OU vs. South Dakota Gameday Preview

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Sooners to host rare opponent Joe Castiglione talks ins, outs of scheduling pay-per-view match CALEB MCCOURRY @CalebMac21

In a perfect world, Joe Castiglione would have a blank canvas.

Castiglione, now in his 21st year as OU’s athletic director, would be able to choose any team he wants for a nonconference schedule he thinks would propel Oklahoma into tough conference play, a College Football Playoff appearance and, ultimately, a national championship.

But Castiglione can’t control these outcomes, and in the world of college football, where nonconference foes are decided years in advance — the Sooners have a home-and-away series with Clemson set for 2035 and 2036 — picking from a clean slate is usually not the case. And it wasn’t in 2017, either, when Castiglione decided to pay $575,000 to South Dakota, a rare FCS foe, to play in Norman on Saturday.

Castiglione and the university were in talks with “a couple” of programs interested in a 2019 match for a single game in Norman. Those teams eventually chose to play other programs, and when the talks fell through, Castiglione was left to fill an opening he thought for sure would be filled. Scheduling a game three years in advance may seem like a good amount of time, but teams aren’t necessarily lining up to come and play just one game in Norman.

“It happens,” Castiglione told The Daily. “It’s not the first time it happens, and certainly it happens periodically with everybody.

That’s just the nature of one of the crazy dynamics of scheduling.”

So, Castiglione and the Sooners went back to the marketplace and expanded their search to FCS teams as well, a move seldom made by OU when faced with similar scheduling changes.

After evaluating his limitations, Castiglione decided his best option was a home game against the Coyotes, Oklahoma’s first FCS opponent since 2012 — when Florida A&M left Norman with a staggering 69-13 loss — and the program’s fourth since Castiglione became athletic director in 1998.

Finding an FCS opponent willing to play the Sooners at Owen Field is a rare occasion.

It’s a small school going up against a blue-blood Power Five

program that is considered one of the greatest in college football. The Coyotes are coming to Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, a venue that seated 84,534-plus fans in OU’s season-opening win against Houston Sunday night, from the DakotaDome, which seats up to 10,000.

ESPN gives the Sooners a 99.2 percent chance of winning. Sports betting outlets have Oklahoma winning by 40 or more points.

“I think that’s in the expectation of the FBS teams that we play,” said David Herbster, South Dakota athletic director, to The Daily. “And frankly, why shouldn’t it be? You’re an FBS team and you’re playing an FCS team. Our expectation is to go and play our game and see what happens.”

“BUT YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE WAY TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING. YOU HAVE TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND, THE WAY THINGS ARE CONTINUALLY CHANGING.” JOE CASTIGLIONE, OU ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

The game is the least flashy on OU’s schedule, and due to TV rights holder agreements with OU and the Big 12, the match is basically a designated pay-per-view broadcast.

But nevertheless, Castiglione scheduled the game, and he only schedules games with one destination in mind: the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“For the University of Oklahoma, the goal is always to prepare ourselves for a tough conference schedule,” Castiglione said. “It puts us in the best position to play for a conference championship at the end of the season, and hopefully winning that conference championship propels us to the College Football Playoff with a path to the national championship.

“That is our goal every single year.”

‘YOU HAVE TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND.’ For most FCS teams, playing a Power Five team means program exposure on national television they’re not accustomed to. But a few weeks before the game, the

Sooners announced their match against South Dakota was going to be available on pay-per-view.

The Sooners have one game every season not picked up by major networks, where they have to decide how to showcase the match, and broadcast networks picked all of OU’s regular season games except the Coyotes, who are used to having games that require payment.

“Frankly, I was indifferent,” Herbster said of the decision to make the game pay-per-view. “It would’ve been nice if it was televised and easier to get, but there’s a lot of places that we’ve played (where) it might be streamed or behind a paywall — it might only be on Dish Network or one station or another that somebody doesn’t get. Frankly, it really doesn’t faze us at all.”

O k l a h o m a’s g a m e a g a i n s t South Dakota is the only pay-perview game of an AP Top 25 program in its nonconference schedule this season. With the other 24 teams, their games are either in their respective conference cable network — excluding OU and Iowa State, because the Big 12 doesn’t have its own network — or are picked up by ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX. Texas is unique in the Big 12 because it has the Longhorn Network to pick up games not selected by the above five networks. Iowa State’s match on S ept. 21 against UL Monro e hasn’t had any network pick it up yet. Without a native network to belong to, OU, Iowa State and the rest of the Big 12 teams’ broadcasting options aren’t always obvious.

In 2018, that one game not chosen was Oklahoma’s 28-21 overtime win against Army. In 2017, it was the Sooners’ 56-14 win over Tulane. It’s common for the Sooners — but not so common for the programs in the other four Power Five conferences.

The launch of the ACC Network in 2019 leaves the Big 12 as the only Pow er Five conference without its own cable network.

With Texas having the Longhorn Network and the Big 12 having TV rights contracts with ABC, ESPN and Fox that span into the next decade, Big 12 sports fans — except for Texas’ — will rely on alternative viewing methods of watching their team for that one game of the year.

To watch the Sooners play a team who finished 3-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2018, it costs $575,000. Given the Sooners are without a conference

Offensive line gets ready to rumble behind returning center Creed Humphrey Bedenbaugh: Players at ‘good starting point’ after Houston game VIC REYNOLDS @vicareynolds

On a night where the No. 4 ranked Sooners got to open their season by unleashing a new star quarterback in transfer Jalen Hurts and a new defense commanded by first-year coordinator Alex Grinch, no position group had more of a turnover rate than the offensive line.

In 2018, Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray had the luxury of playing behind a line that won the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the nation’s best offensive line. But Hurts had to play behind a line with four players who had never started in the crimson and cream.

And how did they perform?

It was a “good starting point.”

At least that’s how offensive line coach and redshirt sophomore center Creed Humphrey — the only lineman with starting experience — described their performance in Sunday’s 49-31 win over Houston. “ There’s a lot of things we got to get better at,” said Bill Bedenbaugh, co-offensive

coordinator and offensive line coach. “But I thought we played hard and physical for the most part. We were good on communication. ... Obviously it was just a starting point. But if we continue to improve, then we have a chance to be pretty good.”

The only sure thing on a line full of question marks is that Humphrey would be the unquestioned leader of the unit.

The redshirt sophomore started 12 games last season and was the rookie on a team full of veterans who started for multiple seasons.

His presence as the center is crucial in making the entire unit run smoothly.

Humphrey was sidelined for all of spring practice due to injury. With a new crop of inexperienced players and a star sidelined for a significant part of the offseason, it would be reasonable to expect a dropoff from 2018’s performance.

But that’s not what Humphrey wants to see from his teammates.

“We have the same standard as we did last year,” Humphrey said.

“We want to be the most dominant group in college football, so we have that standard and the guys are going to live up to it hopefully.”

Humphrey and Bedenbaugh have good reason to be satisfied with the line’s performance

on Sunday. Hurts wasn’t sacked once, Oklahoma put up 354 yards rushing, and Houston only managed five tackles for loss.

Bedenbaugh stressed the importance of playing the five players that work best as a unit as opposed to just the five most talented guys throughout fall camp, and it’s clear he’s still working that out, particularly at the left tackle position.

Virginia transfer R.J. Proctor got the start at left tackle, but he rotated with redshirt junior Erik Swenson throughout much of the game. Swenson was listed as the starter on the depth chart Oklahoma released last Thursday, but Bedenbaugh is willing to let them compete because neither has separated themselves enough.

“I think they both deserve to play, and if guys deserve to play then they’ll play,” Bedenbaugh said. “We’ll split reps with them and nobody’s really truly separated themselves as a clear-cut starter, and both of them deserve to play.”

Vic Reynolds

victor.reynolds@ou.edu

network for cable, Castiglione sees opportunity in the pay-perview route.

“There’s still a market for it,” Castiglione said. “It’s all part of the process of working through the media rights agreements.”

The Big 12’s latest sports broadcasting venture is Big 12 Now, a partnership with ESPN+ where over 800 Big 12 sporting events will be broadcast. Only eight of the 10 Big 12 programs are part of it — OU and Texas are the exceptions. The conference also has the Big 12 Digital Network, where fans can stream highlights, press conferences and more.

I t ’s n o t c a b l e T V, b u t t o Castiglione it is a step closer to what the other Power Five conferences have.

“ T h e l au n c h o f t h e Bi g 1 2 Digital Network, in many ways, is that move,” Castiglione said.

“It’s going to operate similarly in the digital sphere as any of the other conference networks. …

But you’ve got to keep your eye on the way technology is evolving. You have to keep an open mind, the way things are continually changing. People can’t necessarily predict the future. In its entirety, this is definitely going to be a key distribution method for programming in the future.”

Caleb McCourry

caleb.a.mccourry-1@ou.edu

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GAMEDAY PREVIEW

Sept. 5-7, 2019 •

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

JACKSON STEWART/THE DAILY

OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch walks onto the field Sept. 1.

PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY

Freshman wide receiver Trejan Bridges celebrates a successful play Sept. 1.

The Sooners run onto the field Sept. 1.

JACKSON STEWART/THE DAILY

JACKSON STEWART/THE DAILY

Sophomore wide receiver Charleston Rambo runs with the ball Sept. 1.

Linebacker lights up defense Grinch says season promising for Kenneth Murray GEORGE STOIA @georgestoia

Kenneth Murray’s mirror and locker are full of sticky notes.

Written on those sticky notes are reminders of the type of player the junior middle linebacker wants to be each and every game. He wants to play fast. He wants to be aggressive. He wants to be physical. And, most importantly, he wants to be a leader.

Those sticky notes represent all the things that motivate him, which he says are

countless.

“I really can’t put it into perspective. It’s a lot of things,” Murray said. “I think I realize that the past doesn’t define me. I think I draw a lot of motivation from the past few years. ...

I think, if you were to describe the chip on my shoulder, it’s diverse to be honest. There’s a lot of things. I could sit up here all day and talk about the things that motivate me.”

Murray has had a unique career so far at Oklahoma.

Starting his freshman season at middle linebacker — a position he had never played before — he showed the potential to be standout at the position with more

experience. His sophomore season was not nearly as successful as anticipated, and he often made mistakes he didn’t think he should be making.

“IT’S TIME FOR HIM TO BE THAT GUY. AND WE’RE DYING AS A DEFENSE TO HAVE MORE GUYS LIKE THAT.” ALEX GRINCH, OU DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

But despite a sophomore slump, Murray’s expectations coming into the 2019 season have never been

higher. He was voted the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, which to some came as a bit of a surprise.

Sunday against Houston, Murray showed why no one should have been surprised.

He was all the things he’s set out to be: fast, aggressive, physical and a leader.

“He looked like a confident football player,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “He played exceptionally well. He’s a guy that we need to, he’s a guy that’s earned the right to.

A unique skill set from the size and speed standpoint.

“The good Lord doesn’t make a lot like that. We’re very fortunate we got one.

We’ve got to find ways to get more like that.”

Murray led the team in tackles against Houston with 13 — 2.5 of those for loss. He looked comfortable for the first time in his Sooner career. At times last year he seemed lost, not knowing what was expected of him from the coaches.

But Sunday saw a different Murray than in the past.

He played with a free mind.

“He played really loose,” s o p h o m o re l i n e b a c k e r DaShaun White said. “He used his speed in a lot of situations. I think people forgot how fast he was. He’s freaking fast and he’s huge. ... He wasn’t hesitant at all.”

Mur ray’s play w ill be

crucial this season. If Oklahoma wants to take that next step toward winning a national title, he’ll have to play every game like he did Sunday.

His energy and physicality feeds the rest of the defense. And if Grinch and “Speed D ” are going to change the defensive culture at Oklahoma, Murray has to lead the way.

“It’s time for him to be that guy,” Grinch said. “And we’re dying as a defense to have more guys like that.”

George Stoia

georgestoia@ou.edu

Halfback makes mark with first touchdown Jeremiah Hall sees early success, headbutts coach VIC REYNOLDS @vicareynolds

No one expected it to be Jeremiah Hall.

No. 4 O klahoma is as deep as any team in the country at its skill positions. At quarterback is Jalen Hurts, who won SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and was 26-2 as a starter entering the game.

The receiving corps features the likes of CeeDee Lamb, Charleston Rambo and five-star prospects T h e o We a s e J r. , Ja d o n Ha s e l w o o d a n d T re ja n Bridges. And running backs Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks combined for over 2,000 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns in 2018.

No one would have guessed that an H-back who had only one star t under his belt and spent the offseason in a position battle was going to score the Sooners’ first

touchdown of 2019, but Hall did.

On the third offensive play of the season, Hurts took the snap, rolled right and dumped it off to Hall.

Fourteen yards later, the Sooners were on the scoreboard for the first time since 2018.

“It felt great,” Hall said.

“All the hard work that me and my teammates put in, to go out there and just execute and score the first touchdown on the season — it just felt wonderful.”

After the touchdown, Hall was swarmed by his

teammates and coaches in celebration. After every drive, he usually meets with H-back coach Shane Beamer to talk about the drive, but this time Beamer was nowhere to be found.

When he saw Beamer again, he saw he had a gash b e t w e e n h i s e y e b row s.

Hall wasn’t sure why, but i t wa s b e cau s e B e a m e r headbutted Hall’s helmet during the celebration.

“That was a first for me,” Hall said. “There were so many people hitting my head. Me and Beamer normally meet up after every

drive, but he was missing for five minutes. He came back with a gash on his head, and when I asked what happened, he was like, ‘You.’” Ha l l c a m e j u s t i n c h es short of scoring the Sooners’ second touchdown just one drive later.

Th e H- b a ck p o s i t i o n has a prolific histor y at O klahoma, w ith names s u c h a s J. D . R u n n e l s , Trey Millard and Dimitri Flowers having played key roles in the Sooner offense in years past.

If Hall can fill that role,

he may be a valuable asset for coach Lincoln Riley going forward in 2019.

“It’s the reason I came here,” Hall said. “When I was being recruited I saw what he was doing with D i m i t r i F l o w e r s, a n d I wanted to be that guy. Sure enough, that opportunity came, and I’m just really appreciative of the system.”

Vic Reynolds

victor.reynolds@ou.edu

4

GAMEDAY PREVIEW

• Sept. 5-7, 2019

MEET THE OPPONENT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES

COACH BOB NIELSON

GEORGE STOIA @GeorgeStoia

No. 4 Oklahoma was impressive in its opener against Houston, claiming a 49-31 victory Sunday night.

Jalen Hurts had a stellar performance, totaling 508 yards and six touchdowns.

Alex Grinch’s “Speed D” started hot, forcing back-toback three-and-outs to start the game — a feat last year’s team never accomplished.

If you thought the Sooners looked good against Houston, just wait for this weekend. Their opponent, South Dakota, is the easiest team on the schedule in 2019. Last week, the Coyotes lost to Montana, 31-17, in their season opener.

But South Dakota is no stranger to upsets. Last season, it led Kansas State 24-12 at halftime only to lose 27-24 in the end.

Here’s Oklahoma’s opponent this week, South Dakota:

its air attack, as its three running backs rushed for a total In his fourth year at South of only 81 yards last week.

Dakota, Nielson is one of the more well-respected DEFENSE coaches in the FCS. In his S o u t h D a k o t a ’s d e 27 seasons as a head coach, he’s become a three-time fense is... not great. The national coach of the year Coyotes gave up 510 total and a two-time national yards against Montana on Saturday — 83 on the ground champion.

In 2017, he helped lead and 427 through the air. the Coyotes to an eight-win They gave up 30 first downs.

The only bright spot on season and their first appearance in the FCS playoffs. the defense is two-time AllHis overall record as a head American Darin Greenfield, who plays on the edge. coach is 202-99-1.

Against Montana, he had five total tackles and one OFFENSE tackle for loss.

Led by quarterback Austin The Coyotes’ biggest hole Simmons, the Coyotes’ ofis in the secondary, which fense will test the Sooners means Jalen Hurts may have through the air. Against a field day Saturday.

Montana, Simmons went 23-of-33 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Simmons’ top weapon is wide receiver Kody Case, who caught 11 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns against Montana. South Dakota will rely heavily on

Players from the University of South Dakota take the field.

These players know what a potential upset would look like, and they’re definitely not going to be scared of the Sooners on Saturday.

3 PLAYERS TO WATCH Greenfield, Simmons and Case are clearly some of South Dakota’s best players.

All three were on the team last season when South Dakota almost took down Kansas State on the road.

George Stoia

georgestoia@ou.edu

PROVIDED BY GOYOTES.COM

OU VS. SOUTH DAKOTA When: 6 p.m. Saturday Where: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium How to watch: Pay-per-view How to listen: 107.7 FM (Norman)

THREE KEYS TO BEATING SOUTH DAKOTA VIC REYNOLDS

@vicareynolds victor.reynolds@ou.edu

PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY

Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts calls out the play in the game against Houston on Sept. 1.

1.

ARRIVE AT THE GAME ON TIME

An important part of winning a football game is being at the football game.

It would be one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history if South Dakota left Norman with a victory, but one way the team could pull off that upset would be for the Sooners to not show up.

It would also be a good idea for Oklahoma to arrive at least a couple hours early to stretch, warm up and maybe get a pregame talk from head coach Lincoln Riley.

Oklahoma will not face a team with less talent than South Dakota in 2019, so as long as they show up on time, winning should come as no problem.

2.

TUNE UP SOME MISTAKES

Oklahoma’s win Sunday night was a good sign going forward, but there are still some areas to improve on. The Sooners can use their weaker competition to touch up on some errors they displayed against Houston.

Notably, Oklahoma lost two fumbles and didn’t force any defensively. It is difficult to maintain success against elite competition when a team loses the turnover battle.

Defensively, the Sooners made some mistakes despite an impressive first half showing.

Sophomore safety Patrick Fields had a pass interference and late hit penalties that helped Houston put the ball in the end zone, and sophomore cornerback Tre Brown missed a tackle on a screen that ended with a Cougar touchdown.

While the defense showed progress in its first outing, there is still room for improvement. Saturday’s game could be a good time for the team to hone in on weaker spots.

3.

DON’T GET INJURED

It i s a l m o s t i n e v i t a b l e t hat Oklahoma will put one in the win column on Saturday, but if the win comes at the cost of key injuries, it will come as a major disappointment to the team and fans.

While no player wants to get hurt, it’s crucial that key stars such as quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Kenneth Murray, among others, avoid any plays that might run them the risk of missing significant time.

In a game as violent as football, it’s impossible to entirely limit injuries. But if the Sooners can play as safe as possible in a game that should be easy, it would prove valuable in the long run.

This week’s DAILY predictions This Saturday, No. 4 Oklahoma won’t be tested like it was on Sunday against Houston. South Dakota is likely the worst team the Sooners will face all season, meaning it could be an opportunity for young guys to see some time.

OU 56, SOUTH DAKOTA 13 Oklahoma should have no problem against the Coyotes on Saturday. Jalen Hurts should have a field day. The best case scenario for the Sooners is that he doesn’t GEORGE even play in the second half, giving STOIA, Sooner Nation a look at both Tanner SPORTS Mordecai and Spencer Rattler.

EDITOR Defensively, don’t be shocked if the Sooners struggle a little in the secondary. If the Coyotes have one strength, it’s through the air with wide receiver Kody Case. But Alex Grinch should have an opportunity to play many of the young players he has on roster.

George Stoia

georgestoia@ou.edu

OU 56, SOUTH DAKOTA 10 It’ll be hard for an FCS opponent to come to Norman and pull off what would be the biggest upset in Sooner football history, and the team that finished with a 3-5 record in the Missouri Valley Conference is no CALEB exception.

MCCOURRY, A bright spot for the Coyotes is ASSISTANT quarterback Austin Simmons and SPORTS wide receiver Kody Case, who are EDITOR their biggest offensive threats. But Alex Grinch shouldn’t have any problems against him after shutting down Houston’s D’Eriq King last week.

As for Jalen Hurts, he should have another stellar performance against the Coyotes’ defense.

Caleb McCourry

caleb.a.mccourry-1@ou.edu

OU 66, SOUTH DAKOTA 10 South Dakota lost to Montana, 3117, and Montana isn’t nearly as good as Oklahoma. I think it’s safe to say everyone is expecting a blowout on Owen Field this weekend. This will VIC be the Sooners’ easiest game of the REYNOLDS, season, and it’d be difficult to find SENIOR any game on Saturday with a talent SPORTS discrepancy greater than this one.

REPORTER Expect Jalen Hurts and the rest of the starters to play for the first half. Then it’ll likely be the Tanner Mordecai and Spencer Rattler show at quarterback for the latter half of the game. Even the backups are going to dominate the FCS Coyotes.

Vic Reynolds

victor.reynolds@ou.edu