Lincoln Riley’s head coaching debut full of sizzle and steak

Lincoln Riley passed his first test as Oklahoma’s new head coach with flying colors and an impressive performance by the Sooners on both sides of the ball.

At game’s end, Sooner fans could say they witnessed the many changes in the program from a year ago at this time. But one thing that did not change was the ability of the high-octane Oklahoma offense to entertain the capacity partisan crowd and put up plenty of points on the scoreboard.

“It’s fun to see this team get off to a great start, which has been a very big point of emphasis for this group,” Riley told reporters in his postgame press briefing. “We’ve really taken it personal the way we’ve played early in the year the last few years, so we know this is just one game and one start, but it’s a good start.

“I’m proud of the way we competed together and the way we finished the game,” the Sooner head coach said.

Riley was asked what it was like in the locker room after recording his first win as a head coach:

"“It was fun, not because it was my debut, but because it was a great moment for my team,” he said. “The whole program has been through a lot the past few months, and so to finally just get out there and do what we love to do — to get a chance to compete together and do it the first one here at home — was fun.”"

The Oklahoma head coach was asked how what he and his coaching staff had learned today would affect the team’s preparation for next week’s huge game with Ohio State:

"“Regardless of who we play next, I think we know more about our team now,” Riley said. “We’ll even know more as we get a chance to get back and study the tape.“We’ll know what we’re going to become, and seeing the start of that and starting to find out where your strengths are and where your holes are and you’ve got to get better, and that’s kind of all part of this process.”"