Happy Thanksgiving Eve, friends and fans!
With Turkey Day less than 24 hours away, I figured it was only fitting that the group of Oklahoma Sooners who can shut down an entire buffet quicker than anybody else deserves some love. That’s right, I’m talking about the engine that makes OU’s offense hum — the offensive line.
Congrats to the big boys up front for being named one of 10 semifinalists for the @JoeMooreAward for the nation's most outstanding offensive line.#OLU #OUDNA
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 20, 2018
https://t.co/gefw35aMfn pic.twitter.com/2oWVsRlv87
The Joe Moore Award is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding offensive line, although last season the Sooners made it to this point of being named semifinalists, only to controversially miss the final cut. I have a strong feeling that will change this time around.
The man who deserves the most credit for developing these road-grating war daddies is O-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who was recently named a Broyles Award Semifinalist.
Bedenbaugh a semifinalist for the @BroylesAward for the nation's top assistant coach. #OLU #OUDNA
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 20, 2018
https://t.co/ZOVhlxStSO pic.twitter.com/M2FbaqKZuC
He’s already established as one of the nation’s most valuable assistants, and this year his guys are proving it doesn’t take a superstar running back, or even a deep stable of them, to continue to produce major results in the ground game.
Now for some warm and delicious Hot Links! West Virginia’s defense is in for a Sooner treat, Kenneth Murray’s WVU uncle will be repping OU on Black Friday, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant go head-to-head once again and more!
OU Links
- Oklahoma has won 19-consecutive true road games, which is good for the best mark in the nation. Artificial crowd noise during practice is just one of the tools used to prepare the team going into hostile environments, but the main reason why the Sooners have been so successful away from home is the mentality they’ve developed and remained focused on.
- West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen knows his defense will be up against by far the best offense they have faced all season. With an award-winning play caller, a powerful offensive line, NFL-level receivers and a Heisman-worthy quarterback, the challenge of slowing down such an offense will be no small feat.
- Kenneth Murray’s uncle, Lind Murray, played football for West Virginia once upon a time, but Uncle Lind says he’ll be in Morgantown to support his nephew fully, even if that means rooting against his Mountaineers.
- For now, Oklahoma has learned to live with how the defense is performing week to week, because with only one game left of the regular season, overhauling it as this point is asking for too much. Still, all the goals remain within the Sooners’ reach, and any amount of defense played would go a long way.
- Freshman guard Jamal Bieniemy was almost missed on the recruiting trail by Lon Kruger and staff, but fortunately for the Sooners he wasn’t. Three games into the season, it’s apparent his defensive talents gives Oklahoma a dimension it hasn’t had in a while.
- At times, Oklahoma’s offense has gone stagnant in key stretches, but grad transfer Miles Reynolds has quickly established himself as the spark on the court that energizes the team.
- Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks and football minds of all-time, evaluated Baker Mayfield’s game recently and gave the young Browns QB some advice. As long as No. 6 continues to learn from both the positives and the negatives, his experiences will continue to make him better with every rep.
- The hoops team is currently playing Florida in the Bahamas, and here’s the viewing info.
Morning hoops on the . It's gameday in the Bahamas!
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) November 21, 2018
Florida
11 AM CT
ESPN
https://t.co/fEKfomjkjo #YouBelongHere pic.twitter.com/mvMCJdiU8r
Around the Sports World
- So this is happening tonight. I mean, the Thunder and the Warriors game is happening tonight, but this, this stuff is probably happening tonight, too. Please oh please let this happen tonight.
Westbrook vs. KD. Thunder vs. Warriors. Tonight pic.twitter.com/P7f3fGKjHY
— ESPN (@espn) November 21, 2018
- Nobody has more experience with the assortment of platters and dishes on any given Thanksgiving Day than an NFL lineman. It only makes sense to trust their judgment on what’s worth devouring and how to maximize caloric intake. Also, there’s no doubt they’ve got some tasty recipes up their mammoth sleeves.
- Football on Thanksgiving has been a tradition in America for decades, and with all that history comes some memorable moments. The infamous Sanchez “Butt Fumble” of 2012 is up there with the all-time greats.
- Tom Brady wants Mark Wahlberg to play him in a movie if the opportunity ever comes up. That’s a lot of Boston between two people, so what would the cast for a hypothetical Tom Brady movie look like if it was all Boston everything?
- This Friday comes “The Match” between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The head-to-head battle will be for $9 million, winner-take-all style, but now, there’s a $200K side bet between the two golf pros. If Mickelson can birdie the first hole, the little bonus is his.
Stick to Sports!
- If you’re like most people living in this century, you probably use search engines like Google daily. This time of year, folks are looking high and low to come up with new Thanksgiving recipes that will impress relatives and/or put themselves into a food coma. So what are the most searched food items in every state for this festive week? I’m honestly not surprised about Oklahoma’s, and Arizona is where I’m at, but Delaware and North Dakota? What are y’all doing? Dieting should outlawed on Thanksgiving, and punch? Sounds boring, but I guess that’s why you’re North Dakota.
Here are the most uniquely searched Thanksgiving recipes in every state, according to Google. What's your state curious about this time of year? https://t.co/6HPSthGJzy
— CNBC Make It (@CNBCMakeIt) November 21, 2018
Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!