OU-Tulsa GameDay: X-Factors
“Home” field advantage
Sorry, Tulsa fans, but 30,000-seat Chapman Stadium will be overrun by crimson-clad Sooner Nation. OU has beaten TU in 14 of the last 15 meetings (the only Golden Hurricane win was a shocker in Norman in 1996), and most of those were blowouts. At TU — formerly Skelly Stadium — the Sooners have enjoyed massive crowd advantages and used those to ride to victories of 52-7, 62-21, 37-0 and 65-0.
— John Hoover
Limiting penalties
No one was safe from Oklahoma’s penalty troubles against SMU. The Sooners were flagged nine times for 88 yards, including a sideline interference penalty on head coach Brent Venables. SMU’s only touchdown drive was aided by three OU mistakes. Last year the Sooners finished in the middle of college football in penalties per game, but always seemed to stub their toe at the worst possible time. Oklahoma’s talent is far greater than Tulsa’s, and Venables’ team needs to put it all together and play a clean game in the non-conference finale before headed to Cincinnati to open Big 12 play.
— Ryan Chapman
Confidence
Oklahoma seemed to play with lots of swagger in week one, knocking off Arkansas State by 73 points. No matter the opponent, it was an impressive scene. The Sooners still pulled off an impressive week two victory, covering the spread against SMU, but it was much shakier than the season opener. Oklahoma lost some juice on offense and fans were impatient and uneasy after the game. Now, against Tulsa, OU has a chance to get back on track before conference play. Playing with confidence and operating like the better team from the first quarter on will go a long way for the Sooners.
— Ross Lovelace
Tawee Walker
Through two games in 2023, walk-on running back Tawee Walker is Oklahoma’s leader in yards from scrimmage and the only Sooner tailback to record a 100-yard rushing game this season. Against a Tulsa team that should be overmatched by OU in the trenches, offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby will likely lean heavily on the ground game, which could result in another big performance from Walker. Despite Lebby’s comments saying that he hopes to get Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk more snaps going forward, Walker should still be a key piece of the Sooners’ offense this week.
— Randall Sweet
Gavin Freeman
Look for wide receiver/punt returner Gavin Freeman to bounce back from his uninspiring performance in last week's win over SMU. Freeman dropped a pass and was held without a catch against the Mustangs while returning one punt for just seven yards after bringing one back 82 yards and scoring two touchdowns against Arkansas State.
— Tim Willert
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