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Oklahoma overwhelms Auburn

Oklahoma’s victory over Auburn was vindication for the Sooners and troubling for the Tigers.

This offseason, Sooners head coach Brent Venables was staring down a possible firing after a weak 2024 showing. He needed to reignite his defense by taking control of his unit’s playcalling. Lauded as one of the greatest defensive minds in the past decade, it was unlikely that Oklahoma would find anyone smarter than Venables to call the plays on defense.

After two dominant performances against Power Four blue bloods, it’s clear it was the right move. Our AJ Schulte pointed out the absurdity of the Sooners’ defensive performance.

“The ten sacks the Sooners put up on Auburn were more than what 90 teams had all season entering the weekend, further adding up to a team that will surely finish at or near the top in the country in sacks … They were already bordering the top-ten in tackles for loss and will be in there after a 14(!) TFL performance on Auburn.” —AJ Schulte

Oklahoma’s defense looked fast, physical, and frightening in its record-setting day against Auburn. Despite some offensive questions, the Sooners’ defense stepped up when they needed to to take over the game. They had former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold in a blender, as he looked panicked every time he dropped back.

Quarterback John Mateer needs to continue to make splash plays when improvising, and Venables needs to keep cooking up nightmares for opposing offenses. If that happens, this team will be knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff.

For Auburn, however, they may be in serious trouble. Like Venables, Freeze took over offensive play calling and was expected to get a lot out of his quarterback, Jackson Arnold. That did not come to fruition in Norman on Saturday.

Our Travis May identified the worst flaw of Arnold, which was accentuated in the loss.

“Jackson Arnold seemed like he had exactly zero internal clock and actually moved himself into more than a handful of the sacks in the game. When he wasn’t fumbling around in the pocket, creating easy lanes for pass rushers to reach him, he was still just bouncing there until Thomas or somebody else knocked him off his feet.” —Travis May

Auburn appeared to be a sneaky team in 2025. They had a defensive line that was one of the most productive in the country and a rushing attack that was blowing past opponents. Yet for some reason, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze opted to throw the ball a head-scratching 32 times.

Freeze set up his quarterback for failure. As May pointed out, Arnold doesn’t have the instincts needed to win purely from the pocket. Even with a solid offensive line, if this is the game plan from now on, we may be seeing Freeze fired by the end of the year.

Overall, this game framed perfectly the direction of two different programs that entered the season with similar parameters. Both teams had head coaches who needed to prove they were turning the team in the right direction by taking more control. While there’s plenty of time for things to change, it’s clear who’s trending up and who’s trending down.

Can DJ Lagway be fixed?

DJ Lagway was supposed to be the next big star in college football. The former five-star was the key to Florida returning to its sustained dominance as one of the best programs in the sport.

Four games later, with only five touchdowns and six interceptions, it’s now being questioned if Lagway is an enormous bust. Additionally, Gators head coach Billy Napier is likely out of a job by season’s end.

In an overreaction, quick-take world, it’s easy to postulate that Lagway is unfixable and he’s the next young quarterback that was pumped up without warrant. We need to unwrap that Lagway’s problems are not his fault, and there’s only one solution for him to get back to his old self.

Our Tyler Forness acknowledged why it’s the best move for Lagway to end his season early.

“It’s not the outcome that anyone wants to happen. We all want to see Lagway thrive with the Gators, and it felt like it was destiny that it would happen after a phenomenal finish to the 2024 season. The reality is that Lagway, first and foremost, needs to get healthy. With the season already one to forget, he can get healthy and hopefully be a participant in the majority of the offseason activities. Not only will Lagway be healthy, but he will also retain his eligibility. Having just played four games, Lagway would have three seasons of eligibility remaining.” —Tyler Forness

Forness cuts through the noise to point out what needs to be said. Lagway’s injury history, spanning from last season through the preseason to the present, has been brutal. In Saturday’s loss to Miami, it was apparent that Lagway could barely move. An uber-athletic prospect like him can’t succeed if he’s lumbering through plays.

Most importantly, Lagway’s struggles appear to be driven by his being robbed of a proper offseason and preseason to prepare. For a second-year quarterback, having the ability to establish chemistry and rhythm with his teammates leading up to the season is crucial. It’s evident from the numerous misfires by this offense that he and his receivers are not on the same page.

With the gauntlet of an opening schedule, there was no gradual lead-up. Unlike other young quarterbacks across the country, Lagway was forced to face two top defenses back-to-back in LSU and Miami. He was doomed to fail.

It serves no one for Lagway to continue to power through injuries this season. Sitting at 1-3, the likelihood of Florida surging towards a playoff run with a daunting stretch of SEC opponents is unlikely. It’s time for Lagway to shut it down before it’s too late to retain his eligibility.

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