Oklahoma
Oklahoma-Temple Preview: Three Keys to the Game — Starting Five, Value the ‘Hide, Let it Ride
![Oklahoma-Temple Preview: Three Keys to the Game — Starting Five, Value the ‘Hide, Let it Ride Oklahoma-Temple Preview: Three Keys to the Game — Starting Five, Value the ‘Hide, Let it Ride](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3655,h_2055,x_937,y_115/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_sooners/01j6frh12b0v0b2zmszt.jpg)
NORMAN — No. 18-ranked Oklahoma opens the 2024 season — Team 130, history and Brent Venables remind us — on Friday against Temple, and it’s a big one.
Not necessarily the game itself. OU is a 43-point favorite to beat the Owls in the program’s first-ever Friday night home game.
But the whole season — Venables’ third as head coach since returning to Norman and replacing Lincoln Riley — is beyond huge for the Sooners. It’s gargantuan, titanic and monumental all rolled into one.
Joining the Southeastern Conference will do that.
SEC play arrives in about 23 days when the Tennessee Volunteers come to Owen Field. Just beyond that lies a trip to the snake pit that is Auburn, AL.
So while the Sooners are sure to roll past Philly’s finest on Friday night, they’ll need to have a sharp eye tuned in to making the kind of continued improvements that will show up when the SEC games get here on Sept. 21.
Here are three keys to the Temple game:
Three of last year’s starting offensive line are currently on NFL rosters. A fourth just got waived. And a fifth is starting for Missouri (who hosts OU in an old Big Eight reunion on Nov. 9).
It’s not clear if the Sooners have ever had to replace all five starters up front — but that’s exactly what Venables and o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh faced this offseason. And no doubt, it was tricky.
Sunday’s two-deep shows that three of the five FBS transfers — left tackle Michael Tarquin, center Branson Hickman and right guard Febechi Nwaiwu — have earned starting jobs heading into week one. Two more transfers — right guard Geirean Hatchett and right tackle Spencer Brown — are listed as backups.
The other two starting jobs, per the two-deep, belong to junior left guard Jacob Sexton and third-year sophomore right tackle Jake Taylor.
That’s all pending everyone’s good health come Friday, of course.
Gone from last season are left tackle Walter Rouse, left guard Cayden Green, center Andrew Raym, right guard McKade Mettauer and right tackle Tyler Guyton. Rouse, Raym and Guyton all made NFL rosters this week, Mettauer was released Tuesday and Green is now a starter at Mizzou.
Two redshirt freshmen who got virtually no playing time last season — left tackle Logan Howland and left guard Heath Ozaeta — are top backups at their respective positions.
Four true freshmen — left guard Eddy Pierre-Louis, center Josh Aisosa, right guard Eugene Brooks and right tackle Spencer Autry-Dent — are listed third at their respective positions.
Bedenbaugh has recruited a lot of talent from the high school ranks (four 4-stars and four 3-stars in the last two classes), and he’s also landed a lot of experience from the NCAA Transfer Portal (97 career starts, 164 career games among this year’s five newcomers).
Developing chemistry has been the priority since way back in spring practice, but many times that can only happen in games.
If quarterback Jackson Arnold and his wildly talented receivers and running backs are going to stay clean and move the football effectively this season, it has to start Friday with the five new faces up front.
Oklahoma’s offensive roster is scattered with young, talented players who will no doubt be eager to impress their coaches and a hungry fan base.
Start with Jackson Arnold, the 5-star quarterback who played only a handful of games as a true freshman last season and didn’t look particularly conscientious about ball security in his one start — a four-turnover performance and double-digit loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
The top returning wide receiver, Jalil Farooq, lost two fumbles in that game as well, including a costly fourth-quarter giveaway.
After a strong true freshman season in 2022, running back Jovantae Barnes labored through most of last year with a foot injury and will be eager to make something special happen now that he’s fully healthy again. And behind him are FCS transfer Sam Franklin, true freshman Taylor Tatum and redshirt freshman Kalib Hicks — all of whom might just go into the game feeling like they have something to prove. That can often lead to being loose with the football.
If Arnold simply plays within the structure of the offense, follows the game plan and takes what the defense gives him — including any deep shots that may come open — then he can be turnover-free. And if the running backs and receivers adhere to their fundamentals and simply trust their blocks, there shouldn’t be any issues.
The defense is supposedly the strength of this team. At Oklahoma, that’s really saying something.
The Sooners have some impressive tools to use throughout every level of the defense. The edge rushers are talented and deep. The interior linemen are stout and come with talent, experience and youth. The linebackers are probably the heart and soul of the defense. The secondary is loaded with athleticism and savvy.
Venables’ only shutout in his first two seasons was a 73-0 route of Arkansas State in last year’s opener. Four games in, OU had given up just 28 points and was among the national leaders. But things went mostly downhill from there as th Sooners allowed 23.5 points per game.
Linebacker Danny Stutsman’s health is paramount. So is safety Billy Bowman’s. So getting a big lead early and getting them to the sideline quickly might be a sound strategy. At most other positions, the Sooners are actually deep enough to withstand a few minor injuries if it should come to that.
Most everyone agrees that Venables has done a great job restoring talent and depth to the OU defense. Posting another shutout and putting forth a wire-to-wire domination of Temple would go a long way toward furthering that narrative and serving notice to the rest of their new conference that the Sooners are indeed SEC-ready.
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Oklahoma
SDSU vs Oklahoma State: Who wins the PlayStation matchup?
![SDSU vs Oklahoma State: Who wins the PlayStation matchup? SDSU vs Oklahoma State: Who wins the PlayStation matchup?](https://cdn.forumcomm.com/dims4/default/f8320cc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3606x2147+0+0/resize/1790x1066!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F5a%2Fa5%2F5a541a16492992bbdcaff17fa435%2Fimg-4633.jpg)
Now that South Dakota State is (sort of) in the game — that is, EA Sports College Football 25, of course I had to simulate their Week 1 clash with No. 17 Oklahoma State at Boone Pickens Stadium.
It is, of course, not a completely accurate simulation. While the game already comes with the Cowboys roster fully loaded and the players accurately rated, I had to create the Jackrabbits, and edit the prefabricated roster as well as I could to somewhat resemble the Jackrabbits.
My SDSU creation has an overall team rating of a 72, compared to an 84 for OSU, for what that’s worth.
Instead of ‘playing’ the game myself, I set it up and let the computer control both teams.
Here’s what happened:
– The Jacks got the ball first and moved quickly into the red zone on passes to Davin Stoffel and Devon Cole, but back to back sacks pushed SDSU all the way back to the 35, and Hunter Dustman’s 52-yard FG was wide right, and SDSU came up empty on an 11-play drive.
– The SDSU defense forces a 3 and out.
– The Jacks again move into the red zone, are again pushed back by a sack, and again miss a field goal. Still 0-0 despite two good drives for SDSU.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
– The Cowboys take the lead on a 55-yard streak from Alan Bowman to Rashod Owens. 7-0 OSU.
Halftime
– OSU goes 3 and out, the drive killed by a Randy Keumonge sack.
– SDSU ties it up on a 58-yard drive that ends in a touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Griffin Wilde and includes a fourth-down conversion in the red zone.
– OSU answers with a 10-play, 82-yard drive, with Ollie Gordon taking it in from 3-yards out to make it 14-7.
Screenshot by Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
– A pick six by OSU’s Korie Black on an underthrown fade puts the Cowboys up 21-7 with just over a minute to play in the game.
– Gronowski is sacked on three straight plays to end the game.
Final score: Oklahoma State 21, SDSU 7.
The low score is largely due to the game being played with just five minute quarters (I didn’t have the patience to sit through full 15s), but otherwise played fairly realistically. The Jacks had success moving the ball, but the OSU pass rush on 3rd down killed their drives. The Jacks did a good job on Ollie Gordon, but that left them susceptible to the pass and the veteran QB Bowman made them pay.
It will be interesting to see if any of that plays out on Saturday.
Screenshot by Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Final stats:
SDSU
Gronowski 19-24, 167 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Amar Johnson 11-35
Griffin Wilde 6-56, 1 TD
Devon Cole 4-30
Cale Reeder 6 tackles
Daeton Mcgaughy 6 tackles, 1 sack
OSU
Bowman 8-10, 150 yards, 1 TD
Gordon 10-34, 1 TD
Collin Oliver 3 sacks, 10 tackles
Collin Clay 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
Oklahoma
Forbes named these Oklahoma employers some of the best in the country: See the list
National parks within driving distance of Oklahoma City
These national parks are great for a weekend road trip out of Oklahoma.
With more people content to remain at their current jobs, Forbes recently released its 2024 Best Employers by State.
The media company partnered with Statista to survey more than 160,000 employees working for companies with at least 500 people in the United States.
Forbes listed 35 companies in Oklahoma with 19 headquartered in Oklahoma.
Here’s which companies in Oklahoma made the list:
No. 1: Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce
CEO: Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby
Headquarters: Ada
Industry: Travel and leisure
Employees: 13,500
Year founded: 1983
No. 2: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
CEO: Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton
Headquarters: Tuskahoma
Industry: Government services
Employees: 12,000
Year founded: 1820
No. 3: American Electric Power
CEO: Benjamin G.S. Fowke
Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
Industry: Utilities
Employees: 17,250
Year founded: 1906
No. 4: Oklahoma Heart Hospital
CEO: John R. Harvey
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Health care and social services
Employees: N/A
Year founded: 2002
No. 5: Saint Francis Health System
CEO: Cliff Robertson
Headquarters: Tulsa
Industry: Health care and social services
Employees: 11,000
Year founded: 1960
No. 6: MidFirst Bank
CEO: Jeff Records
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Banking and financial services
Employees: 3,268
Year founded: 1982
No. 7: Costco Wholesale
CEO: Roland M. Vachris
Headquarters: Issaquah, Washington
Industry: Retail and wholesale
Employees: 208,000
Year founded: 1983
No. 8: Oklahoma State University – Main campus
CEO: Oklahoma State University President Kayse Shrum
Headquarters: Stillwater
Industry: Education
Employees: 8,882
Year founded: 1890
No. 9: Dell Technologies
CEO: Michael Saul Dell
Headquarters: Round Rock, Texas
Industry: Semiconductors, electronics, electrical engineering
Employees: 42,560
Year founded: 1984
No. 10: Tyson Foods
CEO: Donnie D. King
Headquarters: Springdale, Arkansas
Industry: Food, soft beverages, alcohol and tobacco
Employees: 120,000
Year founded: 1935
No. 11: Stillwater Medical Center
CEO: Denise Webber
Headquarters: Stillwater
Industry: Health care and social services
Employees: 2,000
Year founded: 1916
No. 12: University of Oklahoma
CEO: University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr.
Headquarters: Norman
Industry: Education
Employees: 18,000
Year founded: 1890
No. 13: OGE Energy
CEO: Sean Trauschke
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Utilities
Employees: 2,329
Year founded: 1902
No. 14: Cherokee Nation
CEO: Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskins Jr.
Headquarters: Tahlequah
Industry: Government services
Employees: 11,600
Year founded: 1839
No. 15: Target
CEO: Brian C. Cornell
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Industry: Retail and wholesale
Employees: 415,000
Year founded: 1902
No. 16: Arvest Bank
CEO: Kevin Sabin
Headquarters: Lowell, Arkansas
Industry: Banking and financial services
Employees: 6,462
Year founded: 1961
No. 17: Cox Entertainment
CEO: Alex Taylor
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Industry: Telecommunications services, cable supplier
Employees: 50,000
Year founded: 1898
No. 18: Amazon
CEO: Andrew R. Jassy
Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
Industry: Retail and wholesale
Employees: 1,525,000
Year founded: 1994
No. 19: Oklahoma State University Medical Center
CEO: Johnny Stephens
Headquarters: Tulsa
Industry: Health care and social services
Employees: N/A
Year founded: 1972
No. 20: Whirlpool
CEO: Marc Robert Bitzer
Headquarters: Benton Harbor, Michigan
Industry: Semiconductors, electronics, electrical engineering
Employees: 18,880
Year founded: 1911
No. 21: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
CEO: Deborah Shropshire
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Government services
Employees: 5,000
Year founded: 1936
No. 22: Sodexo
CEO: Sophie Clamens
Headquarters: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Industry: Business services and supplies
Employees: 435,159
Year founded: 1966
No. 23: U.S. Department of Defense
CEO: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III
Headquarters: Arlington County, Virginia
Industry: Government services
Employees: 3,400,000
Year founded: 1947
No. 24: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
CEO: U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough
Headquarters: Washington, District of Columbia
Industry: Government services
Employees: 400,000
Year founded: 1930
No. 25: Enterprise Mobility
CEO: Andrew C. Taylor
Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri
Industry: Travel and leisure
Employees: 90,000
Year founded: 1957
No. 26: Oklahoma City Public Schools
CEO: Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Jamie Polk
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Education
Employees: 4,285
Year founded: 1889
No. 27: Macy’s
CEO: Antony Spring
Headquarters: New York, New York
Industry: Retail and wholesale
Employees: 85,581
Year founded: 1858
No. 28: FedEx
CEO: Rajesh Subramaniam
Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Industry: Transportation and logistics
Employees: 600,000
Year founded: 1971
No. 29: One Gas
CEO: Robert S. McAnnally
Headquarters: Tulsa
Industry: Utilities
Employees: 3,900
Year founded: 2014
No. 30: AT&T
CEO: John T. Stankey
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
Industry: Telecommunications services, cable supplier
Employees: 149,900
Year founded: 1876
No. 31: Hobby Lobby
CEO: David Green
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Retail and wholesale
Employees: 43,000
Year founded: 1972
No. 32: Devon Energy
CEO: Richard E. Muncrief
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Construction, chemicals, raw materials
Employees: 1,900
Year founded: 1971
No. 33: State of Oklahoma
CEO: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Government services
Employees: 30,000
Year founded: 1907
No. 34: City of Oklahoma City
CEO: Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt
Headquarters: Oklahoma City
Industry: Government services
Employees: 4,500
Year founded: 1889
No. 35: Norman Regional Health System
CEO: Richie Splitt
Headquarters: Norman
Industry: Health care and social services
Employees: 2,700
Year founded: 1946
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is the latest state to cut grocery taxes, but who does this really benefit?
![Oklahoma is the latest state to cut grocery taxes, but who does this really benefit? Oklahoma is the latest state to cut grocery taxes, but who does this really benefit?](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f1ec844/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2625+0+71/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc7%2F7b%2Fd904fec14dbd8703a9bf3bddccd5%2Fshutterstock-1980000383.jpg)
Starting Thursday, Oklahoma will become the latest state to end its state tax on groceries.
It’s a move more states across the country are considering to ease the burden of inflation and grocery prices on families, and in Oklahoma, it’s expected to save families as much as $650 a year.
“I was so excited,” Oklahoma resident Debbie Reyn said. “You know that is really going to help us. We’re on fixed income, and you don’t think that’s gonna make much difference, but it does. It makes a big difference in the grocery bill.
Kansas became one of the first states to tackle its grocery tax in 2022, an added cost that goes to the state and is separate from local sales tax. It voted to phase out the 6.5% tax, so by next year, it will be gone. Now, more states are following suit.
RELATED STORY | These 10 grocery stores top the list for value, consumers say
Illinois voted to do away with its grocery tax starting in 2026, and when Oklahoma’s 4.5% grocery tax goes away on Thursday, only 12 states will still have the tax. That number could decrease to only seven by 2026.
On November’s ballot, voters in Utah and South Dakota will decide the fate of their state grocery taxes, and Idaho will consider if it wants to eliminate its 6% grocery tax in a legislative session next year.
“Most of the benefit of a grocery exemption actually flows to the middle income and higher income,” said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan non-profit. “It doesn’t actually do what it says on the label, but it’s very popular.”
Walczak says that while grocery taxes are a popular policy and do provide relief, they typically benefit higher-income earners since those who purchase groceries on SNAP and other subsidized benefits are tax-exempt. He says while Oklahoma’s grocery tax elimination will save taxpayers around $370 million, there is still the fine print.
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“Oklahomans need to recognize when they go to the grocery store, even after this takes effect, they’re still paying sales tax, partially because they’re still paying their local sales tax. That hasn’t been repealed,” Walczak said. “Also partially because much of what you buy at the grocery store isn’t actually classified as a grocery. Prepared foods aren’t, a lot of the other items you buy aren’t.”
It’s an important distinction: After Thursday, if you buy a rotisserie chicken in Oklahoma, you will still pay a 4.5% grocery tax, but if you buy raw chicken, you will not.
Even still, those who struggle know a little bit can go a long way, like Ivris Owens who spoke to Scripps News shortly after Kansas passed its bill in 2022
“Sometimes you’ll have to go without, you know?” Owens said. “There have been times where I’ve had to go without, and I never wanted my kids to feel that. I never want them to know of me struggling.”
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