Oklahoma vs. SMU: Sooners open as 14-point favorites vs. Mustangs

Oklahoma looked like a team playing with a chip on its shoulder in its opening game on Sept. 2. The Sooners’ offense was firing on all cylinders as they flew past Arkansas State 73-0 in Norman.

Next up is a matchup against SMU, and Oklahoma will be a 14-point favorite in that game, according to FanDuel.

Dillon Gabriel only played one half against Arkansas State, but put together an impressive performance in just two quarters. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns before ceding the quarterback duties to Jackson Arnold.

The star freshman certainly delivered. Arnold had quite literally a perfect college debut, completing 11 of 11 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown pass to Jayden Gibson while also running in a seven-yard touchdown of his own. It was a huge performance from the former Five Star Plus+ recruit, who was the crown jewel of Brent Venables’ recruiting class.

All told, Oklahoma finished with 642 total yards of offense, including 422 from Gabriel and Arnold. Davis Beville also came in late in the game, but got hurt — meaning General Booty got to see the field much to the fans’ delight.

SMU also got off to a fast start to the year against Louisiana Tech just 24 hours after announcing its impending move to the ACC. The Mustangs got a big day out of quarterback Preston Stone, who completed 23 of 37 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns as SMU came away with the resounding 38-7 victory in the season opener.

LJ Johnson Jr. led the SMU running game, as well, totaling 128 yards and a touchdown — including a 67-yard rush. Jaylan Knighton also had a solid performance with 64 yards as the Mustangs totaled 208 yards on the ground in the victory.

That means both Oklahoma and SMU started the year 1-0 as they prepare for the Sept. 9 matchup. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Jackson Arnold put on a show for Oklahoma fans against Arkansas State

It would’ve been hard to draw up a better start to Arnold’s college career. He immediately led a touchdown drive to begin the third quarter against Arkansas State and then proceeded to throw his first touchdown in an Oklahoma uniform as Jayden Gibson made a highlight-reel play to do it.

It didn’t stop there, though. After the Oklahoma defense forced a turnover, Arnold ran in a seven-yard touchdown to not only make it a 66-0 lead, but also add to the hype around his debut.

All told, on his first three drives, Arnold went 8-for-8 for 102 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.