Tag: Michael Hawkins Jr.

Best photos from Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Rivalry

A look at some of the best photos from Oklahoma’s 34-3 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The State Fair of Texas always provides a phenomenal backdrop for what is the best rivalry in college sports. On Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners fell well short of expectations in their 34-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

Sure, the Longhorns are the No. 1 team in the nation and OU is still dealing with a lot of injuries at wide receiver, but many of the issues that are plaguing the offense have less to do with personnel available and gameplan and execution.

It’s the second time in three years in which the Sooners have been blown out by the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry. And it’s the second time in three years that Oklahoma failed to score a touchdown.

It was a huge letdown by the Oklahoma Sooners, who now fall to 4-2 on the season with a number of tough games looking ahead. You may not have enjoyed the game, but I’m sure there were some fantastic scenes around the State Fair that Oklahoma fans enjoyed before and after the game. Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the game.

No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners suffer huge loss to No. 1 Texas Longhorns

Oklahoma’s offense struggled in the Sooners 34-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

For the second time in two years, the Oklahoma Sooners suffered an embarrassing loss to their Red River rival, the Texas Longhorns. The 34-3 loss is only slightly better than the 49-0 loss the Soones suffered in 2022 during Brent Venables first season as the head coach at Oklahoma.

Things started off promising for the Oklahoma Sooners. The defense forced a pair of three and outs to open the game, including an interception by Billy Bowman. Oklahoma’s pressure packages made Ewers uncomfortable in the early going.

The Sooners held the Longhorns to zero points in the first quarter. OU actually held a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes, and the defense was playing pretty well. But in the second quarter, the wheels began to fall off.

Texas went on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a touchdown throw from Quinn Ewers to tight end Gunnar Heim on a play action throwback.

The Sooners struggled to tackle and allowed big runs in the ground game as Tre Wisner ran for 119 yards and a touchdown, averaging over nine yards per carry.

The Longhorns took complete control with the help of fumbles by their true freshmen, Hawkins and running back Taylor Tatum, on back-to-back drives.

Texas took advantage of those fumbles and expanded their lead to 21-3. A missed field goal before halftime kept it from being a bigger margin at the break. But at halftime, it felt like the game was pretty much over. Oklahoma’s offense couldn’t find any momentum in the second quarter and that spilled into the second half.

The Sooners offense never really got anything going after halftime. Hawkins looked like a true freshman, who was unwilling to throw the ball even when wide receivers appeared open or was reluctant to throw the ball into tight windows.

Texas didn’t really have to do much in the second half to secure the win. The Longhorns scored 13 points in the second half and coasted to another blowout win over the Sooners for the second time in three years under Brent Venables.

Oklahoma’s offense is a huge problem after six games. There hasn’t been a complete performance this season, and they haven’t found anything that shows that they do well.

The Sooners struggled to get the ball across midfield all game. It took until the final seconds of the game for the Sooners to get into scoring range while Texas was playing prevent defense.

For the game, Hawkins was 19 of 30 for 149 yards passing. Oklahoma averaged just 2.3 yards per carry on the day. Even when things seemed to be going well for the Sooners, they couldn’t sustain it.

On the other side of things, Texas racked up 406 total yards and was 5 of 13 on third down. The Longhorns ran for 177 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Quinn Ewers, making his return from an abdominal injury after sitting out the last two games was an efficient 20 of 29 for 199 yards and two total touchdowns.

The Sooners have a lot of questions to answer, with a stout South Carolina defense coming to Norman next week.

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Joel Klatt reveals prediction for Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

Joel Klatt predicts Oklahoma vs. Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma enters the 120th edition of the Red River Showdown as a big underdog. The first matchup as part of the SEC boasts the No. 1 Texas Longhorns vs. the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas looks like the best team in the nation, coasting to a 5-0 record even without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers for the last two games. Oklahoma has had their difficulties getting to 4-1, which is why most aren’t giving the Sooners a chance in this game.

Joel Klatt of Fox Sports and the “Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast” shared his thoughts on OU-Texas this week and has questions about the Sooners offense heading into the top 25 matchup.

“Here’s my question for this game,” Klatt said. “Is Oklahoma’s offense going to be able to keep pace at all? The answer to that is no. Texas’ defense is way too good. So, OU’s not going to be able to just roll out there and score a bunch of points.”

The offense for the Oklahoma Sooners has been inconsistent through five games. They’ve created big plays and are 4-1, but it hasn’t been able to sustain drives with much regularity. Klatt went on to talk about the Sooners defense, giving them praise for what they’re doing this year, but ultimately, it comes back to OU’s offense.

“I know the Sooners defense is fourth in the country,” Klatt said. “We’re talking about Steve Sarkisian and Texas. They’re going to come out there on fire. He always has a great gameplan for these big games and I believe Texas is going to be able to move the football and they will be able to go and score some points. I don’t trust Oklahoma to go and do the same. This is not an offense that I trust. Defense is very good, fourth in the country. Offense, nope, 121st in the country in total offense and they’re facing a defense in Texas that has allowed three touchdowns in five games.”

But it’s this final statement that has me curious.

Klatt said, “You’re not going to be able to go turn Texas over enough like you did against Auburn.”

Klatt already mentioned that the Sooners forced three turnovers in last year’s game. Quinn Ewers threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball, and they were big moments in the game. The Longhorns have had their turnover problems this season, averaging 1.4 giveaways a game. Oklahoma’s defense is averaging 2.6 takeaways this season.

The Sooners only forced one turnover against Auburn, but it was the biggest play of the game, a pick-six by Kip Lewis.

You can’t rely on turnovers to become a factor in a football game. There’s an ebb and flow of it. A defense also can’t go out there trying to force it. What’s made Oklahoma’s defense so good is their ability to play sound defensive football. If they can continue to do that, they could force Texas into some bad spots.

But Klatt’s not off. The offense needs to take a big step in this game for the Sooners to win the football game. But they won’t have to go score 40 points to win. The Sooners defense should be able to keep the Texas offense in the 20s, which will give OU a chance.

[autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] has now had three full weeks with the first-team offense. The offensive line is the healthiest it has been all year. If there’s a concern beyond that, it’s another week without Deion Burks. If he can continue the way he’s played and improve the Sooners passing attack, OU should move the ball better moving forward.

So what was Klatt’s final prediction for OU-Texas? “I like Texas in this game. Texas 34-17,” Klatt said.

We’ll find out tomorrow afternoon in the greatest rivalry game in college football.

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No. 16 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Expert predictions for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown.

The 120th edition of the Red River Showdown has a chance to be another classic matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns. Texas holds the all-time series lead at 63-51-5. However, OU has dominated the matchup since the turn of the century at 17-8, including Big 12 title games.

The Longhorns come in as the No. 1 team in the nation in both major polls and look like a team headed to the College Football Playoff.

The Oklahoma Sooners are a team with something to prove. They’re 4-1 and picked up a solid win over Auburn on the road in Michael Hawkins Jr.’s first collegiate start.

Can the Sooners make it two in a row and knock off the No. 1 team in the nation? Here are this week’s Sooners Wire staff predictions.

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Last week, the sport of college football showed us that anything is possible.

The Red River Rivalry shows us nearly every season that the unexpected can and will happen. This matchup is almost always decided by one score, and I think that will be the case again this year.

Oklahoma’s defense will have to play a whale of a game for the Sooners to pull off the upset. Brent Venables and his staff have worked tirelessly to build a defense that can stand firm against anyone, and we’ll see where there is still work to be done on Saturday. It wouldn’t surprise me if the defense has to score again for OU to win the ballgame.

The Sooners will need to take care of the football, play field position, and capitalize on big-play opportunities. We’re probably asking too much of Michael Hawkins Jr. behind a shaky offensive line and without his best offensive players once again.

But that’s the life of being OU’s starting quarterback. I think Hawkins has what it takes and wins this game, becoming a legend in Norman in the process. Venables gets another huge win under his belt, and the Sooners take down No. 1.

Oklahoma 28, Texas 21

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3 Oklahoma freshmen that need to standout this week against the Longhorns

Taking a look at three freshman not named Michael Hawkins Jr. the Sooners need to show up on Saturday.

Saturday is a massive moment in the Oklahoma football season. It always is when they take on Texas, but even more so considering how the season has unfolded.

The Sooners entered with the belief they had their quarterback of the future in [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], only for doubt to be cast after he struggled for multiple games. Head coach Brent Venables benched Arnold for former four-star freshman [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] to jumpstart his offense.

True freshman Hawkins showed grit and determination and, with his legs, added another component that helped give Oklahoma other ways to move the ball. He is set to start his second game and the first Red River game of his career this Saturday. His play as the team’s starting quarterback is paramount to Oklahoma’s chances of pulling off the upset of the No. 1 team in the country.

However, instead of focusing on the obvious, we wanted to highlight three other freshmen not named Hawkins who need to have big games for Oklahoma to pull off something it hasn’t done since 1982: beating Texas when they were ranked 10 spots or lower than their opponent.

Eli Bowen, CB

Texas has the best combination of wide receivers and quarterbacks that Oklahoma has faced this season. That much really cannot be argued. Quinn Ewers has incredible talent, and the combination of Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, DeAndre Moore, and Johntay Cook is formidable.

Oklahoma is likely not that worried about Texas’s run game as it is not nearly as dynamic and potent as last year with the departure of Jonathon Brooks to the NFL and injuries to multiple impact runners.

Oklahoma’s bigger worry should be containing the Longhorns’ passing attack. With a dynamic group of wide receivers, [autotag]Eli Bowen[/autotag] must continue his terrific play on Saturday, no matter who he may be matched against.

Pro Football Focus has Bowen as the Sooners’ highest-graded cornerback through five weeks, and his coverage grade is third on the team. He’s adapted to college football fine, and now he’s become a contributor for the Sooners. He needs to play well every week.

Up Next: Dynamic skill player set to return

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Brent Venables says Michael Hawkins Jr. is ‘easy to bet on’

Brent Venables discussed the confidence he has in Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.

When the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners take the trip to Dallas, Texas, to take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, they’ll be making history.

Michael Hawkins Jr. will become the first true freshman to start for the Sooners in the Red River Showdown. This comes two weeks after he was the first true freshman to start on the road for Oklahoma in their win over Auburn.

In a season of firsts, Hawkins hasn’t been shaken by the moment.

He entered the Tennessee game just before halftime with the Sooners down 16. He didn’t try to force things, instead playing within himself and playing under control. In the fourth quarter, he orchestrated a pair of touchdown drives that helped put the Sooners in striking distance. Ultimately the rally fell short, but it set the stage for Hawkins to take over as the starter that week.

His performance against Auburn supported what we saw against Tennessee, a player unfazed by the hostile Jordan-Hare environment. While the offensive output might not have been what we expect out of an Oklahoma offense, Hawkins came through with a big 48-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Then when the game was teetering in Auburn’s direction and OU was down 11, Hawkins came up with the offensive play of the game, a 60-yard completion to J.J. Hester to put the Sooners inside the five-yard line.

He’s shown a resilient personality during his time as Oklahoma’s quarterback and looks like a player that will be locked in when OU meets Texas this Saturday afternoon.

During his weekly press conference, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables discussed his true freshman quarterback.

“Mike’s a very process-driven guy. He’s always been mature beyond his years. He’ll do a good job,” Venables said. “Don’t overcomplicate things and again, don’t try to win the game in the first quarter. … Don’t let the emotions highjack what it takes to execute.”

Hawkins hasn’t allowed the flow of the game or the difficult environments to impact his decision-making. Whether the game is tied or Oklahoma’s been behind, he’s been the same player throughout his six quarters of SEC play.

Against the No. 1 team in the nation, the Sooners will need that steady hand to continue to lead the offense. And Venables believes Hawkins has what it takes to lead the Sooners into the Red River Showdown.

“I’ve got faith,” Venables said. “He’s a guy that (is) easy guy to bet on.”

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Where does 247Sports rank Oklahoma’s remaining schedule?

Oklahoma has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the nation, according to 247Sports.

The Oklahoma Sooners knew they were in for a gauntlet of a schedule when they decided to make the move to the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Then, when the schedules for the 2024 season were released, it was clear that OU drew one of the short straws.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team is 1-1 in conference play and 4-1 overall coming out of their first bye week. Only a ten-point loss against Tennessee has kept Oklahoma from the ranks of the unbeaten.

But the schedule gets increasingly difficult for the Sooners beginning with a showdown with the nation’s top-ranked team in week seven. The Texas Longhorns will meet OU in the Cotton Bowl for the 2024 edition of the greatest rivalry game, the Red River Rivalry.

But the big-time opponents don’t stop there for Oklahoma. In fact, 247Sports college football writer Brad Crawford believes the Sooners have the second-toughest remaining schedule in all of college football, behind only fellow SEC foe Florida.

Here’s what Crawford had to say about Oklahoma in his list of the hardest remaining schedules in the country.

The rubber meets the road for Oklahoma beginning with Saturday’s tilt against Texas in Dallas. That’s the first of five games over the remainder of the season against top-end competition in the SEC. New starting quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag]. has his work cut out for him considering the Longhorns are unbeaten and he’s going to have to play four ranked opponents away from the friendly confines of Norman the rest of the way. – Crawford, 247Sports

OU still has five ranked opponents left on their schedule: Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU. Only the game against the Crimson Tide will be at home, as the Sooners will travel to Oxford, Columbia, and Baton Rouge after their neutral-site contest in Dallas. That doesn’t include a home date against a feisty South Carolina team.

Gone are the days of teams like Iowa State, West Virginia and TCU making up part of the Big 12 slate for the Sooners. They’ve been replaced with much tougher opponents. But, with tougher competition comes a greater platform to make a statement to the college football public. And it begins this week against the No. 1 team in the country.

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Oklahoma climbs in ESPN Power Rankings during the bye week

The Oklahoma Sooners moved up in the latest ESPN Power Rankings while on a bye during a wild week six.

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Oklahoma Sooners. Fresh off their win over the Auburn Tigers, the Sooners had a chance to rest up and get back key players ahead of the Red River Showdown with Texas.

The Sooners had their starting offensive line together for the first time against the Tigers. The offensive results weren’t staggering, but there was an improved performance in the running game, and true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] looked to have more time to operate from the pocket. The bye week provides the offensive line more time to rebuild familiarity with the unit dealing with injuries since fall camp.

There’s more good news on the way, with [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], and Dasan McCullough potentially returning for the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma will need all hands on deck as they prepare for the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.

While on the first of their two bye weeks, the college football world went crazy. Top 10 teams Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, and Michigan all lost to teams that were either unranked or, in Texas A&M’s case, just inside the top 25.

It created big movement in our SEC Power Rankings and in the US LBM Coaches Poll after week six.

Getting a reprieve from their first two games of life in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag], the Sooners still earned a two-spot bump in the latest ESPN Power Rankings, moving to No. 20 in the nation. While lower than both the Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25, the Sooners still maintain a respectable ranking.

Here’s what ESPN’s Max Olson had to say.

The Sooners had the week off and extra time to prep for their showdown with Texas in the Red River Rivalry. The bye week was particularly well timed for this team, giving Brent Venables’ staff more time to adjust on offense and build up QB Michael Hawkins Jr.’s confidence ahead of the true freshman’s second college start.

More importantly, Hawkins’ playmakers need to get healthy. Brent Venables said WR Deion Burks and RB Taylor Tatum could potentially return for Red River. Oklahoma will need all hands on deck against a Texas defense that’s allowing seven points per game. – Olson, ESPN

It all comes down to the offense for the Oklahoma Sooners. Can they build off of some of the good things they did against Auburn? Can Hawkins find an even greater comfort level in the offense? Can the Sooners’ run game get going with greater cohesion up front? Can Deion Burks help open up the passing game?

Those are important questions for a team that’s been relying too much on their defense to win football games for them.

The offense has created big plays with Hawkins under center, and they’ll need more of that but also a more consistent flow for four quarters to have a chance to beat the Texas Longhorns.

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SEC chaos in week 6 revealed anything’s possible ahead of OU-Texas

It was a wild week in the SEC in week six, with several top teams falling prey to an upset. Can Oklahoma keep it rolling?

The Oklahoma Sooners aren’t being given much of a shot heading into the Red River Showdown. It’s understandable. The Sooners have a lot to improve on offense heading into the Cotton Bowl. They’ve undergone a quarterback change and needed a lot to go right in the fourth quarter against [autotag]Auburn[/autotag].

A week off gave true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag]. more work with the first-team offense and the Sooners more time to get healthy. With a matchup with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, could the Sooners keep the chaos we witnessed in Week 6 rolling?

OU and Texas play in the biggest rivalry in the sport. It’s one that the Longhorns lead in the all-time series, but a matchup that Oklahoma has dominated for much of the last 25 years.

Yes, the Longhorns look like the better team on paper. They’re the No. 1 team in the nation for a reason. At the same time, what happened in Week 6 provides hope that the Sooners could pull off an upset, much like they did last year when Texas was a top-five team in the nation.

Vanderbilt beat the No. 1 team in the AP Poll for the first time in program history. Arkansas, who dropped a game to Texas A&M the week before, beat what looked like a national title contender in the Tennessee Volunteers. Missouri, which many thought was a national title contender, was dominated by Texas A&M. In week five, an unranked Kentucky team went into Oxford, Mississippi, and knocked off the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels.

Through six weeks of the 2024 college football season, the only thing that seems certain is uncertainty. And the SEC may be as wide open as ever.

People are claiming Texas is an elite team. They very well may be.

Well, Saturday before Alabama-Vanderbilt kicked off, those same people were saying the same thing about Alabama. I know I was. But how quickly opinions change.

Texas is a really good football team. They dominated Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier in the season. Although the Wolverines don’t have a passing game, the Longhorns completely shut down their impressive rushing attack. At the same time, that Michigan team just lost by 10 to an unranked Washington squad.

Despite their spot at the top of the national rankings, we still don’t know exactly how good the Longhorns are just yet. Again, they’re a really good team, but how good?

The same can be said for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’ve yet to play their best football in 2024.

Oklahoma has a defense that looks ready to roll into the Cotton Bowl. They have one of the best front sevens in the nation and a secondary that has played good ball despite a few big plays allowed against Auburn and Tennessee.

Offensively, the Sooners had some good moments in the fourth quarter against Tennessee and in the win over Auburn. Hawkins is protecting the football and showing off his ability to create big plays with his arm and his legs. The offensive line is the healthiest it has been all season, which could create an opportunity to find a better running game and improved protection for the Sooners true freshman quarterback.

This week, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who picks the Oklahoma Sooners in this big-time rivalry matchup. But as we’ve seen this season in the SEC, there are few guarantees. And in a rivalry game as big as OU-Texas, there’s no telling which way next Saturday could go.

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How did Michael Hawkins Jr. ascend to start for the Oklahoma Sooners?

How did Michael Hawkins Jr. ascend to start for the Oklahoma Sooners?

The Oklahoma Sooners made a quarterback switch just four weeks into the 2024 season. Sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] had been the heir apparent to the departed Dillon Gabriel, but after a shaky first three games, Arnold looked overwhelmed in OU’s loss to Tennessee. During the offseason, the talk was about getting Arnold developed, but a month into the season, the narrative changed drastically. Some of that is on Arnold, but a lot of it isn’t.

However, three first half turnovers from Arnold in week four forced head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] to pull his starter and insert freshman [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] into the game. The youngster settled in against the Volunteers and moved the ball in the late stages of the game, earning his first career start against Auburn the following week.

Though Hawkins’ stats against Auburn weren’t anything to write home about, he was impressive in the face of pressure and made big-time plays, serving as one of the undeniable heroes of OU’s comeback road win. He’s done more than enough to stay as the starter for next week’s game against Texas, and if he continues to play well, take care of the ball, and develop, he’ll likely be the guy for the rest of the season.

But who is Michael Hawkins Jr.?

Everyone expected he’d be Arnold’s backup for at least the next two seasons, but his time in the spotlight has come early. He has an opportunity to start a lot of games in Norman over the next few years if he can help turn this offense around in the lion’s den of the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Hawkins’ father, Michael Sr., played cornerback at Oklahoma in 2002 before leaving to play for the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2005 as a fifth-round selection. He also played for the Browns, Vikings, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Raiders from 2006 to 2009.

Michael Jr. played at Allen High School, the former home of Kyler Murray. For his senior season, Hawkins switched to Frisco Emerson High School, leading his team on a deep playoff run in 2023. According to MaxPreps, during his senior season, he accounted for 3,039 passing yards with 41 touchdowns through the air and 1,192 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns on the ground.

As a star at both schools, he earned a four-star ranking from 247Sports Composite. He held notable offers from schools like Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, TCU, and Missouri but committed to OU on April 8th, 2023. His decision came down to the Sooners and the hometown Horned Frogs (after Kendal Briles made the move to Fort Worth), but his dad’s alma mater won out in the end. He signed with the Sooners that December and enrolled early in January as a part of the 2024 recruiting class.

Though he committed to play for former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, he never got to be coached by the current head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He stayed committed to new co-offensive coordinators [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag], and arrived on campus in a battle to back up Arnold. Hawkins beat out [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] to become QB2, offering an intriguing glimpse of the future with his dual-threat capabilities.

In both spring ball and fall camp, there was buzz about Hawkins’ abilities on the practice field.

 

In 2024, Hawkins has completed 62.2% of his passes for 310 yards and a touchdown. He’s also ran for 101 yards and a touchdown. He showed off his big arm on the 60-yard completion to J.J. Hester and his great speed and athleticism during his first six quarters. And as important as that, he’s shown that the moment isn’t too big for him.

The Sooners have a date with the No. 1 team in the nation coming next Saturday, and they’ll need every bit of Hawkins’ abilities to shine on that day in Dallas.

Hawkins will become the first true freshman quarterback to start for Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout and provides a very exciting look ahead to what Sooner Nation hopes to see out of the quarterback position.

Fixing OU’s offensive problems isn’t all on Hawkins’ shoulders, nor should they be. The problems may not be fixable this season or even with the current coordinators. However, if OU can find more consistency in moving the football with some explosive plays mixed in, the country could be in for some trouble.

And it could be Michael Hawkins Jr. who is the face of it all.

Watch: OU Football interviews Michael Hawkins Jr.

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