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David Hale, ESPN Workers Author
Brent Venables wasn’t anxious about all of the pomp and pageantry, ebbs and flows, huge performs and fried, effectively, every thing, on this 12 months’s Crimson River Rivalry. As a substitute, he instructed his crew to “embrace the chaos.”
Chaos was in all places Saturday.
Quinn Ewers threw picks on two of his first six passes, then accomplished 19 straight.
Oklahoma’s particular groups unraveled in spectacular vogue.
The Sooners’ defensive entrance engineered havoc on the line of scrimmage.
Dillon Gabriel threw for 285, ran for 113, and regarded as very similar to a magician as a quarterback.
There have been seven lead modifications and three ties.
And in essentially the most chaotic second, when Texas grabbed a lead on a 47-yard subject objective with 1:17 to play, Venables’ crew was cool as a cucumber. (Albeit a fried cucumber lined in chocolate and powdered sugar, we assume.)
It was the kind of recreation the place, when it is over, you simply need to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile out into the center of the desert, play the bongos bare, and ponder whether or not time is a human assemble or just the character of a simulated universe that we’re all dwelling in. Or, you recognize, no matter Matthew McConaughey has deliberate for the remainder of the evening.
hats off @TexasFootball @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/PgNRK0Y0Vx
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) October 7, 2023
Gabriel took his crew 75 yards on 5 performs in simply 1:02, dodging stress in his face on one final heave into the again of the top zone to Nic Anderson for a game-winning landing in a completely epic send-off to the Large 12 — or was it an early welcome to the SEC? — on the Cotton Bowl.
A 12 months in the past, Oklahoma was annihilated, embarrassed and overwhelmed in a 49-0 loss to Texas.
On Saturday, the Sooners moved to 6-0 on the season, and delivered a devastating blow to Texas’ immense hopes for 2023.
This is the half the place we make the joke about Texas disappointing once more. the drill. Almost yearly, all of us get excited that Texas is again, even when, at the back of our minds, we’re sure that return to the nationwide dialog will probably be brief lived.
Yearly we embrace its return out of some sense of loyalty or nostalgia, wanting to recall an easier time, solely to spend some unhappy October Saturday doubled over in ache, sobbing and begging God’s forgiveness for dedicating ourselves to this wretched abomination of disparate elements that was by no means supposed to be consumed by the plenty.
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Dillon Gabriel shines as Oklahoma picks up thrilling win over Texas
After Texas takes the lead late, Dillon Gabriel comes up big on the ultimate drive, giving Oklahoma the Crimson River Rivalry win.
Mainly, Texas is the McRib of faculty soccer.
And but, that does not really feel proper this time round. This wasn’t the same old embarrassment of dropping to Kansas or blowing a 21-point fourth-quarter lead or texting a disgraced Ohio State assistant “OK, cool. Hook ’em” or “Horns Down” chants or pet monkeys hellbent on attacking harmless Trick-or-Treaters. This was a loss, however by some means felt like a step ahead, a recreation through which Texas proved worthy of the hype, just a bit much less explosive than the Sooners.
On the Crimson aspect of the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma had its personal share of inquiries to reply. Venables took over a program that, if it wasn’t on the true precipice of faculty soccer’s elite, it was definitely shut. Then the Sooners went 6-7 in Yr 1, Gabriel missed his first Crimson River recreation, and the whispers of the Sooners step backwards as they ready for a 2024 transfer to the SEC grew from whispers to a low grumble.
However this 12 months was going effectively. Oklahoma gained its first 5 video games, all by not less than two touchdowns, however all towards completely pedestrian competitors. Saturday was a real take a look at, one full of emotion and stress and, sure, chaos.
Effectively, Venables eats chaos for breakfast. (Additionally, Cookie Crisp.)
There is a script the place Texas gained Saturday, the place Oklahoma’s missteps on particular groups and Ewers’ late heroics coalesced right into a dramatic victory through which the plenty actually would’ve argued, preached, believed that Texas was, certainly, again.
There’s one other script although the place these particular groups struggles by no means materialized, the place Oklahoma cashes in with a TD on that lengthy drive earlier than the half, the place all of the issues that went towards them went the opposite approach and it was a Sooners blowout.
Neither ended up true, and that is good, as a result of this recreation was the kind of chaos this season wanted.
Texas wanted to take a punch — possibly 5 – 6 — and present it was robust sufficient to maintain getting off the mat. It did, even in a dropping effort.
Oklahoma wanted to make just a few errors in an effort to present that this crew had grown from the immature, inconsistent, unreliable group that misplaced seven video games a 12 months in the past. Certainly, the Sooners confirmed they’d not simply grown, however they’d internalized these robust classes and emerged as one thing extra than simply gifted or skilled or, effectively, good.
They’re survivors, and chaos feels identical to residence for a crew like that.
LSU wins a shootout
Jayden Daniels ran for 134 yards and a landing, threw for greater than 12 yards per move and three extra TDs, and LSU nonetheless needed to sweat out its Week 6 recreation vs. Missouri.
Such is life with the SEC’s most exasperating protection.
Per week after LSU allowed Ole Miss to circumnavigate the globe on offense, the Tigers regarded practically as inept towards Brady Cook dinner and the, um, different Tigers.
Cook dinner threw for 411 yards — together with 149 to Luther Burden III — and Missouri led 22-10 at one level, however Cook dinner’s streak of 365 straight move makes an attempt with out an interception was snapped on a ridiculously athletic seize by Harold Perkins Jr. within the second quarter. Cook dinner additionally threw a choose six on the recreation’s finish, and Perkins later foiled Lex Luthor’s scheme rob Fort Knox.
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Harold Perkins Jr. leaps up and picks off Brady Cook dinner for an LSU INT
Brady Cook dinner’s SEC-record 366 move makes an attempt with out an interception involves an finish by the hands of LSU’s Harold Perkins Jr.
In case you’re counting — and, frankly, we hope you have got entry to a quantum laptop in case you are — LSU has allowed 94 factors and 1,233 yards in its previous two video games. In fact, it has additionally accounted for 98 factors and 1,170 yards of offense, too.
In accordance with ESPN Stats and Data, LSU video games have now gone over the betting level whole 10 straight occasions and, in accordance with governor Kim Reynolds, all Bayou Bengals video games will include an specific content material warning when proven in Iowa.
The place’s _hi_ State’s O?
If Week 5 was the second we have been all compelled to ask whether or not Georgia was the elite crew we might come to anticipate in 2023, Week 6 begged the identical questions on Ohio State.
Sure, the Buckeyes finally cruised previous Maryland 37-17 by scoring the sport’s remaining 27 factors, however with TreVeyon Henderson out and the run recreation scuffling, there have been quite a lot of moments Saturday when Ohio State’s offense, which regarded as explosive as any within the nation on paper, appeared woefully wanting weapons.
In fact, a type of weapons was Marvin Harrison Jr., which is like saying you are brief on money except for that trillion greenback invoice in your again pocket.
For the sport, Ohio State averaged 1.9 yards per rush. (That is unhealthy.)
Harrison, then again, averaged 20.4 yards per catch. (That is good.)
Kyle McCord focused Harrison 15 occasions — greater than half of his 29 throws — for eight catches and 163 yards. The remainder of the offense, whole, managed simply 219 yards on 47 performs.
It is completely potential we have but to see something near the complete artillery at Ohio State. Henderson’s well being issues, and the bottom recreation could have higher days. It could be Ohio vs. the world, however it definitely does not must be Harrison doing all of the combating.
However on this 12 months’s Large Ten, there’s not a lot margin for error, and Ohio State’s offense — 23 factors vs. woeful Indiana, 17 vs. a powerful Notre Dame — must discover a new gear if it may survive the rest of a season that also options dates with Penn State, at Wisconsin and on the Large Home.
One other Eagles escape
Simply searching for just a little drama on Saturday? Boston School video games are mainly one lengthy episode of “Misplaced” — unusual, inexplicable, poorly plotted however significantly enthralling.
Via six weeks, the Eagles are 3-3. All three wins, together with Saturday’s 27-24 squeaker towards Military, have come by three factors. Two of the three losses have additionally come by a subject objective or much less.
Mainly, the “C” in BC stands for “heart specialist.”
BC misplaced its opener in OT after storming again from a 21-7 deficit within the fourth quarter.
It took a top-five Florida State crew to the wire, solely stopped by a brutal late flag.
It practically blew a ten level lead towards Holy Cross. It erased a 21-7 deficit to Virginia to win.
And on Saturday, Thomas Castellanos’ fourth landing run of the sport gave BC one other win, simply moments after Military had appeared to place the sport away with a protracted TD move known as again by a penalty.
Struggling Georgia Tech, UConn, Virginia Tech and Pitt are all left on the schedule, so BC definitely has a path towards a bowl recreation, if it may well keep away from fairly a lot drama transferring ahead. Or it may well observe the “Misplaced” components, drag issues out to the ultimate week towards Miami, after which get eaten by a smoke monster.
