What Jackson Arnold needs to do in OU's opener. Plus, Jayden Jackson starting, the run game and predictions!

Everything you need to know before the Sooners play Temple with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel.

Oklahoma's first football game as a member of the SEC is Friday night, and while people are really fired up about games against Alabama and LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee, they'll first have to endure non-conference games against Temple, Houston and Tulane.

The Owls will be the first to swoop into Norman, a game that's likely to be a blowout.

So what will we be overreacting about on Friday night?

And to whom does this game matter most?

We'll talk about that and much more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel on The Jenni Carlson Show.

Sign up for my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/@Jenni-Carlson

Episode highlights

1:10: Why was Berry asking Brent Venables about Temple? Isn’t victory against the Owls a given?

2:55: What should Sooner fans know about the Owls?

5:12: What are we going to learn about OU from an opener that is likely to be a blowout?

8:15: What about the Sooner offensive line?

10:00: If the blowout materializes, what are we likely to be overreacting about Friday night?

12:20: Who does this game matter to most?

14:10: What does Jackson Arnold need to do — and not do?

15:30: Predictions!

Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove

Creative Director: Michael Lane

Transcript

Jenni: Well, BT, you don't surprise me very often, but you surprised me Monday during Brent Venables’ press conference. The festivities were about to wrap up. Brent seemed to be enjoying himself and asked if anyone had any more questions. You piped up and asked about Temple. Really?

Berry: Well, I actually was writing a column about Temple and I thought, ‘You know what, nobody's even asked Brent about Temple.’ So I probably need a second source because I'd interviewed Temple coach Stan Drayton. So that was the genesis of that. I could’ve let us all go home a little earlier, I guess. But Brent was in a good mood. And let me tell you something, Jacko. He knew a lot about Temple. I was impressed because there's not a lot to know for season openers anymore. If you're playing a school you've never played before, in another part of the country, different level, Group of Five, not a very good Group of Five, transfer portal. It’s like every other team, half the roster’s new. Brent knew a lot about it, which really shouldn't surprise us. Right? I mean, this is the guy that's sort of pretty honed in. But I thought it was a pretty enjoyable 45 minutes with Brent Venables.

Jenni: Yeah, for sure. He did seem in good spirits as his team points towards SEC Land and obviously some easier games before they get to that point. As you talk about Temple, what have you learned about the Owls? You said a couple of weeks ago when we were talking about these non-conference games that Temple would probably get beat by Oklahoma State's opening non-conference opponent, South Dakota State. Not a very good Group of Five program is Temple. But what have you learned about the Owls?

Berry: Well, this Owl team specifically is struggling. They've had three straight 3-9 seasons. You know, there's talk about the commitment to football and whether it's wise or not. And I would agree with them. I don't know if it is, but maybe it is.

One thing I knew, but I learned it at an advanced age and I assume most people don't know: you hear a school called Temple in Philadelphia, you just sort of naturally think this is a private school. No, it's a state school. So I never knew that. It's got 24,000 students, but it's not an affluent school. It's not a well-resourced school. You know, they play at Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play. They don't draw much of a crowd. Had about a thousand at a game late in the year last year. 

Jenni: What?

Berry: OU, they go up there next year, and it seems like a decent chance they could outnumber the Temple fans. But you know, this is a program that's had success. Matt Rule did a bang-up job as the Temple coach. Got him the Baylor job, and now, of course, he's been in the NFL and at Nebraska. 

Temple people will find this hard to believe, but in 2015, Temple not only beat Penn State, they beat the tar out of Penn State. Was 27-10. Later in the year, they played Notre Dame within 24-20. So they've had some success, but it's just been hard to sustain. People steal their coach. They've lost a coach to Miami, Al Golden; Baylor, Matt Rhule; Georgia Tech, Geoff Collins. Manny Diaz went up there to Temple and stayed literally a week or two. And then Miami came calling. It’s hard for them to keep success if they find it. So it's going to be an overmatch. Don't think there's any question about that.

Jenni: Yeah, yeah, it sure seems that way. So you've learned some things about Temple. What do you think the rest of us are going to learn about OU from this game on Friday night?

Berry: Well, I don't know what you thought, Jacko. I was stunned when we saw Jayden Jackson on the starting lineup in the two-deep. True freshmen defensive lineman — that doesn't happen. The one I know about, everybody remembers Tommie Harris, but my colleague Eric Bailey trotted out a name I'd forgotten from 1987. Marcus Lowe was a freshman nose guard. Now, my memory is Lowe was not a great player. He didn't have a great career. I think that probably had to be some sort of injury situation, but I remember the guy. So it happens every once in a while. But that was stunning to me.

Jenni: Is that an indictment of the OU defensive line or a big tip of the cap to Jayden Jackson?

Berry: Yeah, I assume it's both. I mean, I don't think the guy's Tommie Harris. Generally speaking, you get one of those in a lifetime, and I don't know what OU has done to deserve two of them. It sounds like he's a great player. Going to be a star, but ideally he would not be starting as a true freshman. 

But I also think it's good for the future and maybe good for … if you look at that depth chart, he's starting at defensive tackle. And they've also got Damonic Williams and Da’Jon Terry as an either/or at nose guard. And then two defensive ends. When OU's in a three-man front, Jayden Jackson probably won't be out there. So it's not like he's going to play 70 snaps, I don't think. I would guess he would play 30 to 40 snaps if Temple runs 60 plays. Maybe not even that many. 

You've been flying this flag for the last couple of weeks. You're worried about that defensive line quality and depth. And I think this is an indication that that concern is probably valid because if you have to rely on a true freshman defensive tackle, you're probably not real stellar to start with upfront.

Jenni: I think a lot of people might be surprised that it was Jayden Jackson, the freshman, that gets the nod over David Stone, the five-star. Obviously originally from Del City, went to IMG for two years. So I think he was widely regarded as, if they were going to start one of the two freshmen on the defensive line, it would probably be him. But listening to Brent Venables talk, sounds like Stone's got a lot of talent, but maybe doesn't quite have the technique, whereas Jackson looks maybe more like he's ready with not only the physique, the skill, but also sort of the consistency of things. So that'll be interesting. 

For me, I'm curious about this offensive line. I know that Temple’s defensive front is not going to be anywhere close to what OU is going to face down the line or even next week against Houston particularly, but can the offensive line not shoot itself in the foot? Can it get lined up? Can it keep pressure off of Jackson Arnold? I mean, if they can't do it against Temple, isn't the alarm bell going to go off pretty quickly?

Berry: You would you would think so. There's not there's not much we can learn positive when OU plays Temple, but there is some we could learn negative, right? I mean, if they win this game 31-19, you know, and sort of coast of victory but never put them away, you think, ‘What's going on? It's getting a lot tougher than this.’

And that offensive line is the one of the keys where you ought to be able to push Temple around. I assume they don't have a bunch of 310-pound run stuffers and a bunch of linebackers that can chase the ball. Now Brent did say they have a quality defensive end, an edge rusher, and a new secondary. But the 310 guys who can be mobile and get around, those are hard to find. Six foot, 190-pound guys that can run fast, they're all over America and you can find those guys. So it wouldn't surprise me if Temple goes out there and has a bunch of tough guys from Pennsylvania, Jersey that are really tough, good athletes. That way it could match up somewhat. That's not surprising, but you would think they would not have defensive lineman that could hold up to the OU running game or protecting Jackson Arnold.

Jenni: So considering how overmatched it seems Temple is, these openers always tend to produce overreactions. What are we going to be overreacting about related to Oklahoma on Friday night? What's your best guess to the biggest overreaction, Berry?

Berry: It might be how well they run the ball. The last time we saw Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes sort of be co-hosts, they each dented Florida State for a hundred yards in the Cheez-It Bowl. That was my other surprise.

Jenni: The or?

Berry: The or with Jovantae Barnes. I knew that he was healthy. I knew they liked him. But for whatever reason, he just never got out of the starting gate last year. But he's back up there with Sawchuk. I thought he was really good, particularly in that bowl game. So, I thought that was a very good sign. If Barnes and Sawchuk are on an even level —because we saw Sawchuk really blossom last year, all those hundred yard games down the stretch — I assume they're going to run pretty good on Temple.

I don't think Seth Littrell is going to try out any fancy plays. You know, one cool thing about this season, I hadn't even thought about — you know, your show really energizes me, Jacko; I think of things I hadn't thought of — for a hundred years, we’ve gone to Dallas knowing OU is about to open up a new section of the playbook. I assume they've done some of that in years past, but they're saving the playbook for Tennessee now. It's not Texas. It's the Vols in Norman and then the next week at Auburn. That's when they're gonna let it all hang out and then worry about the Longhorns when the Longhorns show up. 

But I think it'll be pretty vanilla football, but the vanilla should be able to run that ball with Sawchuk and Barnes. I think they'll have big games. I think we're gonna get excited about the rushing total. And the truth is we still won't know too much about that offensive line.

Jenni: Vanilla, by the way, good vanilla bean ice cream? Yum.

Berry: I love vanilla. I got it Monday when they offered us ice cream at the luncheon. Had all kinds of these fancy flavors. I said, ‘Hey, how about the vanilla? I'll take the vanilla.’

Jenni: Before we get to predictions, even though this game again looks like a blowout, all games matter. But is there somebody or a group of somebodies for Oklahoma that this game actually matters to? I mean, we've got a lot of new faces out there, Berry. Who does this game matter to the most?

Berry: You know what? You know where I think we can tell a lot is the kicking game. First of all, kickers, (Tyler) Keltner and Zach Schmit. We found out that Keltner is going to be the kicker on field goals. Zach Schmit will be the kickoff man. And probably if they get in position to try a long field goal, Zach Schmit, he's got the bigger leg. 

But Doug Deakin, new special teams coordinator in from San Diego State, OU’s just been sort of blah. Not terrible, not great, just sort of whatever on special team. And it's time OU found some edges that could win them some close SEC games with special teams. The hiring of Doug Deakin, I thought was excellent. So I want to see some of that because if you're a well-coached team, and I have no idea if Temple is, maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, but if you're a well-coached team and you're playing uphill football against a bunch of teams that have more resources than you, kicking game is a place you can make up ground. So if I'm a Temple, I'm working on the special teams very seriously and have some wrinkles. I think that could be a place where they could actually challenge OU and play on an even field. Because a lot of your major colleges, we've seen it forever, don't prioritize. I don't know why, but they don't prioritize the kicking game. And if you can hold up pretty good, even do well there, I think that would be a very good sign.

Jenni: What you said earlier about the playbook is absolutely true, so I don't think Jackson Arnold is going to be asked to do a lot. But I think what he does, he needs to be error free or close to error free. Because the last time he was on the field, it was not all his fault by any stretch, but that starts to get in your psyche as a quarterback to a degree. So to have a game where doesn't have interceptions, doesn't have turnovers, I think that's important for his mental game.

Berry: Yeah, last time we saw him down there in San Antonio, he had four turnovers. That close to five. They ruled a Jalil Farooq bobble, a fumble and not an interception, and you know, justifiable. Should have had the ball and then that shouldn't have gone on Jackson Arnold's ledger, but that close to five turnovers. So clean football would be a very good day for Jackson Arnold. He doesn't have to be like Jalen Hurts and wait till game three before he's got more incompletions than touchdown passes. But a good solid zero at the end of his line, zero interceptions … I'd rather see 1-0 on the touchdown-to-interception ratio than 5-1, to be honest with you. So I agree with you. I think that's big for him to play well.

Jenni: All right. Predictions! I don't think we need to spend long on this. In the Tulsa World, you had OU 62-7. Pretty big spread there, BT. Did you just pick a big number and a small number on this one?

Berry: I did and I'm sticking with it because the last time I made predictions on your show, you know, it turns out I deviated a little bit on what I said from the previous time and you called me on it. Whatever I said, whatever I said in the World, whatever I said, I'm sticking with it. 62-7 sounds fantastic.

Jenni: Yeah, I've got a big score too. I'll go 56-10. I'll give those special teams from Temple a little nod for a field goal there. But I do think it is going to be a rout for the Sooners on Friday night. Again, 6 p.m. kickoff Friday night. You'll be there. I'll be there. Check out Berry's stuff at TulsaWorld.com, mine at my Substack, Beyond the Boxscore.