Alex Grinch says 31 players saw action on defense this past weekend. That’s a lot of subbing in and out…

Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

After a surprisingly poor showing in Saturday’s season opener, the Oklahoma Sooners have fallen from No. 2 to No. 4 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll.

Around the Big 12, the Iowa State Cyclones also fell two spots to No. 9, and the Texas Longhorns rose six places to No. 15 after a solid showing against a ranked Louisiana squad. Meanwhile, the TCU Horned Frogs just missed the cut as the team with the most votes outside the poll.

Fortunately for OU, this weekend’s contest against Western Carolina shouldn’t pose any further threat to its ranking. Rather, this is an opportunity for a team that absolutely needs to address the multitude of issues that nearly cost it in shocking fashion. Sure, beating WCU 60-0 wouldn’t necessarily mean everything is fixed considering the competition, but after what happened against Tulane, the soul-searching Sooners have to start somewhere. If not, that meeting with a struggling Nebraska squad on the 18th could loom large for all the wrong reasons.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Gabe Brkic earns conference player of the week honors, Mark Andrews inks an extension with Baltimore, the Texans name their starting QB and more!

OU Links

• Here’s your friendly reminder to wear the right shirt if you plan on attending this Saturday’s game against Western Carolina. The plan is to stripe the stadium, but this time the goal is to make it resemble the American Flag. Make sure you double-check where your seat is on your ticket so you can help the Sooners make this possible.

• On Monday, redshirt junior placekicker Gabe Brkic was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after setting several program benchmarks in Oklahoma’s season opening win over the Tulane Green Wave.

• During his weekly presser appearance, third year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch revealed that a total of 31 players saw snaps on defense in the season opener. Considering the apparent discombobulated state of things on that side of the ball practically all game long, that staggeringly high number makes sense. Honestly, that’s just absurd.

• The Baltimore Ravens have signed former OU TE Mark Andrews to a four-year, $56 million contract extension. The 2017 Mackey Award winner and 2019 Pro Bowl selection has steadily proven himself as one of the most capable tight ends in the NFL today. Boomer!
• QB Jalen Hurts has been named one of six team captains for the Philadelphia Eagles going into the 2021 NFL regular season. Congratulations to the second year pro!

• In case you missed it, Allen Kenney took a closer look at OU’s near-loss to Tulane, and inspected why Lincoln Riley’s teams have shown a tendency to lose big leads in the second half of games.

Around the Sports World

• After originally announcing this season would be his last, UConn Huskies head coach Randy Edsall is officially out, effective immediately, after a failed second stint in Storrs.
• Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart recently stated that his team is undergoing a spike of COVID-19 cases from a number of players to a couple staff members. UGA is set to host UAB this Saturday.
• Alabama Crimson Tide starting outside linebacker Christopher Allen reportedly suffered a fracture in his foot in a win over the Miami Hurricanes this past weekend. The injury could potentially sideline the redshirt senior for the remainder of the season.
• The Houston Texans have named Tyrod Taylor, not Deshaun Watson, as the starting QB for the team’s Week One bout against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• The San Francisco 49ers have signed veteran free agent CB Josh Norman to a one-year deal after he spent last season with the Buffalo Bills.

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