Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On Tuesday, Oklahoma Sooners redshirt sophomore QB Tanner Mordecai announced his decision to transfer back home to the Lone Star State to play for Sonny Dykes and the SMU Mustangs.

Though he was never named the starting quarterback at Oklahoma in his three seasons with the program, the Waco native earned the respect from OU fans everywhere when he stepped up in this year’s Red River Showdown. Spencer Rattler had just committed back-to-back turnovers, and Lincoln Riley knew he needed to make a tough decision in a snap. It was Mordecai who he turned to, and thankfully he was ready at the drop of a golden hat. His composure helped calm the waters for the Sooners that day, and the rest is history.

In limited opportunities as a backup, Mordecai completed 50 of 70 pass attempts for 639 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. As he switches gears and heads to Dallas, he’ll have a great opportunity to lead his own offense, especially now that SMU’s Shane Buechele has announced his decision to enter the 2021 NFL Draft.

Good luck, Tanner! Sooner Nation will be rooting for your success every step of the way!

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma could be welcoming an elite five-star talent to its backfield on Wednesday, PFF recognizes Rattler as its Big 12 POY, Florida gets hit with recruiting infractions and more!

OU Links

• The OU Athletic Department released another round of COVID-19 testing data, and out of 141 student-athletes and 123 staff members screened from Dec. 13-19, only one individual yielded a positive test result. There are also a total of four active cases among players and staff personnel.

• 2021 five-star RB Camar Wheaton out of Lakeview Centennial in Garland, Texas is/was expected to announce his commitment today, but there’s also a chance he postpones his decision. With how close Wheaton has played his cards to the vest throughout his recruitment, it’s truly anybody’s guess as to where the coveted running back will land between Oklahoma and Alabama (even though the latter is starting so seem more likely than before). Seriously, Sam Presti is jealous of Wheaton’s level of secrecy.

• Redshirt freshman QB Spencer Rattler has been named Pro Football Focus’ Big 12 Player of the Year. Not bad for an All-Big 12 honorable mention guy.

• Although OU’s offense has slowed considerably in its last two games, there is still enough in the cupboard to pose a threat to a UF defense that has had trouble shutting opponents down consistently. The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber has more.
• In case you missed it, Florida redshirt junior LB James Houston fired a shot at Oklahoma this week, claiming that the Sooners are not on the same level as the Gators because they aren’t in the SEC. Okay, bud.

Around the Sports World

• The Florida Gators and head coach Dan Mullen have been penalized by the NCAA and placed on probation for the next calendar year after it was discovered that recruiting violations were committed in 2019.
• The Auburn Tigers have officially hired former Boise State Broncos lead man Bryan Harsin as their next head coach. It’s a rather outside the box pick-up for War Eagle, but one thing is for certain — the man is a winner.
• Speaking of unexpected college football hires, the Arizona Wildcats have hired former New England Patriots QB coach Jedd Fisch to be their next head coach.
• Terry Bowden (64-year-old son of the legendary Bobby Bowden) has been hired to be the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks’ next head coach. Terry last led his own team when he was with the Akron Zips in 2018. Since then, he’s been with the Clemson Tigers serving as a graduate assistant.
• The San Francisco 49ers have signed QB Josh Rosen off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad and are reportedly placing the former first round pick onto the team’s active roster.

Stick to Sports!

• McDonald’s is the one fast-food franchise that actually does not need to experiment with its menu to stay on top, but in this competitive market, sometimes drawing attention to yourself is all it takes to create headlines. For example, right now in China, you can actually visit one of these worldwide establishments and order a Spam burger topped with crushed Oreo cookies and mayonnaise. Clearly this stunt has worked because it has the internet talking, but at what cost? There is zero percent chance that this is actually tasty, and if anything, it just makes me want to skip Mickey D’s and pull up to old reliable — Chick-fil-A.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!