On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! Optimism is in the air. At the beginning of the year, if you told me JFA would be benched in his fourth start, I would have said you were smoking something. Yet here we are as the times are changing. It's now freshman sensation Michael Hawkins Jr. taking over at quarterback looking to channel his best Jamelle Holieway. Can Hawkins come in and save the season? It is a lot to put on the young man's shoulder, but this dude is built differently. He wants all the smoke, and on Saturday he's gonna try and prove it in front of 88,000 screaming fans. It is gonna be a crazy atmosphere, but if Hawkins can pull out the win for the Sooners, vibes will be high! Hopefully, we get to wash our victory over Auburn down with a tall cool glass of Georgia at Alabama. Either way, it will make for a tasty nightcap. It's time to get into a Sooner State of Mind! footballdudesla footballdudeslaIG footballdudesfacebook

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! Well, I wouldn't say stoke levels are rising after last night's game. The Sooners SEC home opener did not go according to plan. Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols came to Norman and beat our Sooners 25-15. It was not the result we were looking for, but now even more questions need to be answered. To put it mildly, Jackson Arnold struggled badly in this game, as did the entire offense. With less than a minute left in the first half of the game, Brent Venables had seen enough. JFA was benched and Michael Hawkins Jr. made his first meaningful appearance as a Sooner. While he did start a little slow, he did provide a spark and some electricity to a dormant offense. One thing became absolutely clear, this OU defense is too good to have a subpar offense. So moving forward, will Michael Hawkins be the starter? We will give our thoughts on that as well as recap some of the biggest games from the week in college football. It's time to get into a Sooner State of Mind! footballdudesla footballdudeslaIG footballdudesfacebook

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! It is finally here, the moment we've all been waiting for. It is history in the making. The Sooners will host their first-ever SEC conference game. On Saturday Night, the #15 Oklahoma Sooners are hosting the #6 Tennessee Volunteers. Both teams come into this game undefeated and are looking for that first conference win. The storylines would be thick enough just for the magnitude alone. Throw in the history of the coaches and past games, and the subtext takes this game to another level. The Vols are led by Sooner legend and current head coach Josh Heupel. Heupel was instrumental in bringing National Championship #7 to Norman. In 2000 Heupel led the Sooners to a perfect 13-0 season culminating with a 13-2 Orange Bowl win over the Florida State Seminoles. Coach Heupel spent a little time on the OU sidelines as offensive coordinator before a bad breakup in 2015. Heupel returns to Norman with what may be his best Vols team to date. The high-powered Tennessee offense is led by red-shirt freshman quarterback sensation Nico Iamaleava. The Tennessee defense is one of the best in the country too. The Sooners are hoping to get some playmakers back for this one and will need all the help they can get to pull off the massive upset. We will let you know just what the Sooners will need to do to make it so. There are also some extra tasty games on the college football schedule. We will preview those as well. We also check in with a couple of former Sooners who are doing big things in the NFL! All that and more! It's time to get into a Sooner State of Mind! footballdudesla footballdudeslaIG footballdudesfacebook