Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Every Tuesday during game week, Lincoln Riley joins Toby Rowland on his radio show to review the weekend that was and preview the Oklahoma Sooners’ upcoming opponent, and over the last couple seasons, Teddy Lehman challenges OU’s coach to recall a play from years past. It’s an amazing segment that shows off how uniquely wired this 36-year-old football mind is, but this week’s was particularly amazing thanks to a Bonus Butkus Brain Teaser.

It’s almost as if Riley has all the games he’s ever coached simultaneously running on a loop inside his head, and he’s able to flip through the every play at a moment’s notice. It’s truly remarkable stuff.

I’m no genius, but I would bet that Riley is in a very lonely category of thinkers, and not just in a football context. Now I don’t know if he has a genuine photographic memory, but this appears to be a display of savant-like ability, and for a simple game like football, his ability is off the charts.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Alex Grinch isn’t happy about the lack of takeaways, the Sooner Schooner is done for the year, Bob Huggins is too fly for mortal eyes and more!

OU Links

• Redshirt senior DT Neville Gallimore has become a late addition to the Bednarik Award watch list. This honor is awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive player as judged by the Maxwell Football Club. Through seven starts, the Ontario native has recorded 18 total tackles, including 5.5 tackles-for-loss, three sacks and two forced-fumbles.

• Oklahoma’s O-line has been recognized for its play in the Joe Moore Award midseason honor roll. Although the starting unit has shuffled around quite a bit with injuries, it appears LT Erik Swenson, LG Tyrese Robinson, C Creed Humphrey, RG Marquis Hayes and RT Adrian Ealy are all healthy and finally building chemistry and continuity. It would be some feat for the Sooners to repeat as Joe Moore Award winners considering 80% of last season’s group is now playing on Sundays.

• John Hoover of The Franchise wrote about Alex Grinch’s growing frustration with his defense’s lack of takeaways. The DC also set the record straight that for him it’s not about forcing turnovers for the sake of making splash plays, rather it’s because of how those extra possessions impact the game on both sides of the ball.
• The Kansas State Wildcats understand they’ll be massive home underdogs when Oklahoma rides into town, but that hasn’t affected their belief that an upset can happen on Saturday with the eyes of the college football world watching.
• Check out these five things every Oklahoma fan should know about as the Sooners prepare to take on Kansas State in Manhattan this week.
• Sooners Wire’s Derek Parker broke down the matchup between OU and K-State from a statistical standpoint. The Wildcats’ defense has had a tendency to give up the big play, and that’s been a specialty for Lincoln Riley’s offense.
• Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Days is underway in Kansas City. Check out Oklahoma’s five player representatives. From left to right there’s junior Brady Manek, sophomore Jamal Bieniemy, freshman De’Vion Harmon, redshirt junior Austin Reaves and senior Kristian Doolittle. The season hasn’t tipped off yet, but I see a lot of potential with this group. Boomer!

• In some rather unfortunate news, the Sooner Schooner will not trot out onto the field for games for the remainder of the season after last weekend’s scary accident. Does this mean Toby Rowland can’t say “Put the ponies in the barn” until 2020? I’m sad.

• In recruiting news, four-star CB Dontae Manning out of Kansas City, Missouri still considers Oklahoma one of his top schools after de-committing from OU in July.
• Don’t forget to read up on Allen’s updated Big 12 Power Rankings through Week 8. Which teams does he think are true contenders to make the championship game, and which teams will struggle to qualify for the postseason?
• In case you missed it, check out this week’s Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast. Jack was out for this episode, but Kamiar held down the fort and answered your Twitter questions on all things OU Football. He also reviewed the Sooners’ blowout win over West Virginia, and previewed the Kansas State game. As a usual warning, this pod does contain some NSFW language.

Around the Sports World

• After opening night of the 2019-20 NBA season, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam leads the association with 34 points per game and 18 rebounds per game. In all seriousness, those numbers likely won’t hold up at that clip over 82 games, but this guy has become a legitimate star in the last year.

• David Ross has been hired as the Chicago Cubs next team manager. In Ross’ final season as a player, he won the 2016 World Series with the organization he’s now in charge of.
• West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins brought the swag and dropped the mic on everybody who wanted that smoke at Big 12 Media Days. Only a real one can pull off that vest with no shame, and there’s no shame in Huggy’s game. Also, since he’s going with business in the front and party in the back, does this make him the Mike Gundy of Big 12 basketball?

• Florida State AD David Coburn dismissed rumors that suggested Seminoles head football coach Willie Taggart’s job status was up in the air. Coburn also denied the rumor that Urban Meyer was a candidate to replace Taggart.
• A South Carolina assistant coach was determined to have impermissible contact with a recruit in 2018, and as a result the Gamecocks football program has been placed on probation for one year.

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