We had some hits and we had some misses last week. Let’s see if we can hone things in a little better for Week 6.
Parental advisory warning – Explicit content below. But I think it is necessary.
Don’t Be Scurred
Start Mike Hawkins this week. Do it! I know you haven’t seen anything from him other than a decent bowl performance after he struggled last season. But this isn’t the 2024 Sooner offense, and this isn’t the 2024 Mike Hawkins. All indications are that he has made significant improvements since being under the tutelage of Arbuckle and John Kuceyeski. Multiple players have suggested that Hawk looks just as good as Mateer in practice, but he doesn’t know the Arbuckle system quite as well (hyperbole, I know). OU plays Kent State, and Hawk will need a bunch of reps to get his feet under him, should he also start against Texas next week.
The Odd Year Curse On the Gopher RB Room
I’m a skeptic to my core. I don’t generally believe in superstitions or curses, even though Nomar Garciaparra, one of the most superstitious athletes of the ’90s, was my favorite baseball player as a kid. Go figure. However, I am starting to believe in the Gopher RB odd-year curse. PJ Fleck RBs are fantasy gold in even years and a hot mess in odd years. 2017 and 2019 had injuries to Shannon Brooks. 2021 was the Ibrahim season with a ruptured Achilles. 2023 saw Darius Taylor emerge, only to then miss a handful of games due to a hamstring injury. 2025 has not been kind to Darius Taylor once again.
QB Consistency
Fourteen of the top twenty CFF QBs in terms of PPG are with the same OC they had in 2024. Of those six that have a new OC, two are in the same offensive system with an OC that was promoted from within – Jalon Daniels and Brad Jackson. One is in the same system as the former OC, who is still on staff – Ty Simpson.
So, only three out of the top 20, Fernando Mendoza, Chandler Morris, and Steve Angeli, are truly in a totally new system with a new OC. This doesn’t mean that veteran QBs with a returning OC are rock-solid options (see Klubnik and Nussmeier), but it certainly seems you must be comfortable with risk when taking a QB in a new offensive system.
Cheat Code???
I’m not saying it is happening. But maybe….just maybe….we have a cheat code on our hands with WR Sam Jackson V at Okie State. The jury isn’t deliberating anymore on Zane Flores. The verdict is in, and he’s been found guilty of driving the struggle bus straight into the shitshow museum. He doesn’t have a single TD pass, and he’s been the QB since the 2nd quarter of Week 1. Jackson, a former QB at TCU and Cal, went 3-4 passing for 46 yards and a TD against Baylor last week. Interim head coach Doug Meachum prefers a dual-threat QB. He was the co-OC both seasons Trevone Boykin went HAM for TCU. Oh yeah, and who was Jackson’s primary recruiter to TCU and his OC as a freshman? That’s right! Doug Meachum. Again, I’m not saying Sam Jackson V will take over as the Pokes QB while being eligible at WR. But I’m not saying he won’t.
That Stat Is Wack
LJ Martin has one TD on 61 touches for 456 yards.
Jordon Davison has 7 TDs on 24 touches for 91 yards.
Something has to give in the TD regression to the mean universe for these two.
Cheers to Week 6! Good Luck
