Michael Hawkins, Jackson Arnold QB battle: Brent Venables reveals Oklahoma starting QB plan after Red River Rivalry

Michael Hawkins Jr. will remain the starting quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners, head coach Brent Venables reavled on his coaches show Monday.

This announcement comes after the Sooners lost to Texas 34-3 in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday. Backup Jackson Arnold was the starter to begin the season, but was benched in favor of Hawkins last month.

Hawkins finished the matchup against the Longhorns 19 of 30 for 148 yards and did not throw and interception or touchdown. He also added 27 rushing yards to his total on 20 attempts, never finding a rhythm against the tough Longhorns defense.

Trailinf 21-3 at halftime, many wondered whether it may be time for Venables to go back to Arnold, but instead elected to keep Hawkins in the game. The Sooners were subsequently shut out during the final two quarters and Arnold did not see the field.

Heading into Week 8, Arnold is still the team’s leading passer with 538 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Hawkins Jr. has thrown one touchdwon pass (none in the past two weeks) and thrown for 458 yards in his two and a half games as the main quarterback.

Arnold is also the team’s second-leading rusher with 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns compared to Hawkins Jr.’s 128 and one touchdown.

For now, it appears as though Venables has a ton of confidence in his true freshman quarterback.

Looking ahead, the Sooners’ next matchup will be a homestand against the South Carolina Gamecocks with all signs pointing toward Hawkins Jr. making the start under center. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.

After that, the Sooners have a great opportunity to steal a ranked win on the road to prove they’re still a team to be reckoned with in the new-look SEC. Consecutive matchups against Missouri, Alabama and LSU to end the regular season will make or break how the Sooners stack up in the final CFP rankings, so they’ll need to figure out their offensive woes before then.