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With the exception of the looming (and exciting!) National Championship game between ‘Bama and Clemson, college football is over. As someone who works the vast majority of my yearly hours between August and January, it’s a bittersweet feeling. We have to wait until next fall to watch football again? Then again, waking up at 5 A.M. for a rooster kickoff can definitely wait until then.
There’s no reason to despair just because football’s over, though. Definitely take in the ‘ship, but also perhaps learn to love a new sport—like basketball (hey, that Russell Westbrook guy seems pretty good, right?), baseball (I’m just saying...it’s a pretty good time to be a Cubs fan) or hockey (Canadians are pretty whimsical and hockey seems kind of like football on ice). There’s a whole world of sports out there to appreciate, so you might as well dig in while you can.
Speaking of the championship game: an Oklahoma native will be playing for the Tide. True freshman tailback Josh Jacobs out of Tulsa McLain went from being a forgotten recruit—his best offers were from Wyoming and New Mexico State—to landing a scholarship at the nation’s premier powerhouse. Yeah, yeah, I can already hear your groans at the byline—but Jenni Carlson did a great job highlighting a phenomenal story.
OU Links
- Now is the time for Sooner Squad 17 to show their impact. One of those players (the most exciting, in my opinion) is Levi Draper out of Collinsville. He sounds excited to be in Norman!
- Joe Mixon announced that he will leave for the NFL, and he’ll leave behind a complicated legacy at the University of Oklahoma. Cody Stavenhagen of the Tulsa World wrote a very thoughtful and nuanced piece about Mixon’s past, present, and future.
- Despite the loss of two elite running backs, the Sooners have their sights set on the College Football Playoff already next season. And there’s no reason not to: Baker Mayfield will be on a mission.
- Speaking of next season: several OU commits made an impact at the Army All-American Bowl. Check out our recap if you haven’t already.
National Links
- Today’s the day! The National Championship game—a rematch of last year’s Alabama-Clemson matchup—starts at 7 P.M. CST. In a wonderful and very silly turn of events, Les Miles will join ESPN’s broadcast tonight. This should be interesting:
Les Miles may not be coaching in 2017, but we'll get our first glimpse of him as a broadcaster with ESPN for the National Championship #LSU
— Sam Spiegelman (@samspiegs) January 6, 2017
- Unfortunately, the pirate ship inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa won’t be operational tonight. For shame. We all know damn well that cannons increase the enjoyment of football.
- The hype video Nick Saban is allegedly showing his team is incredible. It’s a master class in hype, frankly—’Bama is in no way an underdog in this game. The Muhammad Ali underdog talk interspersed with ESPN talking heads naysaying Alabama is enough to make me want to run through a wall for the man.
- Sad college football fans. Because everybody hurts...sometimes.