Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Sooners have national spotlight in opener

By Christopher Dukes

NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 27: A general view of the east side of the stadium before the game between the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 27: A general view of the east side of the stadium before the game between the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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Can Oklahoma football make a statement on the national stage in the season opener?

With no other games being played that day and a prime-time viewing slot on ABC, Oklahoma football has a unique opportunity to seize the spotlight on Sept. 1 against Houston in the first ever Sunday game at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium in Norman.

The Sooners – winners of four straight Big 12 championships and participants in three of the last four college football playoffs – are no stranger to the national spotlight, but a Sunday night nationally televised game in front of a football-starved nation will be a unique opportunity to make a valuable first impression for the season.

Oklahoma opens its season against a familiar coach in Dana Holgerson and the Houston Cougars. Holgerson is the same coach whose West Virginia Moutaineers put up 59 points on the Sooners a year ago. He comes to Houston armed with another potential superstar quarterback in D’Eriq King. King led the country in points responsible for last season and finished the year with 2,982 yards passing, 684 yards rushing and 50 total touchdowns in just 10 starts (he suffered a season-ending injury).

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The combination of a mobile quarterback and athletic wide receivers has been nightmare fuel for Sooner fans over the past few years, but it’s also an opportunity to prove this year’s team defense is going to be different under new head coach Alex Grinch. Nobody is expecting the Sooners to pitch a shutout, but if they are able to dictate the game on that side of the ball and maybe force a few turnovers, it will be a huge step in the right direction.

It’s also a chance for the Sooners’ offense to show off what it can do. If Jalen Hurts wins the starting job (and we are pretty confident he will), he’ll get a chance to operate the Oklahoma offensive machine that has run roughshod over college football the past few seasons. He can start a potential Heisman campaign, while receiver CeeDee Lamb can make an early impression to Biletnikoff voters.

The spotlight can be glaring if the Sooners don’t come ready to play. Should Oklahoma find itself in a shootout against the Cougars or stumble their way to an upset loss like they did against Houston in 2016, it may be a difficult first impression to overcome and leave no margin for error through the rest of the season if the Sooners want to return to the CFP.

Either way, the football world will be watching when Oklahoma kicks off on Sept. 1. It’s up to the Sooners to turn that into a positive.

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