Howdy, everybody! I hope you all are having a wonderful week and aren’t too stressed out over finals, work, or the holiday season. Bowl season starts this Saturday, so that’s certainly something to look forward to as we all wait until January 1st to watch the Oklahoma Sooners square off against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl playoff semi-final. While you’re waiting for that, spend some time here catching up on some of the things you may have missed in the world of sports and beyond.

For today’s Hot Links, check out who Joel Klatt has winning it all in the CFP, which OU football/basketball duo Baker Mayfield and Trae Young could be the second coming of, where Garrett Riley (Lincoln’s younger brother) could be headed and more!

OU Links

• Joel Klatt has made his picks for the College Football Playoff semifinals and he even went the extra mile and picked his national champion. Hint: if you’re a fan of the Oklahoma Sooners, you’re going to like what he has to say.

• Contrary to outside belief, the Sooners are developing a nice reputation of not only holding their own against SEC opponents, but often times dismantling them. With the Rose Bowl contest against Georgia coming up, Oklahoma has another opportunity to show the nation what Big 12 Football is all about.
• Next season, Oklahoma will play 10 teams who are going bowling in the upcoming weeks, including every non-conference opponent. No other teams in the FBS will be able to match that, which should bode well for the Sooners’ strength of schedule.
• In 1982, Marcus Dupree and Wayman Tisdale crossed paths in Norman. In 2017, Baker Mayfield and Trae Young are doing the same thing. Time will tell if this latest duo of sensational Sooners reaches that level of renown in the future.
• 247Sports has unveiled its list of 18 under-the-radar players poised for breakout seasons in 2018, and Kyler Murray made the cut.
• The Cleveland County DA will be announcing his decision on the allegations against Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson today at 2:00 pm.
• You may have already heard about Mackenzie Asher, the young girl who lost her battle with cancer, when Baker Mayfield mentioned her in his speech during the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Even if you saw that, read the full story about how she provided a tremendous amount of inspiration for the Sooners she loved.
• Champ U is in position to add yet another national championship to the trophy case. Those ladies are some of the very best at what they do. I know I can’t wait to watch them win it all once again!

Around the Sports World

• Marijuana charges against Georgia linebacker Natrez Patrick have been dropped. Whether or not Patrick will be available for the Rose Bowl is still undetermined.
• Paul George returned to Indiana with his new team, the OKC Thunder, and walked out with a win. Oh yeah, and he shut ‘em up, too.

• Garrett Riley, Lincoln’s younger brother who is the current QB coach for the Kansas Jayhawks, is a candidate for the Kent State head coaching position.
• Have you ever wondered why there’s a bowl game in Boise? Or why any of the bowl game sites are where they are? SB Nation’s Richard Johnson has you covered.
• Well I guess that settles that. Gibbs appears to really be turning Tech’s defense around. They might be nearing their ceiling on the defensive side, but he’s a good coach for sure.

• These Star Wars themed college football shirts (and one tote bag) are really just awful. I don’t know who came up with them, but they just don’t make any sense. They’re not witty, they’re not clever, they’re just random and confusing.
• At first I thought he was going to be completely emotionless, but after watching it, he showed . . . a bit of emotion, but not a whole lot.

Stick to Sports!

• Now I’m just waiting on another farmer to carve out the Imperial Crest in their crops. Did somebody say Farm Wars?

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