Happy Thursday, friends and fans! Also, Happy Birthday, Lincoln Riley!

The young third-year head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners is celebrating his 36th B-Day on this fine Thursday, and many of his former and current players, coaching mates and family wished him a happy birthday.

First of all, is Kyler Murray using a flip-phone from 2005? Beyond that, I sure got a kick out of Bob Stoops cruising around in that golf cart and calling Riley an “old dog.” Finally, Jalen Hurts is sitting in his coach’s seat, which probably never happened in Nick Saban’s office at Alabama. Of course, Baker Mayfield also added a bit of ball-busting to the whole thing.

We’ve heard a lot about how much Riley’s players respect and revere him, as well as the coaches he’s gone to battle with. It feels like he should be much older than he is, but that really just speaks to the level of maturity and professionalism he’s brought to the staff ever since he was hired at Oklahoma in 2015. He’s the most sought after mind in football for a reason. Fortunately for OU, he’s all about that Crimson & Cream.

Now for today’s Hot Links! Lamb and Hurts are projected first-rounders, the OU Student Section is honored for showing out, Notre Dame loses a key piece on offense and more!

OU Links

• Joel Klatt and Colin Cowherd recently discussed Lincoln Riley’s unprecedented ability to design plays and get the most out of his quarterbacks. Regardless of how you feel about the blowhard on the right, this is worth listening to if you’re an OU fan.

• In CBS Sports writer Chris Trapasso’s 2020 mock NFL draft, both CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Hurts are projected to go in the first round. This should obviously be taken with a massive grain of salt, but it just shows how much momentum is already building for Hurts.
• Vic Reynolds at the OU Daily reports on HB Jeremiah Hall and his thoughts on scoring the first touchdown of his career and of the season, as well as helmet-butting Shane Beamer.
• With the Arizona Cardinals’ first regular season game approaching, Kliff Kingsbury admits he still isn’t quite sure about how Kyler Murray is handling the moment. K1 maintains that he isn’t nervous, and judging from his performances at every level, I tend to believe him.
• Junior LB Kenneth Murray was named the Lott Impact Player of the Week for his outstanding performance against Houston and his high-character off the field. K9 is well on his way to some big things this season.

• The OU student section also came away with a weekly honor after being named the Taco Bell Live Más Student Section of the Week! Riley said earlier this week during his presser that Sunday’s game was the earliest he had seen so many fans and students in their seats before the game. Then you had the white-out which only sent the students into more of a frenzy. Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• I’m shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you!

• As a team, the Los Angeles Dodgers have now hit 250 home runs on the season after Joc Pederson crushed this one to right center. That’s the most in MLB history for a National League team. Wow.

• Notre Dame starting RB Jafar Armstrong has been sidelined with a groin injury he sustained in Monday’s game at Louisville. The Fighting Irish back is expected to miss the next five to eight weeks.
• Tennessee Vols WR Jordan Murphy and DB Terrell Bailey have left the team according to head coach Jeremy Pruitt. UT lost to Georgia State in its season opener on Saturday.
• Which wide receiving corps in the NFL are the best, and on the other end of the spectrum, which ones are the worst?
• Of course Rafael Nadal is a trick shot master with a tennis ball, he’s Rafa! Why was I surprised he sent that straight into the booth?

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!