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2023 Season Preview: Oklahoma Sooners look to break drought vs. the BYU Cougars

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2023 Season Preview: Oklahoma Sooners look to break drought vs. the BYU Cougars


The Oklahoma Sooners have taken on the Brigham Young Cougars twice in the history of the program.

They are 0-2 in those games. The most recent loss came in the infamous Sam Bradford injury game in 2009, which ended any national championship aspirations that season.

This time around, they will play in Provo, Utah. The November matchup could provide an interesting weather element for the Sooners to have to manage.

BYU is an interesting team. Their top 22 can compete with just about anyone in the Big 12. Depth, however, is the concern.

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They added 19 guys this offseason from their recruiting class and the transfer portal, which should factor into their two-deep.

The Cougars hope to have better depth than they did a year ago. BYU returns 63% of its production from 2022. That ranks 70th in the nation according to ESPN (ESPN+).

Offensively, led by the now-departed Jaren Hall, BYU was 36th in the country. Hall threw for 3,171 yards, 31 touchdowns, and only six interceptions.

To replace Hall, Sitake brought in former USC and Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis. Slovis started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Panthers last season, throwing for 2,397 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Cougars also lose their top three running backs from a year ago. To mitigate the loss of leading rusher Christopher Brooks, BYU added transfers Aidan Robbins and Deion Smith.

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Robbins ran for more than 1,000 yards last season for the UNLV Rebels. Smith ran for more than 300 yards for the Colorado Buffaloes.

They lost Puka Nacua, their top wide receiver from a year ago, but return a lot of production from 2022 and added depth this offseason.

Defensively the Cougars ranked 97th in points per game last season. They have to improve on that side of the ball if they want to compete in year one in the Big 12.

Five of their top six leaders in tackles return. They also had five players record four tackles for loss or more, and three of them return for this season. Ben Bywater led the way in 2022 with 98 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, and three interceptions.

Like the Oklahoma Sooners, the Cougars struggled to find a consistent pass rush last season. They bring back a lot of experience, but not a ton of production. John Nelson led BYU in sacks in 2022 with just three.

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Boise State Broncos transfer Isaiah Bagnah hopes to help with that. He had seven tackles for loss and six sacks in the 2021 season before he was limited to just six games in 2022.

They have to figure out how to generate pressure after finishing 130th in sacks last year out of 131 teams. They also finished 129th in tackles for loss and 98th against the run.

But they have a great coach in Kalani Sitake who hopes to see vast improvement this year.

This is a tricky game because in late November in Provo, the temperature averages 52. The weather could play a factor. The crowd will provide a raucous environment, hosting arguably the biggest game in their program’s history. This has the feel of a “blue-out,” with the team rocking their all-blues and those in attendance matching.

This is a team with not a lot of depth, so do they wear out by the time they play OU? The key for this game is to get up on them early. If they hang around, BYU will beat you.

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Until OU shows me they can do that, I’m not betting on it.

Score Prediction: 34-27 BYU

Predicted Record: 9-2

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.





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College football odds, bets: Why Oklahoma State is undervalued as a Big 12 championship contender

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College football odds, bets: Why Oklahoma State is undervalued as a Big 12 championship contender


There’s just something about playing underdog that Mike Gundy seems to love, no matter how much he wins. Oklahoma State was picked seventh in last season’s Big 12 preseason poll. Months later, the Pokes upset Oklahoma in the final Bedlam and played for a Big 12 championship. The Cowboys have reached double-digit wins eight times under Gundy’s watch. Half came after starting the year unranked in the preseason AP Top 25. 

But in 2024, the lack of attention is head-scratching. Oklahoma State has the seventh-best odds to win the Big 12 championship, behind teams like Iowa State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys are tied with UCF, which went 6-7 during a frustrating first season as a power conference team. Ironically, the only Knights win against a legacy Power Five team came against OSU. 

Granted, Oklahoma State was by no means dominant during its run to the Big 12 title game. Bizarre losses to UCF and South Alabama came by a combined 78-10. The Cowboys needed double overtime to survive a late charge from BYU. But still, Oklahoma State steadily held its ground. Heading into 2024, last season feels far more like an early arrival than a peak. 

For one, running back Ollie Gordon II is back after a Doak Walker Award-winning campaign. Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns during a breakout sophomore season and will enter the 2024 season as the top returning rusher in the sport by a wide margin. 247Sports ranks his offensive line No. 1 in the nation, ahead of behemoths at LSU and Georgia. The unit boasts five starters, including tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield who combine for 89 starts. 

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Overall, Oklahoma State ranks No. 3 in returning production nationally per ESPN, trailing only Iowa State and Stanford. An absurd 85% of production returns to college football with playmakers at almost every level. Defensive lineman Collin Oliver is a potential first-round draft pick to lead the unit. Quarterback Alan Bowman was able to wrangle yet another year of eligibility in 2024. The Pokes reached Big 12 contention only once Bowman fully took over under center. 

While returning production is no guarantee of success, it does set a baseline. Last season, Florida State, Kansas and Michigan were the three top Power Five teams in returning production. Those teams combined to go 37-5 and each put together their best seasons in at least a decade. 

By the way, the greatest stumbling block is gone. Gundy lost 15 games against Oklahoma, which represents nearly 20% of his career losses. Now, the Cowboys have eternal scoreboard and Gundy never has to worry about Oklahoma ever again. It should be a huge weight off his shoulders heading forward. 

It must be said, a non-Oklahoma team has ridden close-game luck to the Big 12 title game essentially every year since it returned in 2017. History is paved with horror stories of their follow-up seasons. There was 2023 TCU, which went from the national title game to missing a bowl game. One year earlier, Baylor went from a Sugar Bowl victory to a losing record. Iowa State also fell from a regular season first-place Big 12 finish in 2020 to a disappointing 7-6 campaign. 

However, there are a few pieces that help crack the code of a successful Mike Gundy team. For one, experience at quarterback helps. All eight of Gundy’s 10-win seasons came under multi-year starters. A superstar wide receiver helps too — and Brennan Presley is back to take that role. Defensively, the middle of the pack is good enough. That will take some improvement from Bryan Nardo’s unit but it is possible. 

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Also, low expectations don’t hurt. Since 2009, Oklahoma State has been picked top 15 in the preseason AP Top 25 six times. Five times, the Pokes finished lower in the final poll, including two unranked finishes. The only exception was during the historic 2011 season. 

Simply put, all the pieces are in place for another Mike Gundy special, despite the shockingly long odds. Then again, I doubt Oklahoma State is too worried about getting overlooked. It’s how the Cowboys live best. 

10-win seasons under Mike Gundy

2023

10-4

Unranked

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16

Alan Bowman (1st)

2021

12-2

Unranked

7

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Spencer Sanders (3rd)

2017

10-3

10

14

Mason Rudolph (3rd)

2016

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10-3

21

11

Mason Rudolph (2nd)

2015

10-3

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Unranked

20

Mason Rudolph (1st)

2013

10-3

13

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17

Clint Chelf (2nd)

2011

12-1

9

3

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Brandon Weeden (2nd)

2010

11-2

Unranked

13

Brandon Weeden (1st)

 Oklahoma State when preseason ranked

2022

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7-6

12

Unranked

2020

8-3

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15

20 (-5)

2017

10-3

10

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14 (-4)

2016 10-3 21 11 (+10)

2013

10-3

13

17 (-4)

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2012 8-5 19 Unranked

2011

12-1

9

3 (+6)

2009

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9-4

9

Unranked





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OU Baseball: Missed Opportunities Doom Oklahoma as Connecticut Takes Regional Matchup

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OU Baseball: Missed Opportunities Doom Oklahoma as Connecticut Takes Regional Matchup


NORMAN — On Saturday night, the Connecticut Huskies quelled Oklahoma’s offensive firepower, downing the Sooners 4-1.

OU’s stunning loss came just one day after Skip Johnson’s team demolished Oral Roberts 14-0 in their first game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma’s offense could not be slowed down against the Golden Eagles, as the Sooners notched seven extra base hits while nine of the team’s 10 batters reached base.

In Saturday night’s contest against the Huskies, however, OU’s ferocious offense disappeared, as the Sooners tallied just one run and three extra base hits. After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, Oklahoma had multiple chances to score and tie the game, but were unable to string together any consistency in the batter’s box.

Stephen Quigley pitched really good tonight, we hit a lot of balls hard in that game right at guys,” Johnson said after the game. “I thought our guys battled all night long. … That’s baseball, hats off to them, and maybe this is just part of the story.” 

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In the top of the fourth inning, senior infielder Michael Snyder hit a one-out double down the left field line, but Huskies senior right hander Stephen Quigley retired Jackson Nicklaus and Scott Mudler in the next two at-bats to shut down the Sooners’ scoring chances.

With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, junior outfielder John Spikerman doubled down the right field line, but senior outfielder Bryce Madron grounded out to once again end OU’s at-bat with a runner left in scoring position.

Just two innings later, Mudler hit a one-out single that once again gave Johnson’s team an opportunity to get in rhythm on offense, but sophomore utility Rocco Garza-Gongora lined into a double play in the following at-bat to send the Sooners’ defense back onto the field.

“He threw the backdoor slider and rammed the fastballs in, made some really quality pitches,” Johnson said. “We hit some balls hard, I want to say 14 balls that we had quality at-bats on and hit balls, line drive outs. He did a great job and they played great defense.” 

Garza-Gongora got the start for OU in place of senior Anthony Mackenzie, who suffered an injury against ORU and will likely be unavailable on Sunday as well.

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Even in the eighth, when senior outfielder Kendall Pettis hit a solo home run to leadoff the inning, the Sooners next three batters were retired in order as Oklahoma continued to struggle on offense.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Sooners had one more chance to get back into the game, as Willits and Snyder walked to put the tying run at the plate with no outs. Just as Connecticut had all game, however, the Huskies were able to get out the jam to escape the Regional Semifinal with a victory.

“There were some quality at-bats right there,” Johnson said. “I think we had a six-pitch walk and had a five-pitch walk with Snyder and, I mean, (Jackson Nicklaus) hit a two-run homer just last week to take the lead and he swung at a pitch and popped it up (on Saturday). You know, and then Rocco (Garza-Gongora) had a battle and got out. … That’s part of it.”

The offensive letdown is a surprise for Johnson’s squad, who has been held under two runs just three times all year. After Easton Carmichael, Willits and Nicklaus all recorded hits against Oral Roberts on Friday night, the trio went a combined 0-for-11 at the plate against the Huskies.

Quigley’s solid outing on the mound was a key contributor to the Sooners’ offensive struggles. While the senior right hander only tallied two strikeouts and allowed seven hits, he finished with just one walk and one earned run.

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“He just pitched a good game,” Pettis said. “Like Skip said, we had a lot of hard hit balls, you know, it’s baseball. It just didn’t fall, it literally just did not fall. We had a lot of good ABs a lot of line drives, but nothing was falling.”

WIth the loss, OU will play an elimination game against Duke at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from L. Dale Mitchell Park. If Oklahoma wins, the Sooners will get a rematch with Connecticut at 8 p.m. with a chance to extend the Norman Regional to Monday.



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Hot & Humid Saturday Night, Thunderstorms Possible For NW Oklahoma

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Hot & Humid Saturday Night, Thunderstorms Possible For NW Oklahoma


What will the weather be like this weekend?

Late Friday night, a few storms could move into western Oklahoma.

The weekend is looking hot & humid with more storm chances on Sunday.

Temperatures will be warm and breezy if you are bringing your furry friend to OKC for Poochella at Scissortail Park on Saturday.

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Active Watches & Warnings:

  1. Severe Thunderstorm Watch active for Alfalfa, Beaver, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Major, Roger Mills, Texas, Woods and Woodward County until 1:00 am.

PATTERN SHIFT COMING:

As we typically see, the main jet stream lifts north as we head into June. This is the main storm path, so Oklahoma’s organized severe season will come to an end.

We can and will still get strong to severe storms, but the tornado risk goes way down.

Next week, the big ridge of high pressure known as the “heat dome” will appear. This puts us in the northwest flow of the jet stream, which sometimes means complex storms arrive from the high Plains.

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Wind and hail producers. We will see. Eventually the heat dome usually moves directly over head, and we shut off the rain and we see our temps spike. This typically happens in July.

May be an image of map, tornado and text that says '9 GROUNDS OF STORMS Wed 7:00 PM JUN 5 Seakile Minot Boise Rapis City Oue തൊയ orontu New York Wichita Louisville Salt Lake City San Francisco HEAT OKC Los Angeles LosAngeles es DOME erque H Dallas San SanJose Jose Ensenada Charlotte Memphis Jackson L Orlando Houston Culiacán Monterrey Mazatlán Miami Santa Clara'

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