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As Jackson Arnold flew into the air, he connected with a smiling Deion Burks for a chest bump. There everything seemed to be going according to plan for Oklahoma’s offense.

Burks had just become the first Sooner to ever record three touchdown receptions during his debut. Meanwhile, Arnold had capped off OU’s fifth score in its first six drives, capitalizing on his first opportunity to lead OU’s offense since his four turnover performance against Arizona in last year’s Alamo Bowl.

Arnold completed 17 of his 25 passes for 141 yards and four touchdowns along with 34 yards rushing during the Sooners’ 51-3 win against Temple on Friday, but the night was not without hiccups.

Midway through the third quarter, the raucous end zone celebrations had turned into a frustrated sophomore quarterback ripping the straps off his helmet after yet another failed third down conversion and later throwing his arms into the air after his third sack of the night. It was those inconsistencies, along with injuries and miscommunication, that raised questions about the Sooners’ offense on what was otherwise a promising first step for Arnold as the new face of OU’s program.

“We did a lot of good things, but we have a lot to clean up,” Littrell said. “I felt like we got out of rhythm at times, especially late in the first half and really in the second half. We had some inopportune time penalties that set us back behind the chains, and had some drops that were really hurtful.

“Overall, it was really exciting how we started. We just have to make sure we maintain that same energy (we had) the first couple drives throughout the entire game.”

OU’s issues began when senior wide receiver Jalil Farooq went down with an injury on the Sooners first drive, which Venables later confirmed postgame was a broken foot that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. Farooq’s lone catch went for 47 yards on an impressive throw from Arnold, who was hit as he delivered a perfectly placed deep ball.

Farooq’s injury proved to affect OU’s receivers, who suffered multiple drops, including a potential deep touchdown redshirt senior J.J. Hester couldn’t hang on to.

Even senior Andrel Anthony, who made his return against the Owls after suffering a torn ACL against Texas last season, struggled by dropping the first target he received and only catching one pass for four yards. Venables expressed little concern for Anthony, the Sooners’ leading receiver last year at the time of his injury.

“Usually it takes you about a year to get back to where you were from that ACL (injury), and that’s mentally and physically,” Venables said. “... It was great to get him back and going. He’s long, super explosive and we look forward to getting him into the offense full-time.”

Venables mentioned freshmen receivers Zion Ragins, KJ Daniels, Ivan Carreon and Zion Kearney as well as sophomore Jaquaize Pettaway, who typically plays in the slot but Venables claims can play as an outside receiver as well, as potential replacements for Farooq.

“It’s going to be a handful of guys,” Venables said. “We’ve got some really good young receivers … These are all guys that we feel like are going to have a real chance for it.”

The injury bug continued to hurt the Sooners on their second drive when starting center Branson Hickman went down and finished the game in street clothes with a boot on his foot after being taken to the locker room. Oklahoma was without redshirt wide receiver Nic Anderson and redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jake Taylor, who had been battling injuries.

Though Venables claims the new headset communication, which was used by the Sooners after approval from the NCAA in the offseason, caused no issues, OU still ran into communication errors.

Venables noted multiple blunders he saw on run-pass-option plays, which Arnold chalked up to a lack of communication.

“We need to just get on the same page on our RPOs with what routes we’re going to run and little things like that,” Arnold said. “That was one part of our game that was sloppy tonight. … Some things were sloppy tonight, and they’re things that we definitely need to get fixed before next week.”

The Sooners also saw flashes of their 2022 selves by converting just one of their 12 third down attempts. And after an offseason full of questions surrounding the offensive line, the group allowed three sacks in a performance Littrell described as “solid.”

“We have a lot to grow from and a lot to get better at,” Littrell said. “… But those guys stepped up. We played a lot of different guys at a lot of different positions which was good to see.”

Though it wasn’t always pretty for Arnold and the Sooners, we haven’t seen the full version of Littrell’s offense yet. According to Venables, playing a Temple team that finished 3-9 in 2023 caused OU to roll out a “vanilla” offensive game plan.

The creativity of both Arnold and Littrell was limited, and their offense still managed 51 points and 378 yards.

Communication needs hashing out and the Sooners will have to find a way to overcome injuries, but for now, those factors don’t seem to be taking too big of a toll on Oklahoma.

“Who cares,” Arnold said. “We won 51-3.”

Jackson Arnold

Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold during the game against Temple on Aug. 30.

Sooners honor Toby Keith

Oklahoma debuted their Toby Keith singalong, which they’ll do at the end of the third quarter of every home game this season.

As the third quarter intermission began, the lights at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium turned off and many in the crowd pulled out their phones, held them up with the flashlight on and watched as a video narrated by Keith, a lifelong OU fan, played on the video board.

The crowd then sang along to Keith’s popular hit song “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American.)”

Keith died of stomach cancer on Feb. 6. He celebrated with the OU softball team after their national championship in 2023 and was honored when OU men’s basketball served beverages in red solo cups during a game last season.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables' postgame press conference after the Sooners' 51-3 win over Temple.

Filmed and edited by Aryanna Smith

Chapters:

00:00 - Brent Venables recaps the game

03:49 - Brent Venables on Jalil Farooq and Branson Hickman's injuries

04:31 - What was the biggest thing that stood out to you on the defensive front and the way they played the field?

06:01 - Brent Venables on the running game and Demarco Murray

06:49 - Brent Venables on Taylor Tatum

07:04 - Brent Venables on Deion Burks' future

07:41 - Is it safe to say you have to be patient with the new offense to get going?

08:43 - Brent on Tyler Keltner and Zach Schmit

09:33 - What do you think about Jackson's decision-making?

10:41 - How did the communication work with the offense and defense?

10:46 - Brent Venables on Andrel Anthony Jr. return

11:21 - Brent Venables on Michael Hawkins' debut

11:55 - Brent Venables on the fill-ins for Jalil Farooq

12:23 - What potential does Bauer Sharp add to your offense

13:00 - Brent Venables talks complete players for rush and pass

13:56 - Brent Venables on Walker's interception and Dolby

14:36 - Is Woodi 100% the same for Gentry?

15:29 - Is Jake Taylor in the same boat too?

15:44 - Brent Venables on new young receivers

16:27 - What do you think about the special team unit not giving up a long run?

17:03 - How important was it today to get Zach Alley further settled into this division?

18:13 - Brent Venables on defense

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