Why Oklahoma's Jalil Farooq Says Saturday is 'The Biggest Game'
When targeted, Jalil Farooq’s talent has been on display this season. The sophomore wide receiver has 11 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown through five games this season.
Farooq hauled in a beautiful 25-yard touchdown connection from Dillon Gabriel in Nebraska, but that’s the most on-the-same-page the duo has looked all season. He’s struggled through inconsistent passes and missed opportunities, but is confident that a big game like Texas can get himself, and the team, back on track.
While the team will always preach “just another game” mentality, it feels like there’s a lot more on the line for the Sooners this weekend. Not only does the season seem close to spiraling, but it’s one of the biggest rivalries in college football against a Texas team in the same boat. A win would do wonders for Oklahoma’s confidence moving forward the rest of the season.
“This is the biggest game,” Farooq said honestly. “This is the game to bounce back. Everybody's watching us — all eyes on us — so this is the game to bounce back and show the world we're still here and ain't going nowhere.”
A season ago, Farooq wasn’t quite in the rotation yet during the Red River Rivalry, but the game itself was unforgettable. There’s a lot of positives to take away from being part of an atmosphere like that, and even just being on the sidelines.
“We came out slow," Farooq said. "Finished the game very strong, came out ready to play second half for sure. We've just got to come out with that intensity all game this week. We've just got to come out fast, ready to play, and keep that intensity that we had the second half of last year's game.”
In addition to Farooq, the entire team is carrying a different edge this weekend. Not only will Oklahoma be trying to right the ship and get back on course, but the Golden Hat is on the line too. From talking to both players and coaches, it’s clear that there’s an abundance of excitement for opportunity.
“Our guys will be excited to play and we're going to be incredibly prideful about playing really, really well,” Jeff Lebby said. “So excited about it.”
For the Sooners to knock off Texas, it’ll take a much better effort than last Saturday’s contest against TCU. The sense of urgency is there, though, and this could be the first step to saving the season.
“Our players are excited about the opportunity,” Brent Venables said. We had a great Monday practice and meetings. We've got a lot to get better at. We haven't played well the last couple of weeks, and our guys are anxious to move forward and have an opportunity to play again against a really good Texas football team that we're going to have to play well.”
