By Jalen Ross for The Crimson Captain
The Sooners started the 2023 campaign by making history, breaking a 106 year old school record while beating the Arkansas State Red Wolves like they stole something. It was the largest victory margin since 1917. In a 73-0 victory, all 3 sides of the ball dominated and complemented each other well. It looked like a more complete game in all phases. Now, let me preface every single thing by saying I know it was Arkansas State, but I walked away very satisfied about this group. Of course there’s nothing but good to take from a 73 point victory, but here’s 5 things that stood out to me from Team 129’s debut.
1. Gabriel sharp as a tack
I was really impressed with what I saw from Dillon Gabriel on Saturday. His level of comfort as Oklahoma’s QB1 looked higher. A huge topic of discussion last season was If Gabriel could handle the pressure of being the QB at the University of Oklahoma and if he could handle the attention that comes with it, coming from somewhere like UCF. Although the opponent doesn’t give you much, I thought Gabriel played one of the more efficient games of his career against the Red Wolves. He started by doing a great job pushing the tempo early on in the game, taking care of the football, and pushing the ball downfield at the right moments. It was simply a beautiful rendition of the Dime Time Offense with 8 at the helm. With the right horses around him, I have no doubt he can end this season as the QB most fans expected a year ago.
2. Defense improved, but still stairs to climb
Now obviously the defense wasn’t bad yesterday. Though it’s very telling there’s still work to be done up front. The pass rush did get better as the game wore on, but it wasn’t particularly great. The run defense was outstanding, in which the Sooners were *not great* at a season ago, and the way they pursued the ball was a thing of beauty. The tackling looked miles better than a year ago. Though there were some very minor busts in the secondary, the defensive unit seemed to be in the right spots at the right times for the most part. Having a thumper like Reggie Pearson is going to be critical for this unit in 2023.
3. Emmett Jones Effect
If any position on the Offense stood out today, it was the WRs. Gavin Freeman: Self explanatory. All of the preseason hype wasn’t for nothing. Some either laughed or got shook when Brent Venables said that Gavin Freeman was the best wide receiver on this team, and that clearly wasn’t a joke. Nic Anderson finally got a chance to showcase himself, and really stood out to me today. Jayden Gibson redeemed himself from the “he can’t catch” accusations, and I loved what I saw from Andrel Anthony. Had Anthony not been tackled 3 times while going for the ball, he walks away from this game with 100+ yards and a touchdown. One of the biggest things that impressed me from this group was it’s blocking ability.
4. It’s Jackson Arnold’s world, we just pay bills in it
There’s no question that this is Jackson Arnold’s program beginning in January, but the love this kid receives already is off the charts. People around the program spoke incredibly high of the highly touted QB throughout the offseason, but everyone knew the keys belonged to Dillon Gabriel heading into yesterday. The ovation when Arnold first showed up on the jumbotron was incredible. Arnold finished his first game as a Sooner completing all 11 of his passes, 114 yards, and 2 TDs, This is clearly his show heading into the Southeastern Conference, and we all got a great glimpse of the future. The quarterback play as a whole was incredible. It wouldn’t shock me one bit if there’s a Jackson Arnold package by October.
5. Optimistic, but doing so cautiously
Again, I know it was Arkansas State, but I walked away from Owen Field with a lot of optimism about this program and its future. It was easy to tell that this group is starting to pick up what the Brent Venables Co. is laying down. The culture is in a great place, and it’s clear the players are starting to pick up on what Venables expects defensively from a mindset and physical standpoint.
Comments