Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On Wednesday, Oklahoma Sooners redshirt senior CB Chanse Sylvie was named to the 2020 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for contributions he’s made within his community and the nation at large.

Included among the 22 student-athletes picked annually for this prestigious honor, one captain of the Good Works Team will be elected and announced later this season. You can cast your vote for Sylvie once per day until Nov. 22. Earlier this offseason, I wrote about Sylvie’s work with Meals on Wheels in Norman and as an activist for social justice reform.

With this selection, Sylvie becomes the sixth Sooner in OU program history to be named to the Good Works Team, joining Jacob Gutierrez (‘06), Nic Harris (‘07), Gerald McCoy (‘08), Quinton Carter (‘10) and Caleb Kelly (‘18). Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment, Chanse! Boomer!

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma Hoops picks up a talented recruit for the 2021 class, Lincoln Riley is none too pleased with the NCAA’s handling of the dead period, Cleveland walks-off into the MLB postseason and more!

OU Links

• In case you missed it, on Tuesday evening, four-star shooting guard CJ Noland out of Waxahachie, Texas announced his verbal commitment to the Oklahoma men’s basketball program. The 6’3 prospect — who was recently upgraded to blue-chip status by the services — chose OU over offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and others. He joins Kingfisher (OK) three-star guard Bijan Cortes in Oklahoma’s 2021 class, and the OU staff’s entire focus will now revolves around five-star forward Daimion Collins.

• Teddy Lehman presented Lincoln Riley with another ‘Butkus Brain Teaser’ on Tuesday and kept this week’s K-State theme going with a callback to the 2017 game in the Little Apple. Baker Mayfield led Oklahoma to an exciting comeback victory, making several big plays along the way. Could OU’s coach recall one of those plays in particular? Check it out for yourself.

• Speaking of which, Kansas State didn’t look particularly great in their Week One loss against Arkansas State, but Oklahoma’s defense understands the legitimate challenge ahead of them this Saturday when Skylar Thompson and company step onto the field.

• During his Tuesday press conference, Riley was asked about his thoughts on the NCAA extending the recruiting dead period to Dec. 31. For OU’s head coach, it’s frustrating because there are several 2021 players currently committed to Oklahoma who have yet to see the campus or their future coaches in person, and that won’t be permitted until the dead period has expired, writes SI Sooners’ Parker Thune.
• Make sure you check out this week’s episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast with your usual hosts, Jack Shields and Kamiar Mehrabian. Heading into the Sooners’ Big 12 opener, the guys were joined by Bring on the Cats’ JT VanGilder to talk about the upcoming matchup between OU and the Kansas State Wildcats. They also discuss the likelihood of this game being postponed if KSU is unable to meet the required threshold of players available. Keep in mind, this pod does contain some NSFW language.

• Howdy, Sooner fans! The brilliant designers over at BreakingT recently released this hot-off-the-press, OU-themed ‘Quick-Strike Offense’ t-shirt just for you. Since Lincoln Riley began calling plays for Oklahoma five seasons ago, the offense in Norman has been among the most lethal attacks in FBS history. After last Saturday, it appears this year’s group has the potential to be even better than the rest. Now go ahead and check out this sweet tee for yourself right away!

Around the Sports World

• Reportedly, a team doctor for the Los Angeles Chargers punctured one of QB Tyrod Taylor’s lungs while attempting to inject the 10th year pro with a pain killer to remedy an injury to his ribs. Further investigation of this incident is underway. I hope this was really just an accident and and Taylor makes a full recovery, but still, it’s a major yikes from me.
• After it was recently discovered that seven Notre Dame Fighting Irish players have tested positive for COVID-19, the team’s upcoming game with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons has been moved from this Saturday to Dec. 12.
• The Chicago Bulls have reportedly hired former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan. Over the five-year course of his first NBA head coaching gig with OKC, Donovan amassed a 243-157 record, including five consecutive trips to the NBA Playoffs.
• On Tuesday night, Cleveland Indians third baseman José Ramírez bombed a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th for a 5-3 walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox. In doing so, he also clinched a berth for his team in the 2020 MLB postseason. Now that’s arriving in style.

• Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bears star RB Gale ‘The Kansas Comet’ Sayers passed away on Tuesday at the age of 77.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!