Gamecocks

Three Oklahoma Sooners Freshmen that will be key against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners return home this week, looking to bounce back after a humbling loss against Texas. OU will host the South Carolina Gamecocks in a game that is suddenly much bigger than previously anticipated.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his coaching staff will once again be relying on plenty of members of the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag] to play big roles in this game. These true freshmen may not be ready yet, but they’re being asked to step up and help the team get victories in the mighty [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Here are three freshmen to keep your eye on as the Sooners try to take down the Gamecocks.

1. Eli Bowen, DB

One of the few bright spots in the loss against the Longhorns last week was the play of [autotag]Eli Bowen[/autotag]. The undersized cornerback showed plenty of heart and technique on the outside. If it weren’t for him, Texas may have scored even more points than they did.

Bowen will be asked to play extremely well once again, as there’s essentially no margin for error for this OU defense right now. One busted coverage or lost jump ball could spell doom for Oklahoma with the way the offense looks right now.

2. Michael Boganowski, DB

Another young member of OU’s secondary, [autotag]Michael Boganowski[/autotag] gets the nod here because of the physicality he brings to the table. No, he won’t start in this game behind the excellent trio of safeties the Sooners have, but if Venables wants his team to be more physical, few on this team lay the hammer like Boganowski.

As Oklahoma tries to win games without the aid of their offense, there’s no substitute for stopping the run and being physical. That’ll be paramount against a Gamecock offense that is also struggling, and depth will certainly play a role, as the Sooners will have to play plenty of snaps on defense.

3. Michael Hawkins Jr., QB

The last spot could go to defensive tackle Jayden Jackson or running back Taylor Tatum, but we’ll include quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] here.

Hawkins will make his third career start in this game, Venables confirmed on Monday night. He did enough to get the win over Auburn before the bye week, but struggled against Texas last week. He certainly isn’t getting any help from anyone calling the offense or the injury situation at wide receiver, but there is definitely room to improve.

The true freshman needs to take care of the ball yes, but he should also be encouraged to sling it and trust what he sees. He’s likely still in the game because of his poise and athletic ability, and because Venables believes he’s the best man for the job. He needs to prove his head coach right by taking a step forward on Saturday against the Gamecocks and by taking a firm hold of the starting gig under center.

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Oklahoma Sooners offense one of the worst in the nation

The Oklahoma Sooners offense has a lot to figure out ahead of their matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

There are times when the statistics don’t reflect the product you see on the field. But that isn’t the case with the Sooners. The product on the field is fairly well reflected in the numbers.

The Sooners rank No. 125 out of 134 FBS teams in total yards per game, No. 101 in rushing yards per game, and No. 123 in passing yards per game. OU is No. 118 in first downs per game. The Sooners are averaging just 3.4 yards per carry on the season. That ranks No. 114 among FBS teams.

ESPN’s SP+ rating likes the Sooners better, ranking them at No. 59 in the nation. But that’s 15th out of 16 SEC teams. Only Mississippi State ranks lower in offensive SP+ and they’ve turned it on of late, scoring 31 against Georgia on Saturday. Pro Football Focus’ grading system has the Sooners at No. 128, last among SEC teams.

They aren’t efficient, and OU isn’t hitting anything down the field, either. Max Olson of ESPN highlighted the lack of explosiveness from the Oklahoma Sooners offense.

OU has just 13 plays of 20 yards or more this season, which ranks 133rd in the nation, ahead of only 0-5 Kennesaw State. 2024 Oklahoma’s explosive rate of 3.4% ranks third worst among all Power Four teams over the last decade.

https://twitter.com/max_olson/status/1845822230304784533

 

The Oklahoma Sooners offense hasn’t been effective for much of the season. Especially in SEC play, OU has lacked consistency in every facet.

Though Oklahoma hasn’t been able to create a lot of explosive plays, what’s more disconcerting is they simply aren’t creating enough efficiency to move the ball consistently. The Sooners need to be more efficient.

Big plays, especially in the passing game, can back defenses off of the line of scrimmage. That would certainly help. But Hawkins didn’t look comfortable throwing the ball downfield on Saturday. Whether that was because of the pressure from Texas’ defense or not liking what he saw in coverage, Hawkins and the Sooners offense couldn’t create down the field.

Of Hawkins’ 30 pass attempts, only five went beyond 10 yards down the field.

Against Texas, they averaged just five plays per drive and had just three drives that went longer than five plays. One was an 11-play, 38-yard drive that ended in a field goal. Another was an eight-play, 19-yard drive, and they turned it over on downs. The final drive of the day was their most productive, but Texas was in prevent defense. Still, the Sooners couldn’t finish off a 17-play, 69-yard drive by finding the end zone.

On first down, the Sooners averaged 4.5 yards per play on Saturday. That should have been enough to get them ahead of the chains. But negative plays or penalties on second and third down set them back.

Their average third down needed 8.5 yards to convert for a first down, and the Sooners were just 4 of 15 on third down.

Oklahoma’s success rate against Texas was 30%, which is considered below average. Success rate is determined by yards gained relative to down and distance and is a good measure of efficiency.

Nothing is going right for the Oklahoma Sooners on the offensive side of the ball right now. The good news is it can’t get much worse. Seth Littrell, Joe Jon Finley, and the entire offensive staff have to take a long look at what they’re doing and change it up. It isn’t so much about execution as it is about putting the players in a better position to be successful.

What plagued the Sooners when Jackson Arnold was the starting quarterback is still hurting Oklahoma with Michael Hawkins Jr. under center. Oklahoma is still young and experienced in their personnel at quarterback and wide receiver and the playcalling philosophy isn’t getting them anywhere either. Oklahoma can’t do much about their personnel. They need to let them learn and grow and go through the growing pains. But the offensive philosophy can help.

Arnold struggled with some of the reads in the run-pass and read-option aspects of the offense. Against Auburn, it seemed like Littrell and Finley scaled back some of the option aspects of the offense. However, for the Texas game, it looked like they added more, and as it was early in the season, the option game wasn’t effective for the Sooners.

Venables said Monday night, “We had some simple things, there was a ‘do this or do that’ when it comes to the quarterback, we’ve got to make some better decisions there because we had some real opportunities.”

If the quarterback isn’t reading it right, which was the case under Arnold and now Hawkins, then there’s a disconnect between what the coaches are teaching and the way the quarterbacks are attempting to execute it. Or simpler yet, it’s just a bad plan.

It isn’t an effective part of the offense either way, so the Sooners need to take it out.

Oklahoma has to figure things out quickly with the South Carolina Gamecocks coming to town this week. They’re a good defense that can make life very difficult for a quarterback with their athletic and disruptive defensive front.

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Michael Hawkins Jr. to start at quarterback vs. South Carolina

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables shared Monday night that the Sooners will start Michael Hawkins Jr. vs. South Carolina.

The Oklahoma Sooners aren’t planning to make a change at quarterback ahead of their matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks. On the Rudy’s Barbecue Coach’s Show, Venables reiterated trust in quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.

Oklahoma was held to three points in the loss to Texas but Venables believes it’s important to give Hawkins more time to show what he can do.

“Mike has shown a lot of really good stuff,” Venables said, “both in his limited time against Tennessee and he had some really good moments where he did some good stuff against Auburn. And even (against Texas), he did some good things and some things where now we see if we can learn from it.”

https://twitter.com/ParkerThune/status/1845984513781907645

Hawkins has had some good moments for the Sooners through two and a half games as the starting quarterback. Oklahoma put a lot on Hawkins’ shoulders on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl, making him responsible on 55 of 72 offensive plays. Hawkins was asked to drop back and throw the ball 40 times and Seth Littrell called 15 designed quarterback runs, according to Pro Football Focus.

Hawkins has a lot of talent, but that’s a lot to ask a true freshman quarterback making just his second collegiate start.

The Sooners have to get more out of the running game and find a way to scheme receivers open in the passing game. Oklahoma’s offense is one of the worst in college football six games into the season. Sure, they’ve played some good defenses in Tennessee, Auburn, and Texas, but it’s not like there will be an easy defense on the schedule in the SEC.

Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley have to find a way to make things easier for their quarterback in the passing game and not put so much on him in the running game either.

Hawkins has the talent to be effective for the Sooners, but he can’t do it all by himself. Few quarterbacks could in the circumstances Oklahoma’s offense is dealing with. So the Sooners coaching staff has to find a way to create more efficiency in the offense.

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Sooners among USA TODAY Sports losers from the College Football weekend

After a disappointing performance in the Red River Showdown, the Oklahoma Sooners were among USA TODAY Sports losers from the weekend.

Even the biggest optimist would have a hard time with the direction of the Oklahoma Sooners after their 34-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.

The defense started off strong, which has been the lone bright spot this season, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on a strong defensive effort in the first quarter. After a long drive from the Texas offense in the second quarter and then a pair of turnovers that led to points, what had been a promising first quarter was a disastrous second frame as the Longhorns ran away from the Sooners on Saturday.

The Sooners were on the wrong side of USA TODAY Sports winners and losers from Paul Myerburg.

There are too many flaws for this team to stay in the Top 25. The biggest issue with OU is an offense that has no quarterback and no surrounding skill talent — the receiver corps has been decimated by injuries — and looks like a yearlong problem. At quarterback, Brent Venables and his staff seem to have whiffed on former starter Jackson Arnold and don’t seem to know how to manufacture anything positive behind Michael Hawkins Jr., a more limited passer. The Sooners still have to face the Rebels, No. 18 Missouri, the Crimson Tide and LSU, so getting to six wins might be easier said than done. – Myerburg, USA TODAY Sports

The offense, which had been inconsistent for much of the year, had another poor showing as they relied on Michael Hawkins Jr. to carry the load for the offense. And although Hawkins has shown good mental toughness through his first two and a half games, they asked way too much of him on Saturday.

Hawkins has a lot of talent, but the coaching staff has to help him more than they did on Saturday. The Sooners have another tough defense to face next Saturday when South Carolina comes to town.

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