[upbeat music] It's time for another episode of Bedlam Buds, that time of the week, multiple times of the week, where we get together, one OU fan, that's me, my name is Ryan, Boomer Sooner, and one OSU fan. That's me, Jeremy Cook. Go Pokes. We talk about the weekend that was, the week that will be, and sports beyond football.
And if it's okay, given that OSU went to Tucson, didn't cover the over, and didn't really come close to Arizona, we'll, we'll start with OU this week, if that's okay. That is perfectly fine. [laughs] It's, it's a big week. It's OU/Texas week. It is Beat Texas week. Uh, it is Horns Down week, for sure, and it comes off a 44-nothing win for the Sooners against Kent State.
I had a lot of folks in my TikTok and Instagrams talk about how great Oklahoma looked. I'm, I'm gonna be a Debbie Downer, Jeremy. I didn't think we looked all that great. The, the defense is fine. Any time you get a clean, clean sheet, that's, it's mystical and magical. The defense looks amazing. I think it's probably a top five defense in the country.
Uh, you're not going to convince me that they're better than Ohio State. Uh, but- That's fair... top five, I, I think, you know, easily top five at this point, and probably best in the SEC, bar none. Now, with that said, I expect that they would've held Kent State to zero or three. They only scored 10 or 14 against Florida State and Texas Tech, I believe it was. But the offense that only scored 44 with Michael Hawkins Jr., and it's not just about points.
There is an eye test to be had, and I, I didn't really feel like I saw the progress that I wanted to see out of Michael Hawkins Jr. There was a lot of holding the ball too long. There was a lot of throwing off the back foot or throwing it away in haste. The first touchdown was a heave. It was a, it was l- it was Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer. Throw it up and hope for the best.
Uh, and that first pass to Keontes Lewis, and goodness knows, that was a very, very scary injury, and I'm not gonna blame that on Hawkins, but that ball was vastly overthrown. It, it, it just, it wasn't the progress I was hoping to see with as an acclaimed offensive coordinator as Ben Arbuckle is. And I...
A lot of folks said in, in the TikToks and Instagrams that I posted and participated in this weekend, "Well, we're just not showing all the plays." Jeremy, I don't believe that's a thing. I really don't. You have to practice the plays. Why, why would you ever, why would you ever not sh- work on some things in a game?
It just, uh, uh, and I say all this with a little bit of concern toward Texas, and if the Longhorns didn't crap the bed themselves against Florida in Gainesville, I'd be a little more concerned. Frankly, I'm not. I think the Sooners win this week with Hawkins or with Mateer. I'd feel a lot better, though, with Mateer. Did you get a chance to watch any of the Sooners' game?
Yeah, I, I actually got to watch a little bit of OU, and also a little bit of Texas, and I agree with you. I think that OU's gonna win that game this weekend. Um, and now, what we have to remember in defense of Hawkins is that he's m- he's not the number one. There's a reason they went out and got Mateer. Uh, there's a reason why that happened, and Mateer's been getting the, the number one snaps until recently. So Hawkins hasn't had...
You know, they try to divide it out as much as possible, but we all know the NCAA limits the amount of practice time you can have, so they're limited on how much they can run with the twos, threes, fours. So this was his first opportunity, and I would imagine that they probably kept it a little vanilla for him this week, this past week against Kent State, 'cause A, you know you're gonna win, and you also don't want to break his confidence.
You don't want to try and ask him to do too much to where, you know, it could ruin his mental attitude for the next couple of weeks, certainly with this being the big Red River Rivalry coming up, and, you know, and that's a very, very important game. So, um, you know, that's just kind of in defense. However, the, the realistic thing is there was some, there was some question marks on offense.
There was some questionable decisions by the quarterback, by Hawkins, and it was just a case where, you know, OU clearly was the better team, and they, they could get away with some of those mistakes. Against, uh, Texas or an Alabama, somebody like that, you might not be able to get away with it. The good news is that the Oklahoma defense is elite. Uh, I may have said it before. I've, at some point I've said it, top five. This is a, this is a defense that's in line with, uh, your Ohio States.
I don't think it's necessarily better than the Buckeyes, uh, but I think it is as good a defense as there is in the country, and that's, that's the saving grace. If you recall, for those Sooners who recall 2000, the offense had a significant drop-off toward the end of the year. It was a, a, a, it was a whiz-bang offense in 1999 and in 2000, but the Josh Heupel offense, it took a nosedive in the second half of 2000, and we were, the Sooners were struggling to score.
It was the defense that saved the day, and I think it may be the defense that takes us as far as we could possibly go. And one of the things that I heard, and I don't know if it's true or not, was that the coaches didn't want Hawkins to depend overly on his legs, and my thought is would you ask Kyle Schwarber not to hit home runs?
Would, would you ask, would you ask LeBron not to go to the hole, or, or better yet, Michael Jordan or Kobe? Th- this is, this is Michael Hawkins' talent. Would you ask Kenny G not to play the saxophone? This is, this is what he does. Let him run. Maybe the thought was, "Well, you don't wanna get Hawkins hurt. Now you're down to Whit Newbauer." And, uh, but against Texas, you're gonna have to let him run.
This is the thing that he does. And Ben Arbuckle, I, I have to saydiscouraged or concerned. I, I just don't know how much work was put into Hawkins. Like you said, there's limited practice time, but I don't go in with the highest confidence of the Sooners offense with Michael Hawkins Jr. at the helm.
With Mateer, sure, but even then, is his hand, is his wrist, is his thumb, uh, back to 100%? I'm almost certain that on Tuesday, we're recording this on Monday, we're going to hear that it's the Michael Hawkins Jr. show against Texas, and you know what? There'll be, uh, no bigger Hawk fan than myself come Saturday because Oklahoma has to get this win. The Sooners are playing a murderer's row of SEC teams down the line.
I mean, you're going to Columbia. You're gonna play a very good, probably a better Mississippi team this year than even last year when they had Jaxson Dart. You're gonna have to play LSU and Alabama and Missouri. Missouri's defense is ranked almost as highly as OU's. I'm telling you, the offense- Missouri's defense is number one in, in yards allowed, meaning they have the lowest amount of yards given up.
So the offense is going to have to become a priority. So I, I, you know, there were a lot of fans who said, "We just didn't see the playbook." Well, we, we had better see it this week. What in the world? What are we doing here? I, I am not a fan of holding back the playbook. What is... I don't believe that's done. I believe that is silly. But- Well, okay, now let me kinda defend that other side, right?
Let me play devil's advocate here. We know Michael Hawkins can run. We know he can hit the corner, and we know he can get out of the pocket, right? So they didn't wanna work on that this past week. They wanted to work on his passing game because that passing game is what's gonna open up the run for the Sooners this coming weekend.
And so I, I don't think they were holding anything back per se, but I think they were limiting the amount of plays so that he could master those ones, uh, that you're gonna have to use on Saturday, whereas he still has that natural ability. He's always gonna be able to break the pocket. He's always gonna be able to scramble and run.
Now, those, hitting those passes, that's what they needed to work on this Saturday, and I kinda think that's the approach they took. Almost a practice. I, I could... You know what? I hope you're correct, and what you say makes a ton of sense. In that case, they didn't hold back the playbook.
I mean, we'll, we'll see come Saturday, but with what Texas did, uh, crap in the bed, if you will, against Florida, just super underwhelming. Arch Manning has been underwhelming. Texas as a whole has been underwhelming. Uh, and a third loss, oh, my goodness. That could send them into a free fall. I hope it ha- That would be tragic. Yeah, [laughs] that would be tragic.
So speaking of tragic, um, not really tragic in the big scheme of things, but let's talk about the Cowboys because both you and I thought OSU had a chance to win in Tucson. Uh, but that was quickly not the case, and it was the Arizona offense that really got them out to a fast start en route to a 41 to 13 win.
I watched quite a bit of it, uh, and I just saw, uh, it was a short passing game and the receivers getting YAC, yards after catch, uh, and they were just able to move up and down the field with ease. The defense, still a struggle. Now, he- here's ironically, or maybe not, maybe ironically is not the right word, but Oklahoma State actually gave up less yards in a game, uh, against Arizona than any of the previous games.
Literally were averaging 530 some odd yards given up a, a game, and were 100 less than that, about 428 is what it was. Now, Oklahoma State themselves only got 158 yards, so you're not gonna win a ballgame doing that, certainly when the other team has three to four times the amount of yards.
And that's what's been the problem all year on the defensive side. The rush will get some pressure, and then just a short pass, a five-yard y- a wheel route, bubble screen, those types are suddenly a 50-yard play. In the second half, Oklahoma State's defense held them much closer except for about three big plays. And, and d- and, you know, trying to be the eternal optimist, Oklahoma State won the fourth quarter seven to three.
Okay? So, you know, they never quit. Once again, you hate to hang your hat on this, and you hate to, certainly at this college level where these are pros now. These guys are getting paid money to play ball, so they're professionals. Uh, you, for professionals, you keep having to s- say, you know, I hating to say I should say that, uh, at least they didn't quit, but at least they didn't quit.
I mean, you know, it, it's, it's a bad season right now, and even toward the end of the game, those guys were laying it out there. They were trying their best. They were tr- trying to be in the right positions. They were doing everything they could. It's just unfortunately, I mean, I can't sugarcoat it, they're just not that good right now. And I mean, it's gonna take...
You know, the, the new defensive coordinator can't fix everything in a week. I mean, these guys have been with, you know, with Grantham for months now and learning what he wanted, and now we're trying to adjust. And w- in one week, you can't do that, right? Just like with Michael Hawkins, you can't open the whole, the whole playbook for him in one week when he's not had that experience. Same thing with the defense.
And, and Oklahoma State lost several safeties into the portal, and so they're playing some brand-new guys. They're playing some young guys that are basically almost a tryout, um, and just to see who's gonna lay it on the line for that, you know, that OSU logo. And again, you know, I, I hate to dwell on, on what we, you know,
what we know, but unfortunately what we know is at least they didn't quit, and they, they were playing to the very end. That is a good sign to me that they believe in what they're doing. They believe in the coaches. They're, they know that they're not good, but they're trying to do better.
Um, but again, as weird as it sounds, Saturday was actually a better game for the defense, certainly in the second half if they hadn't given up, I think it was two 50-yard, over-50-yard touchdown passes or, you know, something like that. Uh, and, and that's not gonna win you any ballgame. And coming up this weekend, we're a 14-point home dog to HoustonAnd I mean, Houston is four and one.
Um, you know, I thought I originally at the beginning of the year, I had Houston as a win. I had Cincinnati as a win, 'cause these are home games against... Whoa. Now we're gonna have to back that up a little bit. I, you know, c- I think this might be a win for OSU. It's not that I'm, uh... It's, I just don't feel it as a, a for sure situation.
Something you mentioned though, um, and this is another discussion that I've had on some of my Ryan Is That Dude channels on Instagram and TikTok, but you talked about it, it can't turn around in one week. I wanna point out a program that was terrible, and they did turn it around in one week, and that's UCLA.
They handed the reins to Jerry Neuheisel, and first week calling plays, they went out and put up 42 on Penn State and won. Doesn't explain the defense, but one week. Well, but let's see how they do the rest of the year. Um- I- I think they sh- But sure... you got that new manager bump. Uh, we talk about that in soccer. You know, they got that new manager bump.
You got that new coach, and then you also had a Penn State team that was hungover from Oregon. Penn State started out with absolute garbage. They looked horrible, and then in the second half, they started that comeback when they started settling back into things, and that's why I'm not sold on, on UCLA. I still think that they're a, they're a dumpster fire.
No, I mean, they're, they're one and one, they're one and four. Right. There's not much to sell you on except that the power of you have to do something different to get something different. Right, and, and power of belief is a real thing, and if they start thinking they can win, let's face it, their schedule's not that tough. They could win s- several more ball games. But I wanna see it before I really buy in, buy into the Neuheisel saving UCLA trip.
Well, it's, uh, and not, you know, not that I'm saying that, but I, I do remember when Bob Stoops came to Norman and brought Mike Leach with him, and this is, this is credit to Mike Leach. It, that offense was drastically different. We went from sheer incompetence under John Blake, and that's what it was, to a wonderful offense that looked like folks knew what they were supposed to do.
And it was just, it's, this is not rocket science. This is football still. Uh, and that, that's why I'm like, "Guys, you know, it's..." I'm a little down on Ben Arbuckle. I'm a little down on the Sooners offense. I'm like, I'm just not seeing that much that is creative or is, is quite satis- 44 points, that's fine. This was Kent State. That translates to about 15 against Texas.
Well, Texas, h- honestly, their defense is their strength right now. Um, so it, I mean, it very well could be an interesting matchup. Uh, what time's that kick off? 2:30. Okay, so- I will be, I will be in Tulsa. We are seeing, we are going to watch the outsiders next weekend, and so I will be in a car watching with headphones on. Uh, and I will try to keep my language as clean as possible. Okay.
Well, I w- I won't text updates 'cause our game kicks off at 11, so, uh, I'll be able to ca- worst case, the whole second half. So I'm, I'm curious. After, after Oklahoma State upsets Houston and gets that big win, number one in conference play. It's, it's beat Texas all the way around next weekend. Cowboys over Houston. Yeah. Sooners over Texas.
Did you get to watch much baseball this weekend at all? Um, I... Not a lot. I, I kind of focused on football a little bit. Um, you know, watching as much of the college game, uh, as I could. You know, since Oklahoma State was away, I had, had, you know, the ability to do that. Um, now I, I do know that Toronto, wow. I mean, I've caught bits and pieces, but Toronto, my goodness. What's happening there?
What's this? I mean, my goodness. I, yeah, I think it's, I think it's they're taking out their political angst all over the United States. Well- It's a boot the organization, and they're going to whip some tail. They're gonna whip some Yankee tail. It's the Yankee Doodle Dandy series. I think they're gonna sweep out. Uh, at this point, you know, any time you get a 2-0 lead, that's kinda what you think, and the Dodgers-Phillies was a grind.
I expect the Phillies to win tonight and tie that series 1-1, but that should be a series that goes to five, even though, as I said in a previous, uh, discussion, I think the Dodgers... I, I don't know how they're gonna get beat in Detroit. What's odd is they won the first game, and then they lost the Scooball game. You know, it's, uh, it's gonna be a nip and tuck series, and then the Brewers get out to a 9-0 lead on the Cubs, which went exactly like we said it would. Absolutely did.
[laughs] Now, the, and the Mariners-Tigers, what's interesting to me is that it was a 3-2, 3-2. Both those games were right there, and so they are... That's the closest one. That's the nip and tuck. Dodgers-Phillies will be close. I think the Brewers are gonna just continue to do what we think they're gonna do. Um, again, I, I predict Toronto to, to sweep out.
Uh, I've been wrong, uh, uh, thus far a lot on the baseball, but I think I'm feeling pretty confident with that. The m- uh, the Mariners-Tigers, man, I, I came in confident with the Mariners, but the way the Tigers' pitching has really picked it up, um, I, I'm not, I'm not convinced anymore. Well, they, they were the best team in baseball for much of the year, and then they had that, that falloff. Maybe they have gotten their mojo back. Well, th- yeah, that's entirely possible.
That's entirely possible, and they're, they were more of a, of an offensive juggernaut a lot throughout the season. They scored, they put up a lot of run. Their bats work. Um, so to e- you know, them being held to three but still winning, that should scare the rest of baseball. I mean, 'cause, you know, if they, if both pieces are firing, the Tigers easily could win it. Right.
Uh, so, uh, I listened to some of the Oklahoma City Thunder game yesterday. It was, I've got my Thunder cap over here, Thunder up. Okay. Um, preseason game number oneI'm blurry all of a sudden. I don't know what's up with that. This camera's awful. You're blurry on my end. Yeah. Well, I, uh, either that or the old man eyesight. [laughs] Yeah, you're, you're seeing stuff in real time, folks. Okay.
Can, can we just get this to work, please? Um- That's all right. Go for it... this is what I mean. Well, we can fix it in post. [laughs] Just, just keep going. Yeah, we'll fix it in post, or maybe we won't fix it in post. We'll just roll with it. Um, what, what's wrong with your eyesight? Are you seeing this blurry? That's you. Yikes. Uh, but the Thunder, they had no problem with Charlotte. It's the pre-season. It's the first game of pre-season.
And, uh, but just a quick funny story, because for Game 7, we went, Jeremy, this summer, uh, my wife, my stepdaughter, and myself, we went overseas for this program called the Oklahoma Ambassadors of Music, essentially, uh, high school choir students from across the state led by Greg and Diane Johnson. We know them both. Greg was our choir director back in the day.
We traveled to England, we traveled to France, to Germany, to Austria, to Switzerland, um, to sing in chapels and churches and, and town squares all across Europe- Okay, I'm already jealous. Stop. Dang. It, it, it was phenomenal, phenomenal, even though there were a few two- and three-hour wake-up calls. But that, that just, that's life on the road. But we were supposed to be back for Game 7, and, Thunder Game 7, and I'm, I'm trying to keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
We all were over there, but it re- would require you to either get up very early in the morning or miss some sleep, which we didn't get much of at all. Uh, but for Game 7, we were supposed to already have been back home. But because the FAA, uh, decided that there weren't enough air traffic controllers at [laughs] Newark Airport, we didn't get to fly home, so we were stuck in New York City, actually East Rutherford, New Jersey, for two days.
Christie, Olivia, and I, we went into New York City. They went to go see a Broadway show. I went to a bar, because this is Game 7. I'm not missing Game 7 for anything. This place is packed. It's called Yard House. It's in midtown Manhattan. Packed, and nobody there is really that interested. I saw maybe a couple of people who looked like they were paying attention to the game.
This is 7:00, 7:30, and the game's already in the middle of the first quarter, but I'm looking around just fervently. I'm not, you know, whooping and hollering too much, but I'm clearly interested. And you think, people say, or New York City has the reputation of not being such a friendly place, except that it's actually one of the most friendly places on the planet. The bartender saw me, said,
"Uh, so we don't really have any seats, but I can tell you're interested in the game. Do you, do you have a dog in this fight?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm from Oklahoma City." He got me a stool, poured me a beer, sat me in a corner, said, "You're gonna have to stay out of the way. The waitresses need to come through here. But there's your seat. Just raise your hand whenever you need another one. I'll take care of you for as long as you're here."
I'm like, that was an amazing core memory for me of Oklahoma City's first Game 7 in the finals, and I am excited like heck for them to get back out on the floor and get this season started. First game is October 21st, and that'll be on K4 here in Oklahoma City and KJRH in Tulsa. Well, my brother, uh, got to shoot their media day, and he said that they were, had the same attitude, that they still had that underdog attitude.
They weren't walking around, you know, flashing their rings and, you know, and praising the trophy. They were their... You know, they were having a good time. They were still loose and, and, you know, being that same fun Oklahoma City team that we're used to. But he said that you could see that there was business, that they knew that, you know, it, they don't automatically win that trophy again, that it's hard to repeat.
And he said you could just tell by their attitudes and, and what they were saying and how they were behaving that they're, they're fully invested back in this and they, they know what it's gonna take to, to try and repeat. And for such a young team being led by such young players, my goodness, that's refreshing. I, I'm looking forward to this season. It's impossible not to love this team. Not even...
Not saying that because I, I live in Oklahoma City or that we're both in Oklahoma. It just is impossible not to love these guys. And, and I remember when the Houston Rockets won their second championship and Rudy Tomjanovich said, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion," something that Houston did there. They reunited Phi Slama Jama.
They brought Cr- Clyde Drexler in, uh, to pair up a- with Hakeem, and they went on that run. I predict Russell Westbrook isn't signed with anybody. I predict he plays for the Thunder this year. He'll be a sixth man, and they will... Their mission will be to win one for Russ. That will give them their raison d'être, if you will, to pull in a little French. Um, and- Okay, but who's, who's off the roster then?
I have no idea. I don't know. I'm not a GM. [laughs] Just add some... [laughs] I don't know. Base in reality. I mean, they have their, they have a full roster, I mean, all the way, all the way through. No idea. No idea. So yeah, you know what? Presti will make it happen. Presti will make that happen. That's right. He's the magic man. Yep. Anyway, not, not the most, uh... We've had blurry video. Uh, I'm making all sorts of crazy claims.
It's just another day in the Bedlam Buds world. Absolutely. This, this is why we- We'll talk, uh- This is the best... we, we'll talk later this week as we, uh, get through some more baseball playoffs. By the way, hockey starts tomorrow night. Oh. Um, a, a quick Stanley Cup champion pick? Man. No, no. Let, let me...
Next, next episode, let me do a little research next episode, and I'll come back, and I'll, I'll give you the winner. I, uh, okay. You do, you do that. Right now I'm leaning toward, um... I have no idea. I, I, it's, I would, I would say the Florida Panthers again, but I don't really know anything about hockey, so I would just- Say just Blues. If, uh, you know, right- Oh...
right now I'd say the Blues, but let me do some research, and I'll come back next week, and I'll tell you. All right. Fantastic. For Jeremy, I'm Ryan. This is another episode of Bedlam Buds. Be sure to like, subscribe, follow the channel if you got a, a, a question that you would like us to answer, especially maybe it doesn't have anything to do with football. Maybe it has to do with OSU wrestling.
Maybe it has to do with men's or women's basketball. You know, m- we'll be talking about other sports. What are you interested in? Put it in the comments below. Even if you disagree, we love you anyway. And for, until next time, I'm Ryan. That's Jeremy. For Bedlam Buds, we'll see you. See you. [upbeat music]