This was the first meeting between the schools and the Gamecocks will not forget it.
South Carolina posted 254 yards of offense but scored 35 points thanks to the defense’s play.
Brent Venables is 20-13 in two-plus seasons at Oklahoma and the team is heading in the wrong direction.
The victory had to be sweeter for the Gamecocks because before Venables came to Oklahoma he was the long-time defensive coordinator at Clemson, South Carolina’s chief rival.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was an assistant at OU from 2018-20.
The Sooners head coach has the 10th-largest buyout in the FBS.
Oklahoma’s transition to the SEC has been, well, less than stellar to say the least.
The Sooners entered Week 8 at 4-2 (1-2 SEC) as they work through numerous issues with their offense in real time. After wins against Temple, Houston and Tulane to open the year, OU dropped it’s SEC debut to Tennessee, struggled in a win at Auburn then got blown out by Texas in the Red River Rivalry game.
The bad vibes kept getting worse on Saturday as the Sooners fell behind 21-0 at home against South Carolina before heading into halftime down 32-3. Even though head coach Brent Venables is in the all-important third year of his Oklahoma contract — and despite the fact he’s yet to win a bowl game at OU — he’s probably not on the hot seat just yet.
It has three turnovers,
It has allowed one fumble return for a touchdown
It has allowed one INT return for a touchdown
It has 14 yards of total offense
There hasn’t been six minutes of game time played.
The Sooners would then have spend millions more hiring a replacement.
It’s a tough situation amid Oklahoma’s transition to the SEC — especially as rival Texas remains undefeated and the No. 1 team in the country after coming over from the Big 12 with the Sooners — but there won’t be a quick fix in Norman.
Oklahoma likely has no choice but to trust (read: hope) Venables can fix this himself.
This past weekend saw Baker Mayfield return to his electric self, something that Oklahoma Sooners know all about.
This past weekend saw Baker Mayfield return to his electric self, something that Oklahoma Sooners know all about. The former Heisman Trophy winner also knows all about the Red River Rivalry, having beaten Texas two out of three times for the Sooners.
It appears that at this past weekend’s rivalry game, Baker Mayfield was still on the minds of Texas fans and players.
After Texas dominantly defeated Oklahoma, the Longhorns players grabbed a jersey and planted their flag on it at midfield. Following the Bucs and Mayfield’s dominant win against the Saints, he was asked about it.
He said he is, “Just a kid from Austin, Texas that went to Oklahoma, won his last two Red River games and being rent free in their heads for almost a decade.”
Texas players later explained that it wasn’t meant as a dig at Mayfield, but rather it was the first jersey Longhorn fans handed them. It goes to show that you can take the player out of the rivalry, but you can’t take the rivalry out of the player.
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik headlines Week 7’s recap in our “Good, Bad & Ugly”.
Week 7 across the college football landscape brought plenty of candidates for this week’s “Good, Bad & Ugly.” From the ACC to the SEC and everywhere in between, College Sports Wire has three deserving nominees in each category.
While the College Football Playoff appears to becoming more clear by the day, the conference races are heating up. Nothing is set in stone this early but Week 7 and Week 8 will create some separation from the contenders and pretenders to the crown in 2024.
We will dive into the conference’s races at another time, for now we present the “Good, Bad & Ugly” from college football in Week 7.
The Good: Cade Klubnik’s turnaround
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
After the opening weekend against the Georgia Bulldogs, we were left with more questions than answers regarding the Clemson Tigers and more importantly quarterback Cade Klubnik. On that day Klubnik completely just 18 of 29 attempts for 142 yards with one interception and two sacks. The Klubnik we have seen since Week 1 has been anything but that same player.
The Tigers have won five straight games and are once again among the top 10 teams in college football. Over the last five games, Klub has thrown for 17 touchdowns with just one interception. Against Wake Forest, the Texas native threw for over 300 yards with three touchdowns as Clemson blasted the Demon Deacons 49-14 on the road.
The Tigers remained perfect in ACC play.
The Bad: The Oklahoma Sooners offense in the Red River Rivalry
SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
For the second time in three seasons under Brent Venables, the Oklahoma Sooners were held to three or fewer points by the Texas Longhorns defense in the Red River Rivalry game. The first time it came under the guidance of former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who is now the head coach at Mississippi State. This time around it was co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell calling the plays.
After taking an early 3-0 lead in the closing minutes of the first quarter, the Texas Longhorns dominated the next three quarterbacks en route to the 34-3 victory. OU’s offense never really found their footing with six punts. Of the team’s 13 drives, the Sooners saw nine ended via a punt, fumble, or turnover on downs.
After their showing for most of the Auburn game and how they looked on the field against Texas, the Sooners have a lot of soul-searching to do on that side of the ball.
The Ugly: Time Management by the Ohio State Buckeyes
Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
It was a great matchup between the then-ranked No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 3 Oregon Ducks on Saturday night. Down by one with just 1:47 left in the game, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard was ready to lead his team down the field for the opportunity to steal this win away from the Ducks’ hands.
The only problem is that the time management shown by Ohio State ruined any opportunity to set up the game-winning field goal attempt. With just 10 seconds left in the game, Oregon was called for 12 men on the field but it burned some time off. On the next play, Howard rushed upfield as time ran out.
What might be the most frustrating aspect of this whole sequence to end the game is that Ohio State finished the game with a timeout in their pockets.
OU drops out of AP Top 25 for first time since 2022.
The Oklahoma Sooners slid out of the top 25 in the US LBM Coaches poll following their loss to their Red River rivals. After taking a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Texas Longhorns dominated the rest of the game after a huge second quarter where the Sooners turned the ball over twice and failed to stop the Longhorns running game.
The Sooners also dropped out of the AP Top 25 on Sunday.
Oklahoma’s absence makes it the first time they have been outside the AP poll since the end of the 2022 season.
Texas put a stranglehold on their No. 1 ranking, earning 56 of 62 first-place votes, the most since they were the unanimous No. 1 in 2008. Now, they turn their focus from OU to a massive home matchup against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.
Oregon sits at number two after Dillon Gabriel helped lead the Ducks to a major win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Penn State is third, while Ohio State slots in at number four. Georgia, Miami, and Alabama all remain untouched at five, six, and seven.
LSU’s upset of Ole Miss at home moved them to No. 8. Oklahoma’s former Big 12 foe, Iowa State, is No. 9 in the nation after dispatching West Virginia on the road. Clemson rounds out the top 10.
Oklahoma will likely have to put together a few wins in a row before they are considered for another spot in the top 25. As things currently stand, especially on the offensive side of the ball, the Sooners are not a top-25 team.
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Texas brought Baker Mayfield back into the Red River Rivalry.
No. 1 Texas ran away with a victory over No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday in the latest edition of the Red River Rivalry, topping the Sooners, 34-3.
It was a dominant victory for the Longhorns, who will surely retain their top spot in the AP Poll and extended their lead in the Red River series, 64-51-5. Texas has now won two of the last three games against Oklahoma, and the Longhorns celebrated with a callback to Baker Mayfield’s days with the Sooners.
Well, after Texas beat Oklahoma on Saturday, Longhorns linebackers Anthony Hill Jr. and Barryn Sorrell took the extra step of planting a Texas flag at midfield at the Cotton Bowl — and they did it through a Mayfield Sooners jersey, as On Texas Football’s CJ Vogel reported:
Danny Stutsman of Oklahoma wore a Horns Down chain on Saturday while entering the Cotton Bowl for the SEC clash with Texas.
In the end it was Sooners down, as Bevo and the Longhorns pounded OU, 34-3.
Texas had 13 yards of total offense in the first quarter but erupted for 21 points in the second quarter, putting the game out of reach.
Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was harassed by the Texas defense. Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns doubled OU in total offense late in the fourth quarter.
What a clown lol
Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman is rocking a gold horns down necklace👀
Texas erupted for 21 points in the second quarter against Oklahoma
Texas had 13 yards of offense in the first quarter on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma.
The Longhorns woke up for over 200 and 21 points in the second quarter of the Red River Rivalry against the fumble-prone Sooners.
A Texas fumble turned into a touchdown when Silas Bolden recovered a Longhorn fumble in the end zone.
Talk about a hustle play, Bolden was blocking at the line of scrimmage and took off down the field to corral the football before it went out of the back of the end zone for an Oklahoma touchback.
It was 21-3 at the break for top-ranked Texas.
You never know what you’ll see when Texas & OU meet 👀
The Kansas City #Chiefs should look to add a playmaker like Oklahoma Sooners safety Billy Bowman Jr. in the 2025 NFL draft.
Several Kansas City Chiefs safeties hit free agency over the next two years, including starters Bryan Cook and Justin Reid. Instead of only pumping money into long-term deals for veterans, the Chiefs should consider investing in a mix of mid-level veteran contracts and cheap rookies to maintain the versatility of their secondary.
Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr.’s high school track background translates to the football field. His speed and range make him a turnover machine. Since the start of 2022, he has ten interceptions, including three pick-sixes. Bowman’s experience returning kicks comes in clutch on his interception returns.
Bowman’s vision in coverage is excellent. He reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate and jump routes. Very few defensive backs in the 2025 class match Bowman’s downhill trigger and closing burst. He deciphers route combinations to pick through the offense’s window dressing and lock onto the quarterback’s intended target.
Bowman is an undersized 5 foot 10 inch, 194-pound safety who offers limited value in run defense. He’s not afraid to come downhill and challenge the run, but he takes poor angles, whiffs on tackle attempts, and lacks the play strength to shed blocks. He projects best as a third or fourth-round pick who operates in deep alignments.
The Sooners are set to play their most important game of the season on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST. They will welcome the No. 1 Texas Longhorns to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the latest edition of the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma beat Texas on the road last year.
