Oklahoma Sooners Football Hot Links: Injured defensive backs should be good to go by next week

Hi, Sooner fans. Before we get started with today’s Hot Links, I have some tragic news to share regarding a member of our SB Nation family. One of our friends at Corn Nation, the Nebraska Cornhuskers SB Nation community, has passed away. He was great at what he did, and my interactions with him were always enjoyable. We here at Crimson & Cream Machine consider Corn Nation as part of our extended family, and on behalf of all the contributors here, I want to send my sincere condolences to Brian’s family and friends. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered. GBR

There’s no easy transition from there, but there is some mega-level news hitting the wires today. Amid the FBI investigation, Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino has been placed on unpaid administrative leave and will no longer lead that program. Beyond that, the Oklahoma secondary is getting healthier, Trey Sermon might be the next Samaje Perine, and the Oklahoma City Thunder starting lineup will be slightly unconventional. Now onto the links!

OU Links:

• Lincoln Riley had some good news to share on Tuesday evening, Sooner fans. Cornerback Jordan Thomas and safeties Will Johnson and Robert Barnes should all be available next week against Iowa State. Riley also had some updates on the status of Cody Ford and Matt Romar.
• ALERT:

• Coach Riley informed reporters on how the schedule for this bye week will shake out. Players will have a chance to visit home with the weekend off, which I’m sure will be a nice reprieve after the daily grind since fall camp began.
• 99 yards in 99 frames? I dare you to find something cooler than this today:

• Is true freshman running back Trey Sermon the next Samaje Perine? It may be too early to tell, but it’s fun to think about. The parallels are actually quite striking.
• Want to know who the biggest surprises are for each AP Top 25 team? I tend to agree with who they have as Oklahoma’s biggest surprise. With such a loaded and unproven backfield coming into this season, not many were picking him to perform the way he has so far. #PRE4CH

National Links:

• After several college basketball assistants were found to be under FBI investigation yesterday, the fallout is beginning to take place. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is out along with his Athletic Director Tom Jurich. Technically, Pitino is currently on “unpaid administrative leave,” but the writing is on the wall. While I can say I am disappointed to see how corrupt some of these findings are in nature, I cannot say that I am surprised. With the FBI’s involvement, this story could end up rewriting a lot of rules for the future of college athletics.
• I’m sick and tired of all these bitter fans burning jers—oh wait. Never mind:

• Baylor receiver Chris Platt and defensive end Xavier Jones will miss the rest of the season with injuries sustained on Saturday against Oklahoma. We wish them both speedy recoveries, but this is a tough break for the Bears.
• Johnny Manziel could be making a return to football as early as 2018, but not in the NFL.
• So let me get this straight: we have Westbrook at the 1, Roberson at the 2, George at the 3, Anthony at the 4, and Adams at the 5. Surely that’ll work, right?

‘Stick to Sports!’:

• A new species of rat has been discovered in the Solomon Islands. It’s four times the size of American rats, and it’s able to crack open coconuts. No thanks.

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