Also, OU and Texas will kick off at 11 a.m. once again.

Happy Monday, friends and fans!

On Sunday, both Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray led their respective pro teams to a couple of dominant wins. The pair of Oklahoma Sooners Heisman Trophy winners now have their teams surging three weeks into the 2021 NFL season.

For the 2-1 Cleveland Browns, Mayfield led his team to a 26-6 demolition over the Chicago Bears. On the day, he finished with 246 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions on 19 of 31 passing while also adding 31 rushing yards on four carries.

For the 3-0 Arizona Cardinals, Murray completed 28 of 34 passes for 316 yards and one INT in a 31-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On the ground, K1 added 19 yards and this one-yard TD in the first quarter.

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of Mayfield and Murray’s respective seasons play out over time. Up next for the Browns is a road test against the 1-2 Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. For the Cardinals, a trip to the 3-0 Los Angeles Rams in a battle of unbeatens.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! OU-Texas set for a morning kick, AR12 inks a sweet rookie deal with LA, the baseball Cards keep streaking and more!

OU Links

• I know you’ll all be shocked for this one, but it’s official — Oklahoma and Texas will kick-off the Red River Showdown at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 9. Television wise, ABC will carry the annual rivalry game. Regardless of how these past four weeks have played out, *Borat voice* I am very excite!

• The Lou Groza Award committee named OU placekicker Gabe Brkic one of four Stars of the Week. On Saturday night, he booted the Sooners to a 16-13 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers with his last second 30-yard field goal. On the season, the redshirt junior has successfully converted eight of 10 FGs, including four of five makes from beyond 50 yards.

• 247 Sports national college football analyst Brandon Marcello says Oklahoma has a quarterback problem with Spencer Rattler.
• Following OU’s win over WVU, Sooners Wire’s John Williams has the updated game-by-game win probability figures from ESPN’s Football Power Index rating.
• On Monday, former OU hoops star Austin Reaves signed a two-year, guaranteed deal with the Los Angeles Lakers after shining during the NBA Summer League. Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• The St. Louis Cardinals have extended their franchise’s longest winning streak to 16 games after rallying to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 on Sunday.
• Oft-suspended, former All-Pro WR Josh Gordon is reportedly set to join the Kansas City Chiefs upon being reinstated by the NFL.
• Clemson Tigers star DT Bryan Bresee has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the college football season after suffering a torn ACL in a loss to NC State last Saturday. Starting RB Will Shipley is also expected to miss some time with a leg injury.
• The Denver Nuggets have reportedly signed forward Michael Porter Jr. to a five-year, $172 million max contract extension worth up to $207 million, contingent on where he places on the All-NBA teams at the end of the 2021-22 season.
• After being dismissed from the team over the weekend, ex-Ohio State LB K’Vaughan Pope has reportedly entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

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Oklahoma continues to look unimpressive offensively.

After squeaking out another victory over a big underdog, the Oklahoma Sooners have fallen two spots in this week’s AP Poll. This poll, of course, does not matter, but it serves as a placeholder for national perception until the College Football Playoff rankings begin to drop.

1. Alabama (58)

2. Georgia (4)

3. Oregon

4. Penn State

5. Iowa

6. Oklahoma

7. Cincinnati

8. Arkansas

9. Notre Dame

10. Florida

11. Ohio State

12. Ole Miss

13. BYU

14. Michigan

15. Texas A&M

16. Coastal Carolina

17. Michigan State

18. Fresno State

19. Oklahoma State

20. UCLA

21. Baylor

22. Auburn

23. North Carolina State

24. Wake Forest

25. Clemson

A few quick notes:

• OU fell two spots, with Penn State and Iowa surpassing them. I don’t think anyone has an issue with the Sooners falling a couple of spots, but Iowa has been sleepwalking these past two weeks with ho-hum performances against Kent State and Colorado State. There are probably some more deserving candidates for that spot.
• If anything, OU should have been surpassed by Arkansas, which is a team that appears to be up for any challenge it faces and has been playing with its hair on fire. I’m not sure how anyone could dislike Sam Pittman. The Grove, Okla. native is an American treasure.
• Two in, two out for the Big 12. Iowa State is gone after a loss to Baylor (WOOF, did you see that two-point attempt?), and the Bears are in at No. 21. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State makes its first appearance at No. 19 after taking out then-No. 25 Kansas State. Texas is currently No. 26 and will likely end up being OU’s first top-25 opponent of the season. After that, OU probably won’t face another ranked team until mid-to-late November.
• The ACC is TERRRRRRIBLE! Honestly, it’s been hot garbage for a while, but Clemson’s accomplishments have kind of masked the conference’s overall ineptitude up until now. Wake Forest probably has the best team in 2021, which should never be the case.
• Alabama and Georgia look great. As for pretty much everybody else, it appears to be a mystery. Oregon has a great win on its resume but struggled with Arizona for much of the evening. OU has a bad offensive line (for now, at least). Notre Dame had a big fourth quarter against Wisconsin but has looked very ‘meh’ otherwise. Penn State should have lost to Wisconsin, and its win over Auburn doesn’t look as impressive after the Tigers barely beat Georgia State yesterday. It seems like everyone is just trying to find their footing at this point, which makes me feel slightly better about the Sooners.