Oklahoma did not panic when Dillon Gabriel, who has almost 15,000 passing yards in his profession, hit the switch portal after two prolific seasons with the Sooners. As a substitute, Oklahoma rallied round former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold and turned an anticipatory eye in direction of the longer term.
That future lastly arrived Friday within the No. 16 Sooners’ (1-0) season-opening 51-3 victory vs. Temple (0-1) as Arnold took the sphere for his first regular-season begin and confirmed that his teaching workers’s religion would possibly simply repay.
Oklahoma misplaced Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon, however could have gained what appears like one of many SEC’s prime arms.
Certain, it is honest to contemplate the extent of competitors. Temple has 9 complete wins since 2021. The Owls have not had a successful season in virtually 5 years, a proven fact that in all probability will not change anytime quickly.
However Arnold, who accomplished 17 of his 25 go makes an attempt for 141 yards and 4 touchdowns in three quarters of play, made throws and displayed traits which can be relevant irrespective of the opponent. He additionally did it with a comparatively shorthanded supporting forged.
High vast receiver Nic Anderson was held out with an damage. Jalil Farooq left early within the first quarter after breaking his foot, an damage that coach Brent Venables stated will sideline him for six to eight weeks. The Sooners additionally entered the sport with out offensive sort out Jake Taylor, and misplaced beginning middle Branson Hickman early on account of an damage of his personal.
Not that any of it was sufficient to knock Arnold out of part. On his very first go try of the evening, Arnold stepped into an oncoming defender and delivered a fantastically layered ball over two Temple defensive backs into the arms of Farooq — previous to his damage — for a 47-yard connection.
Temple was capable of generate constant stress all through the evening, and even sacked Arnold 4 instances, a symptom of Oklahoma’s damage points and the truth that the Sooners broke in a wholly new beginning offensive line. Arnold had great poise for such an inexperienced participant.
His first landing go of the evening got here as he rolled to his proper, with defenders in pursuit, and flipped the ball 14 yards to tight finish Bauer Sharp. Later within the first quarter, Arnold stayed within the pocket with a defender bearing down and threw an ideal 14-yard landing strike to Deion Burks.
Get used to that Arnold-Burks connection. The 2 teamed up for 3 of Oklahoma’s 4 first-half touchdowns. It is clear that, irrespective of who is out there, Oklahoma needs to get the ball into Burks’ palms.
Except for his passing prowess, Arnold flashed the power to make performs together with his legs, each as a strategy to prolong drives and on designed quarterback runs. He rushed for 47 sack-adjusted yards, which ranked second amongst each groups.
Most significantly, it is clear that Arnold made great strides in his resolution making through the offseason. In Oklahoma’s 2023 Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona — Arnold’s first profession begin — he accomplished simply 57.8% of his passes and had three interceptions.
Arnold did not flip the ball over towards the Owls and, upon first viewing no less than, prevented any actually unhealthy throws. On prime of that, three of his eight incompletions have been the results of vast receiver drops.
Oklahoma had a cushty lead for a majority of the sport and Temple’s defensive backs have been clearly overmatched, so Arnold by no means needed to power the difficulty. His first actual check in that regard won’t come till the Sooners matchup towards SEC secondaries.
His numbers weren’t flashy, however Arnold confirmed that he is poised for a possible breakout yr. The Sooners are going to want it in the event that they wish to make a splash within the SEC.
