Happy Friday the 13th, friends and fans!

Even if you’re new around here, you’ve probably heard about the Oklahoma Sooners’ 20-game winning streak on the road. Yes, it’s true, the last time OU lost a game on an opponent’s home turf was on Oct. 4, 2014, when TCU pulled off the 37-33 upset. Some fans refer to that game as the “Katy Perry Game”, because as the guest picker on College GameDay that morning, she professed her affinity for Trevor Knight. Sorry, I’m getting triggered just from typing that.

Anyway, Assistant A.D. Mike Houck dropped some fun facts about the happenings in the world the last time Oklahoma lost a true road game.

While those are quite the splash of cold reality, I want to list a few more things that show just how much has changed since that last loss.

• Florida State was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, Baylor was No. 7 and UCLA was No. 8. My gosh, that seems like decades ago.
• LaDainian Tomlinson still held the FBS record for most rushing yards in a game for another six weeks, only to be broken by Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon. Funnily enough, that only lasted a week before Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine made it his own against Kansas.
• Speaking of KU, the hilarious ‘Texas lost to Kansas in football’ meme was still over two years away from being born into the world. Now it’s with us forever.
• Only 10 movies made up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 13 more have come out since. Wow, that’s depressing.
• I was in my first semester as an English major at OU. Only took me seven years to graduate, but damn it I did it.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! ‘Bookie’ was named the Thorpe Award Player of the Week, ‘Hollywood’ makes fast guys look not fast, someone stole a Johnny Football jersey from a TAMU museum and more!

OU Links

• OU Daily’s George Stoia recently wrote about Jalen Hurts’ continued transformation into a legitimate passer leading Oklahoma’s offense. While at Alabama, the prospects of him becoming an NFL QB were slim, but those projections have seen a dramatic increase under Lincoln Riley’s expert tutelage.
• Sophomore nickel Brendan Radley-Hiles is making a return trip to his home state of California as Oklahoma takes on UCLA. With that in mind, check out this exceptional work from The Athletic’s Jason Kersey telling the story of how Bookie’s life was shaped by the death of his brother years before he was even born. Heads up, you’ll need a subscription to read the whole piece, but it’s high quality content, I assure you.

• Speaking of Bookie, he was named the Jim Thorpe Award Player of the Week after recovering a fumble and returning an interception for a touchdown against South Dakota. Two games in, he’s certainly looking like one of the more improved players on the team.

• Marquise Brown had one of the best rookie debuts for a receiver in NFL history on Sunday, and one of the most impressive parts of his performance was the display of his world-class speed. However, ‘Hollywood’ says he still has another gear in him, and that’s exciting for both his teammates and Baltimore Ravens fans.
• Tip-off time for Oklahoma’s Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup with Mississippi State is officially set for 1:00 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs are coming to Norman on Saturday, Jan. 25.

• In case you missed it, Allen Kenney assessed the growth of the defense with two games to draw from. While there are several promising signs, especially up front, more challenging tests are sure to reveal just how much of a difference Alex Grinch has made in his first season at Oklahoma.

Around the Sports World

• When Georgia hosts Arkansas State this weekend, a large contingent of fans wearing pink in the stadium is expected as a show of support for Red Wolves coach Blake Anderson. His late wife, Wendy, lost her battle with cancer before the 2019 season began. Well done, UGA.

• A man who stole a Johnny Manziel jersey from a museum at Texas A&M has been identified but is currently at-large. I have so many questions, but mainly, just why?
• New York Mets star Pete Alonso aka ‘Polar Bear’ shaved off his mustache mid-game after struggling in the early going. Spoiler alert: his superstition didn’t really help him out much as the game went on.

• Eight-year NFL WR Torrey Smith is calling it a career, retiring at the age of 30. The Maryland grad most notably played for the Baltimore Ravens for the first four years of his time in the league. Congrats and good luck, Torrey!

Stick to Sports!

• It’s been a while since HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ flooded newsfeeds across the globe, but George R. R. Martin’s creation is making a comeback to a screen near you. While it’s been known that a few spin-off ideas have been in the works, the details of one of the directions for a new series has recently been revealed. Based on Martin’s book ‘Fire & Blood’, this story will serve as a prequel set roughly 300 years prior to the events that concluded this past May. The focus will be on House Targaryen, chronicling the rise and fall of one of the most influential families in all of Westeros. Needless to say, I am very ready for this.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!