It’s the Monday after Selection Sunday, and boy do we have got a lot to catch up on from championship weekend. As you probably know by now, the playoff-bound Oklahoma Sooners have been assigned to the Rose Bowl to take on the SEC’s Georgia Bulldogs. On a related note, apparently somebody gave out Baker Mayfield’s phone number and UGA fans were eager to give the leading Heisman candidate even more of an incentive heading into the semifinal:

This is going to be a long four weeks, and Georgia fans might not want to poke the bear too much more. Wait, who am I kidding? I hope they continue to give the Sooners all the bulletin-board material the Palace on the Prairie can hold.

Speaking of Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy finalists will be announced tonight! Be sure to tune in to see who will join Baker Mayfield in New York this Saturday.

In this edition the Hot Links, you’ll find out why the Georgia defensive staff will be losing sleep over the next month, which former Sooner recently became engaged, which bowl games are the most and least watchable and much more!

OU Links

• The boys did it once again. Three-peat!

• Jordan Evans and Joe Mixon apparently won some kind of bet against former TCU QB Andy Dalton, but he manned up to it. I’ve gotta say, everybody looks good when they don that Crimson & Cream. And as always, horns down.

• So Oklahoma is facing Georgia in the ‘Granddaddy of Them All,’ the Rose Bowl. On paper, the matchup is a favorable one for the Sooners.
• Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs’ staff are going to have their work cut out for them over the next several weeks trying to come up with a game plan to slow down Baker Mayfield. In the words of Gary Patterson, “Have fun.”
• Speaking of Georgia, linebacker Natrez Patrick and another player were arrested for marijuana possession following the SEC Championship Game. Patrick was suspended for four games earlier in the season but still recorded 35 tackles in 2017. It’s reasonable to expect another suspension.
• If you’re not up to speed on the Bulldogs, check out these five things you ought to know about Georgia.
• Sterling Shepard is going to be a married man! Congratulations, Chanel and Sterling!

• Toby is right, it’s difficult to take what many of those guys say as objective when they have such clear conference affiliations. So instead, how about including somebody who could represent the Big 12? I think Dusty would shine as a regular on set.

• For California Sooners like Caleb Kelly and Grant Calcaterra, playing in the Rose Bowl is a dream come true. They’ll finally be able to play in front of all their families and friends in the Golden State.
• Go Trae Young go Trae Young go!

• Former long-time OU assistant coach Steve Henson is now the head coach for UTSA, who the Oklahoma men’s basketball team faces tonight in Norman.

• BreakingT comes up with some pretty clever shirt designs, and now they’re selling a shirt inspired by Lincoln Riley’s comments after winning the Big 12 Championship. Check out our post from yesterday for more details on how to purchase your very own!

National Links

• This seemed inevitable, and now it’s official:

• So TCU didn’t make a NY6 bowl, which would have paid the Big 12 Conference a nice sum of money. Quite frankly I didn’t care either way about whether the conference had another representative in the NY6. Of course I want the conference to look strong in the postseason, but at the end of the day I’m just one of those fans who only cares if Oklahoma is the one shining on the biggest stages.
• Looks like Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is staying with the Tigers. There were rumors swirling around that he’d look at the Arkansas job or possibly others, but he has now agreed to a $49M contract.
• Arizona State’s hiring of Herm Edwards sort of came out of left field, but this document that explains the direction and philosophy of this new regime just sounds like something we’ll look back on in two years and point and laugh at. Hell, we’re all laughing at it right now.
• This year’s Army-Navy game may be the best-dressed of the storied matchup. Bravo, Black Knights, bravo.

• Check out this list of all 39 bowl games ranked by watchability. Here’s a hint: there’s only one matchup that received a perfect grade.
• With only needing six wins to become bowl eligible, it’s no real surprise there were more eligible teams than bowl slots this season — three to be exact. I am, however, glad that we don’t have to see any 5-7 teams this year.
• Last Chance U won the junior college national championship! East Mississippi Community College won’t be the subject of the hit Netflix series’ third season (that’ll be Independence CC), but it’s still pretty cool for those of us who have watched the show.

Stick to Sports!

• Psychologists predict how humans would react to extra-terrestrial life. Personally, I’d have mixed emotions. I’d be fascinated, but also worried that we’d go all District 9 on them, if they were intelligent like E.T.
• The first teaser for the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has been released. Run from the dinosaurs! Run from the erupting volcano! Just run!

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