Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Today is Oct. 4. On this day, five years ago, the Oklahoma Sooners were on the road preparing to face the TCU Horned Frogs. Earlier that same morning, pop star Katy Perry was the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay, and when it came time for the panel to make their picks, Katy Perry made her move on Trevor Knight.

At the time it seemed totally innocent and playful and all things rosy, but little did anyone realize what exactly had been put into motion when Perry declared her adoration for Knight. As history unfolded, OU fell in defeat to TCU later that day, but the season was still salvageable. All Knight had to do was make a phone call, but unfortunately, he did not.

Thus, the curse of Katy Perry was spawned throughout Oklahoma’ football team, and after beginning the year 4-0, the Sooners stumbled to the finish line, going 4-5 in their last nine. The offense was as bad as its been in quite some time, mistakes came in a flurry, and injuries plagued the roster. Ultimately, co-OCs Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell were let go, and OU was merely a mediocre shell of its former glorious self.

Knight ended up reaching out during the following Super Bowl, but the damage was already done.

Here’s a wonderful discussion topic — Was it actually a curse, or was Trevor’s young brain simply overwhelmed by Perry’s advances? I’ll go with the former, but I’ll hear all arguments.

Five years later, and Oklahoma has not only rectified its offense with the hiring of Lincoln Riley, it’s setting the standard for offensive prowess and efficiency. Also since then, the Sooners have won every Big 12 title, made the College Football Playoff three times, and perhaps most impressively, have not lost a true road game since that fateful day Katy Perry asked Trevor Knight to call her. The streak now sits at 21 games going into Saturday’s trip to Lawrence.

It was a very real hex that completely derailed a promising season, so today we remember all the games Oklahoma lost during that cursed 8-5 campaign.

at TCU — 37-33, L

Kansas State — 31-30, L

Baylor — 48-14, L

Oklahoma State — 38-35 (OT), L

Clemson — 40-6, L

Is there a lesson to be learned in all of this? Perhaps, or perhaps not, but either way it’s okay. Somehow this program was able to survive and rebound, and for that I’m eternally grateful. By the way, @ me, Katy.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! A number of Oklahoma’s defenders come from Tulsa, OU’s Kaylee Dao is golden, QB Caylin Newton has entered the transfer portal and more!

OU Links

• FOX college football analyst Reggie Bush knows a thing or two about playing the running back position, and this week he broke down Trey Sermon’s 32-yard touchdown run from last Saturday. I highly recommend watching this because Bush does an excellent job of highlighting the individual moving parts that made this play happen.

• Check out the second episode of Caleb’s Clicker as Caleb Kelly breaks down key plays made by Oklahoma’s defense against Texas Tech. Great stuff once again from the senior LB!

• Speaking of defense, many of the regular contributors on that side of the ball hail from the Tulsa area, and all of that OUDNA has many Tulsa high school coaches grinning from ear to ear. Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World has more.
• OU Insider’s RJ Young broke down Oklahoma’s season through four games by the numbers. As you would expect, the offense is doing mighty fine compared to the national competition, but how about the Sooners’ strength of schedule?
• OU Soccer senior Kaylee Dao got the hat trick and this golden goal to secure the Sooners’ OT win over Kansas State. Boomer!

• In case you missed it, Allen Kenney has been keeping a close eye on Oklahoma’s rushing attack this season. With Jalen Hurts at the helm, the Sooners’ ground game is on an historic pace, but could the heavy load wear down the OU QB over time?
• Also, check out this week’s Q&A with Rock Chalk Talk’s Steve Fetch. He offers his thoughts and opinions on the upcoming game between Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as more interesting topics like local bar and restaurant recommendations!
• Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast with your usual hosts Jack and Kamiar. This week the guys were joined by The Franchise’s Brady Trantham to discuss the Sooners’ defense, their thoughts following the win over Texas Tech, the Kansas matchup and a whole lot more! As usual, there is some NSFW language on the pod.

Around the Sports World

• This definitely has play of the year potential. Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett linked up for an outstanding touchdown on Thursday night. By the end, the Seattle Seahawks held on for the 30-29 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

• SB Nation’s Adam Stites made his early picks for this season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and it looks like the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew has a leg up on the competition through the first month.
• Howard’s Caylin Newton, the younger brother of Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, entered the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier this week and spoke with The Undefeated on what he’s looking for when it comes to potential landing spots.
• The New York Mets have parted ways with manager Mickey Callaway after serving two of the three years on his contract. Even though the team had shown improvement over each of the past two seasons, Callaway’s questionable in-game decision making created a divide between he and the Mets organization.
• The Dallas Stars’ Roman Polak collided head-first into the boards in Thursday night’s contest against the Boston Bruins. He was eventually taken off the ice via stretcher and hospitalized, but early reports are positive.

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