Happy August, friends and fans!

The official USA Today Amway Coaches Preseason Poll was released on Thursday, and the Oklahoma Sooners are checking in at No. 4 to begin the 2019 college football campaign. Check the link below for the entire top 25 rankings.

The fourth spot in the Coaches Poll is the highest preseason ranking for Oklahoma since opening the 2016 season at No. 3 (fifth in ‘18, eighth in ‘17). Coincidentally, the Sooners also played the Houston Cougars in Week 1 that year, as is the case this season.

Texas and Iowa State are the only other Big 12 members to crack the top 25. The Longhorns sit at No. 10, while the Cyclones are No. 24. Meanwhile, TCU, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Baylor, Houston and UCLA are all receiving votes. That makes eight of Oklahoma’s 11 scheduled FBS opponents as teams with some level of preseason confidence. Of course, take all preseason polls with a grain of salt. Still, while it may not be the most arduous road to December, it figures to be at least a respectable one.

Now for today’s Hot Links! Sporting News releases predictions for the Big 12, Baker Mayfield’s mustache continues to take over, Melvin Gordon wants out of L.A. and more!

OU Links

• In exactly one month from today, OU Football will finally be back! This is just a reminder, in case you needed a reminder.

• Sporting News’ John E. Hoover released his Big 12 football predictions for 2019, and while he’s not going against the grain by picking Oklahoma to win a fifth straight conference title, he has selected a couple interesting sleeper teams and games to keep an eye on.

• Sooner! I mean, that’s what anyone is supposed to say when one exclaims ‘Boomer!’ I like to follow the rules, but I also like the Crimson & Cream, so I can’t help myself.

• These official 2020 scholarship offers are extremely legit, and Lincoln Riley is personally signing each and every one of them. The work that this staff has done on the recruiting trail over the past three years has been nothing short of exceptional.

• Three former Oklahoma Sooners made the NFL’s Top 100 for 2019. Trent Williams, Gerald McCoy and Baker Mayfield have all impacted the league by some measure in the time they’ve been pros. Awesome stuff.

• It’s just too bad most of us may never see Marquise Brown run the 40-yard-dash, but maybe that’s okay because that will allow the legend of ‘Hollywood’ to retain its mystical aura, and stories like this can continue to come to light. Wow.

• Baker Mayfield is having the kind of fun during training camp that only the mustachioed portion of our society can fully comprehend and appreciate. This exchange between the Cleveland Browns’ QB and a reporter named Tony is one of the best you’ll see all season.

• In case you missed it, don’t forget to check out Allen’s write-up on the Sooners who could take advantage of the four-game redshirt rule this season. Several candidates have talent, but other circumstances like positional depth or familiarity with the system could prevent them from logging appearances in more than four contests this fall.

Around the Sports World

• Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is reportedly seeking a trade, but his agent Damarius Bilbo has not yet been given permission to contact possible trade partners.

• A bettor recently placed a wager of over $100K on the Philadelphia 76ers to make the playoffs, and if his easy-money gamble pays off, he’ll be rewarded with just over $2,000. That’s kind of lame, dude.
• I don’t exactly remember what I was doing at age eight, but I know I wasn’t skating in the X-Games or landing 900’s in the half-pipe. Gui Khury from Brazil just might be the next big name in action sports.

• Ohio State men’s basketball center Ibrahima Diallo surprised his family in Senegal with a visit after not seeing them for three years. I love moments like these. He’s over here living his dream, but he has to do so without the comfort of having his loved ones close by. Wonderful stuff.

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