Oklahoma vs. Temple Preview

​It's game week in Norman, Oklahoma, as Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners will host the Temple Owls this Friday at 6 PM local time. The Sooners are coming off a 10-3 season, but fans are ready to put 2023 behind them as they stare into the face of a daunting SEC schedule that includes trips to Oxford, Columbia, and Baton Rogue. To add fuel to the fire, the Volunteers and Crimson Tide of Tennessee and Alabama will travel to Norman to take on fans that crowd the Palace on the Prarie on Saturdays. 

Temple may be the perfect tune-up game for the Sooners before getting into the meat of the SEC schedule. The Owls have not had a winning season in the last four years and have not beaten a ranked opponent since 2019, when they beat the Memphis Tigers in Philadelphia. It will be a good time for Brent Venables to expose any weaknesses on his ball team and patch up any kinks before hosting the Tennessee Volunteers on September 21. 

This will be our first look at Jackson Arnold starting quarterback during the regular season. Fans have mixed reactions based on his performance in last year's Alamo Bowl against Arizona when he completed 26 of his 45 pass attempts (57.8%), threw for two touchdowns, three interceptions, and was sacked three times. 

I look forward to evaluating his decision-making speed on the field this Friday. I found it slow during the Alamo Bowl and hope for significant improvement. Slow decision-making allows more time to react and get to the quarterback. Luckily, he is surrounded by talent in the skill positions that increase his odds of success. 

You've heard the saying, offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. This year, the Sooners have one of the most talented defensive rosters the program has seen recently. Led by Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman, expect the defense to be recognized as one of the best, not just in the SEC, but in the Nation (I mean, if you're the best in the SEC, you're the best in the Nation). The talent on the defensive side of the ball is enough to win the Sooners at least two games, but against Temple, it's fair to expect the Sooners to drop a goose egg on the Owls. 

The Owls are coming off a 3-9 season under third-year head coach Stan Drayton, who has only won three games as the head coach of Temple. Temple has not won a road game since the 2021 season, and Norman is not where they will snap that streak. While Drayton may see some improvement from the 2023 campaign, it still may not be enough to bring a winning season to Philadelphia. 

Temple is a difficult place to produce a winning season. Since the turn of the century, the Owls have had 15 losing seasons, seven bowl appearances, two bowl wins, and two seasons where they sniffed the Top 25. 

As I said, this game will be a great tune-up for the Sooners. If there are chinks in the armor, Venables and his staff can address and fix what needs fixin' before taking on Tennessee in a few weeks.