Latest / The Craig Way Show / Oklahoma Sooners Broadcaster Toby Rowland

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Oklahoma Sooners Broadcaster Toby Rowland · The Craig Way Show

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: It's the Craigway Show with the voice of the Texas
• 0:05
  Loghoords and Hall of Bain broadcast there Craig Way.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, whenever I am a guest on the program hosted
• 0:29
  by our next guest here, what they invariably do is
• 0:34
  bump back from their break with Texas Fight. And my
• 0:38
  comment is always that I'm sure there's somebody like on
• 0:42
  you know, the Turner Turnpike or you know, the Broadway
• 0:46
  Extension or something like that, just drove off the road.
• 0:48
  Hearing that and Toby Rolling may feel that maybe somebody
• 0:53
  on Mopak just screeched to a haul or or something
• 0:57
  like that. But that notwithstanding the play by play voice
• 1:00
  of the Oklahoma Sooners and a longtime friend joining us now,
• 1:04
  Toby Roland, how you doing, Tiro.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: I'm good.
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: Everybody was already stuck in traffic in Austin. I didn't
• 1:09
  cause any recks. Yeah, you're right, everybody's fine. I just
• 1:12
  made them mad.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Well, this game always drives quite a bit of emotion.
• 1:21
  I'm kind of curious before we even get into some
• 1:24
  of the names and the key personnel for this thing
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  on what the vibe has been like in the Greater
• 1:34
  Oklahoma City, Norman area, and really throughout the course of
• 1:36
  the state because of the weight and baggage that this
• 1:39
  game always carries for the folks up there, just as
• 1:42
  it does down here. What's been the feeling like this
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  week and the run up to the one hundred and
• 1:47
  twentieth edition of the Red River Rivalry.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: I would say, you know, coming off the Auburn win
• 1:54
  a week ago Saturday and the fourth quarter comeback that
• 1:58
  that was there was a lot of excitement.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: There was there was relief and excitement.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: Things could have been really kind of spiraling the wrong
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  way if they had lost too in a row to
• 2:10
  start conference play, and the offense certainly has not looked
• 2:14
  great this year, but they were able to pull that
• 2:16
  one out of the fire on the road, and so
• 2:19
  they came home and kind of carried a lot of
• 2:21
  momentum into last week. When you start sizing up this game, however,
• 2:25
  obviously Texas is really good, best team. They faced number
• 2:29
  one in the nation for a reason, and Oklahoma's an
• 2:32
  underdog for a reason. So I think that it's a
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  it's a weird mixture that both sides of this rivalry
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  have felt periodically where you're excited about everything that is
• 2:47
  the Red River rivalry, and at the same time, you
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  got that lump in the back of your throat that, oh,
• 2:52
  the other team might have the better team going into
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  this game, and let's hope we're not, you know, leaving
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  the Cotton Bowl having to hear a whole bit to
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  Texas fight. So I think Texas is a fourteen point
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  favorite for a reason. They got a really good team
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  and it's going to take something special from Oklahoma or
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  it's going to take Texas helping them out a little
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  bit if they're going to find a way to win
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  this football game.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Well, I think you had a really good point when
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  you talked about how maybe the Tensionees is a little
• 3:20
  bit coming off of the Tennessee game and going down
• 3:23
  to Auburn and win and being able to win there.
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  The continuous theme that I'm hearing is that not only
• 3:32
  Sooner fans, but really and truly and you could kind
• 3:34
  of hear it in Brent Vinnables voice in his press
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  conference history how good he feels about his defense right
• 3:40
  now and judging how they played, I think with good reasons. Well,
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  how about your take? Was it pretty much expected all
• 3:47
  along that this Sooner defense was really going to be
• 3:52
  the one carrying the male for this Oklahoma football team
• 3:55
  this year.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, you go back to when Brit Vinnibles was
• 3:59
  hired and Oklahoma had had some really good teams around
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  here and gone to college football playoffs, but the defense
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  could not hold up its endo the bargain when they
• 4:10
  ran into the Alabamas and George's and lsus of the world.
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  Speaker 3: And so the quest and the point in hiring Brent.
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  Speaker 4: Vinnables was, we want to get back to playing the
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  kind of great Oklahoma defense that they did when Brian
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  Bosworth and Rocky Caalmus and Teddy Layman and Roy Williams
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  were around here and win in national championships.
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  Speaker 3: And he's done that.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, in three years, you've seen the recruiting on
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  that side of the ball as well as the development
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  and the depth really increased dramatically. I think to answer
• 4:43
  your question, coming into the season, there was no doubt
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  the defensive side of the ball would be the strength
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  of this team just by sizing up the amount of
• 4:50
  talent and.
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  Speaker 3: Depth that they have there. They had almost.
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  Speaker 4: Everybody back, including Danny Stutzman and Billy Bowman, who decided
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  not to go to the NFL Draft and come back
• 5:01
  another year. They were able to bring in some transfer
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  portal talent to help them up front as well, specifically
• 5:07
  and Dominic Williams, who came from TCU and had a
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  very talented career. There a couple of secondary guys too,
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  So coming into the year, that was the belief that
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  certainly the defense was pretty good last year and had
• 5:23
  a chance to be even better, maybe really good this year.
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  Something they've done the entire time Branvinnables has been here
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  is take away the football. They've been really good at
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  forcing turnovers and that has continued so far this season.
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  Some of them big, obviously, like the Kip Lewis picked
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  six against Auburn.
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  Speaker 2: If you were to pick out a player because we
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  know and knew Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman junior, they
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  were certainly going to be the key leaders of this
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  Sooner defense. But if you were to pick out somebody
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  who raised an eyebrow for you and went, wow, he's
• 6:00
  really stepped that, would it be a guy like are
• 6:02
  Mason Thomas or Robert Spears Jennings or even you mentioned
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  Dominic Williams. Is there one guy in specific that stands
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  out to you that said, wowe, he's really delivered. We
• 6:13
  were hoping for this and he's really showing out.
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  Speaker 4: I think there are three, not to cheat on your answer,
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  but there are three that have taken their game to
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  another level this year on the defensive side of the ball.
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  Speaker 3: Two of them you mentioned.
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  Speaker 4: R Mason Thomas is a talented pass rusher who has
• 6:33
  suffered injuries each of the last two years on campus.
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  He's finally healthy and he's become quite a force for.
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  Speaker 3: Them this year.
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  Speaker 4: They've taken to calling him the closer around here because
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  five of his five and a half sacks have come
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  in the fourth quarter to kind of seal games. He
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  leads the SEC in that category. Robert Spears Jennings is
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  a safety who also has dealt with injuries in his career.
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  Is a thumper, a hard hitter, a heavy hat to
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  the football, and this year has been healthy and has
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  made a bunch of plays for them, whether it's you know,
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  getting into the quarterback and forcing turnovers there or he
• 7:11
  has an interception. He's made several big hits on the
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  back end. The other guys Kip Lewis. Kip Lewis is
• 7:17
  a youngster who has been kind of groomed alongside Danny Stutzman.
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  He's fast, but he didn't really know what he was
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  doing last year, and this year he started to put
• 7:27
  the pieces together. And while Stutsman gets all the spotlight
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  and for good reason, Kip.
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  Speaker 3: Lewis is the fastest guy they have at linebacker and
• 7:35
  makes a ton of plays there.
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  Speaker 4: So I think those are the three Theams names that
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  jump out as defensive guys who have really elevated their
• 7:42
  game this season.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: We're visiting with Oklahoma Sooners, played by play voice Toby
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  Rowland here on sports Radio AM thirteen under Zone.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Let me jump to the offense.
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  Speaker 2: The obvious question, I want to get your thoughts on
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  the progress that Michael Hawkins has has delivered. I know
• 8:01
  there was great excitement and yeah for Jackson Arnold, and
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  he's had ups and downs. And I saw both of
• 8:08
  these guys play in high school doing the high school
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  coverage that I do, and it's been pretty impressive to
• 8:14
  watch Hawkins deliver as he has. How about your thoughts
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  on his progress and what he's still trying to get
• 8:22
  better at as any freshman would be.
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  Speaker 4: Well, it's a small sample size. You know, he's played
• 8:27
  six quarters, but he's been impressive. He came in in
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  the Tennessee game when they were really floundering and gave
• 8:35
  him a spark, gave him a chance to win that game.
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  And then while he didn't put up huge stats against Auburn,
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  he really played with a composure. You saw how dangerous
• 8:47
  his legs can be when he had the forty eight
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  yard touchdown there to give him the early lead, and then.
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  Speaker 3: He had a little bit of a clutch gene.
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  Speaker 4: In him in the fourth quarter when they were making
• 8:56
  that comeback as well.
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  Speaker 3: He's a legacy guy here.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: His dad played at Ou, and so I think the
• 9:02
  fans are drawn to him in that aspect a little bit.
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  I don't think anybody's given up on Jackson Arnold. I
• 9:09
  think he still may end up being a fantastic quarterback
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  at Ou or you know, who knows, in this day
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  and age, and maybe it'll even be that he's called
• 9:19
  upon on Saturday.
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  Speaker 3: But he was going through a tough stretch where he was.
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: Having a hard time, you know, not turning the football over,
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  and so maybe the reset button is good for him
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  here a little bit to just kind of sit back
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  and watch. But Michael Hawkins is going to be the
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  first true freshman ever in the one hundred and twenty
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  years of this rivalry to start at quarterback for OHU
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  in this game, and that's a big deal. You know,
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  everybody knows how overwhelming this atmosphere can be sometimes even
• 9:51
  to veterans, much less kids who have never.
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  Speaker 3: Been in it before. So I think it's.
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  Speaker 4: A lot to ask of him on Saturday to go
• 9:59
  in win the football game for them.
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  Speaker 3: I think he's just has.
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  Speaker 4: To not make mistakes, make plays when they're available, and
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  see if the fourth quarter rolls around, if maybe they're
• 10:12
  in a position where they can try to go win
• 10:14
  this thing.
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  Speaker 2: Where would you say right now that the Sooner running
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  game is and what they're trying to get to with
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  Javonte Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk and Taylor Tatum and even
• 10:24
  Sam Franklin, where would you say they are in terms
• 10:27
  of what they're trying to get to.
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  Speaker 4: It's a struggle. It's been a struggle all year. I
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  think it is the fact that they have a quarterback
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  who can add to that now as explosive of Michael
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  Hawkins helps, But the old fashioned.
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  Speaker 3: Running game has been a struggle all year.
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  Speaker 4: I think it's as much on the offensive line as
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  the backs. More so, Really, the offensive line has been
• 10:49
  a scramble due to injuries. They finally have their five
• 10:53
  guys healthy for the first time healthy ish, they're in
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  the game for the first time against Auburn, and it
• 10:59
  looks like, barring a setback we're unaware of, they're going
• 11:02
  to play back to back weeks for the first time,
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  so hopefully that will help a little bit. But I mean, Craig,
• 11:07
  everything's been a struggle on offense, and certainly the inability
• 11:11
  to run the ball consistently and certainly at the rate
• 11:15
  that Oklahoma likes to try to run the ball leads
• 11:18
  to things not being open in the passing game and
• 11:21
  everything snowballs from there, So it's.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Been a struggle. I think Javonte Barnes has been the best.
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: I think Taylor Tatum, the freshman, has shown glimpses of
• 11:32
  being spectacular, but then he got hurt against Tennessee and
• 11:35
  we don't know if he's going to be back or not.
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  Gavin Sawchuk has been a little bit of a mystery
• 11:40
  because he closed last year like a house on fire.
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  He had five straight one hundred yard games to finish
• 11:45
  the season, but has disappeared this season and hasn't been
• 11:48
  a factor at all. So hopefully with the addition of
• 11:53
  Hawkins and the threat he brings with his legs and
• 11:57
  the maybe developing can assistency of the starting offensive line
• 12:02
  being back together, maybe that'll lead to the running game
• 12:05
  being better, if not Saturday, sometime in the near future,
• 12:08
  hopefully Saturday.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Which leads us to the passing game and the receivers,
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  which I know has resembled a mash unit for the Sooners.
• 12:17
  Where would you place the Oklahoma receiving corps with availability
• 12:23
  to be able to even get on the field on Saturday.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: I've never seen anything like it.
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: I've never seen one position group get entirely wiped out
• 12:34
  like this. I mean last Saturday and maybe this Saturday.
• 12:38
  The top five wide receivers are out, and we're talking
• 12:43
  about guys who have been big time playmakers in their
• 12:45
  career like Nick Anderson who had the game winner last year,
• 12:48
  and Andrea Anthony and Jalil Feruk who had one hundred
• 12:51
  and thirty yards in this game last year. Jaden Gibson
• 12:54
  was expected to be a big factor. Dion Burts is
• 12:57
  the big transfer they brought in who was expected to
• 12:59
  be an all see guy this year. He's had a
• 13:01
  fine start to the season, but then he got hurt
• 13:04
  and we don't know if he's gonna be able to
• 13:05
  play or not. So it's really unbelievable, and there's not
• 13:10
  a lot of hope that most of those guys are
• 13:13
  gonna get back. I mean, I think Burks will be
• 13:16
  back at some point, hopefully Saturday. I think there's a
• 13:19
  chance maybe late in the season for Rouke could be back.
• 13:22
  But they're kind of gonna have to roll with what
• 13:25
  they've got, which is a makeshift group of youngsters and backups.
• 13:31
  So last week, JJ Hester, a senior who has played
• 13:37
  very little, stepped up and made a big sixty yard
• 13:40
  catch in the fourth quarter at Auburn.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: That's kind of what they need. They're gonna have to.
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: Have some guys step forward who haven't made plays at
• 13:47
  this level and start to make plays. But it's it's
• 13:51
  a dire situation for them at wide receiver.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Would that would that include the former long horn Brendan
• 13:56
  Thompson from Spearman yet that they might look forward because
• 13:59
  I always thought he had a lot of talent, and
• 14:00
  obviously he has great speed.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he's got the ability to get behind the defense
• 14:05
  with his speed. They've been using him more, you know,
• 14:09
  in the screen game or the underneath the short stuff too.
• 14:12
  This year.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: I mean they got nobody else Creig. So yes, he's
• 14:15
  going to have.
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: To be one of those guys who hopefully can against
• 14:18
  his former team, maybe make him play on Saturday or
• 14:20
  two or three.
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: What in your thought and estimation?
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: We always ask each other this question when we're on
• 14:27
  each other's program, So I'll put it to you first.
• 14:30
  What turns the game? What has to turn right for
• 14:34
  the Sooners for them to win this football game.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: I don't think Oklahoma has enough firepower to win this
• 14:41
  game on offense.
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: They can't go toe to toe with Texas.
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: They're just two diminished in their weapons. So the defense
• 14:51
  is going to have to help him out. And you
• 14:54
  know that's what gives you hope if you're a Sooner fan,
• 14:56
  is they've had a track record of doing that.
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: You know that you go back.
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: To this game a year ago, they forced three turnovers
• 15:03
  against Tennessee and the loss, they put them on the
• 15:06
  five yard the defense turned them over on the five
• 15:08
  yard line and the thirty five yard line twice they
• 15:11
  put the offense in plus territory and they couldn't cash
• 15:13
  in or they might have won that game. Last week
• 15:15
  the defense said, fine, will do it ourselves and they
• 15:18
  got to pick six to win that game. So you know, frankly,
• 15:23
  the defense is gonna have to help out and maybe
• 15:25
  significantly for them to win. So I think probably, you know,
• 15:29
  the keys to victory for OU is that they got
• 15:31
  to win the turnover margin, maybe by two or more.
• 15:34
  I think when Texas gets into the red zone, Texas
• 15:37
  is going to move the ball, but they got to
• 15:40
  limit them to field goals, you know, threes and not sevens,
• 15:44
  and then find a way to win the rushing battle.
• 15:46
  It's the age old adage in this game. But twenty
• 15:49
  two of the last twenty four years, the team that's
• 15:51
  run the ball better has won it. And I think
• 15:53
  that'll be true. That is a daunting task for how
• 15:57
  the OU running game has been so far this year.
• 15:59
  But they got to feed out of way and probably
• 16:01
  the answer there is Michael Hawkins needs to have a
• 16:03
  big day on the ground as well.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: Your go to State Fair of Texas deep fried food
• 16:10
  choice is we do.
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: This every year on my show We Go over all
• 16:14
  the new foods, and we get excited about everything. There's
• 16:17
  a I love pimento cheese. There's a grilled ham and
• 16:20
  pimento cheese sandwich this year, and there's all.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: Kinds of fancy stuff.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: But every year, Craig, every year I look over these
• 16:28
  great new items, and I go to the game and
• 16:31
  I get a corn dog and I leave every year.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: So I can't imagine going and not getting a Fletcher's
• 16:38
  Corny dog.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: So I'm sure, despite how good all that stuff looks,
• 16:41
  I'm sure I'm gonna get somewhere between one and seven
• 16:44
  Fletcher's Corny dogs, depending on how the game goes, you know, Saturday.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: You know how on Facebook you have those memories that
• 16:51
  you look back two years ago, four years ago, seven
• 16:53
  years ago. Last week, I looked at No, No, it
• 16:57
  was just a few days ago. I looked at one
• 16:59
  day and it was memories of and it was and
• 17:01
  it were days that Texas and o You had played.
• 17:04
  And in all but one of those pictures, I'm holding
• 17:07
  a corn dog in all but one of them.
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: That's what we like about you, Craig.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: All Right, he's Toby rolling play by play voice or
• 17:16
  the Oklahoma suitors. Uh t you are great to visit
• 17:18
  with you. I look forward to a visit with you
• 17:20
  tomorrow in your program. Look forward to seeing you on
• 17:23
  the fairground Saturday.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Sounds good.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: Talk to you.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: All right, that's Toby Roling. Uh he's right. I mean,
• 17:31
  you know all of these great things, all of the
• 17:34
  you and I. I saw your eyebrows go up there
• 17:36
  with geez.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah. All right.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: Uh So what we're gonna do for Inconceivable is run
• 17:42
  down that state fair food list.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: That's up next
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: When we continue on sports Radio AM thirteen under the
• 17:47
  zone of the iHeart Radio app.