Happy Friday, friends and fans!

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to play one of their in-state baby brothers — the Tulsa Golden Hurricane — on the road in 2023, then in Norman during the 2030 and 2033 seasons.

As far as the 2023 meeting is concerned, Oklahoma will play the Georgia Bulldogs in Norman the week prior. In 2030, the Sooners will travel to Nebraska two weeks after hosting Tulsa, and in 2033 OU will be in Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama following its home game against TU. In total, these certainly appear to be shaping up as respectable non-conference slates, but a lot can change between now and then.

All-time, OU is 20-7-1 against TU, including nine straight victories in the series. Their last meeting came in 2015, when the Sooners defeated the Golden Hurricane, 52-38 during Lincoln Riley’s first season as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Tre Brown says losing Parnell Motley played a big part in how the K-State game unfolded, Marquise Overton has battled for this moment in his Sooner football career, “Prime Time” is a prime candidate (probably not, but let’s play along) for FSU and more!

OU Links

• The Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig wrote about how Oklahoma DC Alex Grinch admits that he failed his players in the loss to Kansas State, and that kind of top-down accountability is part of the culture shift that’s been missing from the program.
• Junior CB Tre Brown met with reporters this week to talk about some of the happenings during the loss in Manhattan, Jalen Hurts’ mentality, and his eagerness to get back on the field this weekend.
• Senior defensive lineman Marquise Overton grew up loving the Sooners as a Tulsa native, and after overcoming a number of physical setbacks, he’s living the dream during his final season at Oklahoma. Grace Hardy at SoonerSports has more.
• Clay Horning of the Norman Transcript ponders who this OU team is. Up until the Kansas State game they looked like world-beaters, but now several questions must be answered. One way or another, the Sooners will reveal their true character over the next month.
• Don’t forget to read Allen’s post about how Oklahoma’s running game can take advantage of Iowa State’s undersized front. Saturday would be a great time to re-establish the stable of backs the Sooners have in their arsenal.
• In case you missed it, check out my preview and predictions for the Iowa State game. From a coaching perspective, the Sooners and the Cyclones feature some of the Big 12’s finest, and that should make for another competitive matchup.
• In case you missed this also, make sure you give the latest Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast with Jack and Kamiar a listen. This week they were joined by special guest Levi Stevenson from Wide Right & Natty Lite — the SB Nation site for the Iowa State Cyclones. In this episode, the guys discussed the upcoming game, cheap beer, the CFP rankings and more! As usual, you’ll hear some NSFW language used on the pod.

Around the Sports World

• Ohio State defensive end and darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Young says he’s been ruled ineligible to play this weekend as his Buckeyes host Maryland. If OSU has to move on without Young for a while, this could be a tremendous loss for the No. 1 team in the CFP rankings.

• Apparently Deion Sanders is a candidate for the vacant head coaching job at Florida State. The man they call ‘Prime Time’ played for the Seminoles in the late 80s, but has no substantial experience as a head coach. Um, what?

• Former Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino has been hired to coach the Greece men’s national team. It would be quite the scene to see them qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
• The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler is not here for your videobombs when it’s his time in the spotlight. That goes for his teammates as well. Chill, bruh.

Stick to Sports!

• ‘The Shins’ frontman James Mercer wrote and produced two tracks — ‘Waimanalo’ and ‘Trapped by the Sea’ — in honor of his late friend and former bandmate Richard Swift. The tracks recently released are part of the band’s seven-inch vinyl series Fug Yep Soundation. I’ve enjoyed their music for years because of their unique, eclectic sound, and like many other Shins fans, listening to these pieces is quite bittersweet.

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