Hot Links: Stripe the Stadium, a LOT of defensive substitutions, and more!

September 7, 2021
NCAA Football: Tulane at Oklahoma
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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!

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