Oklahoma
Oklahoma Preparing True Freshman Quarterback to Handle ‘Tremendous’ Auburn Atmosphere
NORMAN — Brent Venables has made his decision.
True freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will start this week at Auburn, and he’ll become the first OU true freshman quarterback to make his first start on the road since Troy Aikman against Kansas in 1984.
Auburn week was always going to be crucial for Venables’ No. 21-ranked Sooners (3-1, 0-1 SEC), as it was expected to be the first true road start for Jackson Arnold.
Though the situation has gone differently than anyone expected at quarterback, the fact still remains that a first time road starter will have to take on a desperate group in the Tigers (2-2, 0-1).
“We as coaches gotta be the headlights for our players,” Venables said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “They’ve never been a two-year veteran yet. Mike hasn’t. He hasn’t played a whole bunch of college football. He hasn’t been to that stadium.”
Much like last week’s battle with Tennessee, Sunday wasn’t the first time Auburn was brought up to the offense.
The Sooners dedicated bits and pieces of the offseason to looking ahead to SEC play, as OU is taking on eight new conference opponents for the first time this year.
That prep work included a quick crash course on everything to expect inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“(We) try to paint the picture. Accurate picture,” Venables said. “Pump in the crowd noise, tell him to focus on the things you can control. If he’s a strong-minded guy, he’ll do that. Try to think about the process. Think about managing things the right way, don’t try to do too much, and all those kinds of things.
“… We’ve been talking about going to Auburn for several months. So, if he’s been paying attention, this isn’t the first time he’s hearing about it.”
When he was at Clemson, Venables coached on the plains, so he has some experience to draw on to prepare his football team.
“Got a great opponent… a great history and tradition in Auburn University,” Venables said. “… It’s electric. They’ve got tremendous tradition and pageantry. They’ll be deep. They’re hungry. Very much like what we saw here. Our fans were (just) amazing. It’ll be an environment like that.”
Oklahoma does have some experience to lean on in its quarterback room, however.
Though he’s not in line to take snaps if everything goes to plan this weekend, Casey Thompson has been through the highs and lows of running an offense in college football.
He’s dealt with transferring from Texas to Nebraska to FAU, he’s dealt with injuries and he’s battled through multiple quarterback competitions.
The Sooners have leaned on Thompson to help both Jackson Arnold and Hawkins, and getting a young quarterback prepared to handle a hostile environment is no different.
“He’s been there, done that,” Venables said of Thompson. “He’s started a gazillion games, played a lot of ball, been in a lot of meeting rooms, seen a lot of that kind of stuff happen, and so he’s got tremendous wisdom.
“… He’s going to be a coach. He’ll be a fantastic coach. He’s kind of a coach now. But he’s been wonderful. He’s very intentional, constantly, about using the gifts that he has to make people around him better. … We have a great appreciation for Casey.”
Hawkins will have an excellent opportunity to build on his second half showing against Tennessee and make the quarterback job his own on Saturday.
And Oklahoma is doing everything it can to prepare its new young starter to take on the unknown against the Tigers.
“He’ll have to bear a heavy burden, like a lot of guys,” Venables said. “So you try to coach ‘em and prepare him in a week’s period of time.”
No. 7 Alabama football should have defeated unranked Oklahoma. But the Crimson Tide didn’t.
Oklahoma had only won one SEC game all season. It wasn’t even bowl eligible before Saturday.
Then, the Alabama offense failed to score a touchdown and sputtered for much of the night. The Crimson Tide defense couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s rushing attack when the game was still close.
Alabama turned the ball over three times, with three Jalen Milroe interceptions.
As a result, the Crimson Tide fell 24-3 to the Sooners on Saturday at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
“There is no excuse,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “None. Everybody saw it. Whoever was watching the game. We lost, and we’ve got to take it on the chin and keep learning from that.”
Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) gave up 325 yards, with 257 yards, on the ground to Oklahoma and two touchdowns. Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5) had the nation’s 90th ranked scoring offense entering the game.
“Our job was to out-execute those guys, and we fell short tonight,” Campbell said.
Meanwhile, the Alabama offense tallied only 234 yards, with 164 through the air and 70 on the ground, to score only a field goal.
Milroe, who gashed LSU on the ground two weeks ago, couldn’t get anything going with his legs with only seven yards on 15 carries.
“They had a great game plan for us,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. “We’ve just got to get a hat on a hat. We have to execute better.”
The Alabama players who took part in interviews postgame showed a clear and intentional interest in moving on quickly from the result and performance in Norman.
“So what? Now what?” Booker said. “Can’t do anything about what just happened. What we can do is make sure we prepare our tails off.”
Next up is a matchup with Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium to close out the regular season. Alabama won’t make the SEC Championship Game, but it might not yet be eliminated from the playoff just yet. The Allstate playoff predictor on Saturday night gave the Crimson Tide a 31% chance to still make the postseason.
“Got a big game next week,” Booker said. “Got to put all of our focus and energy there. Can’t do anything about what just happened. We’ve got to put all of our focus and energy into next week.”
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama has one final road test to pass in the regular season if it wants to compete for an SEC title and make it back to the College Football Playoff.
The No. 7 Crimson Tide plays at Oklahoma on Saturday night in the first matchup as conference foes in the SEC. BamaCentral will have coverage all night from Norman. Follow along for updates.
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(latest updates at the top)
Who: Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-4)
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC/ESPN+
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).
Series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1
Last meeting: Alabama defeated the Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff 45-34. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns while the Crimson Tide rushed for 200 yards across 42 carries between Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Najee Harris.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Mercer 52-7 at home behind three touchdowns from Jalen Milroe and two touchdowns from Ryan Williams. The Alabama defense forced three more turnovers as they’ve now forced 16 in the last five games, making life challenging on opposing offenses.
Last time out, Oklahoma: The Sooners were off this past week, but went to Missouri two weeks ago and lost 30-23 after losing a fumble for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes. Oklahoma’s played five conference games and only won at Auburn this season.
After falling twice away from home already this season, No. 7 Alabama will look to avoid a potential trap game in its final road trip of the regular season. The Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2 in the SEC) will visit Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
This will be the seventh matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma. The Sooners hold a 3-2-1 advantage in the series, but the Tide won the most recent meeting, recording a 45-34 victory in the 2018 Orange Bowl. Alabama is currently a 14-point favorite for Saturday’s game, according to the Caesars Sportsbook.
Here’s how Tide Illustrated’s staff thinks the game will play out.
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