With BYU Already in the Rearview, Oklahoma is Ready to Attack Short Week Ahead of TCU Tilt

PROVO, UT — Oklahoma won’t get long to celebrate it’s win in Utah.

The No. 14-ranked Sooners (9-2, 5-2 Big 12) will have to quickly turn the page from Billy Bowman’s clutch pick six, Danny Stutsman’s performance through illness and Jackson Arnold’s second half performance in their 31-24 win over BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

To close the season, OU has to whip around to take on TCU on a short week — an 11 a.m. kickoff on Black Friday in Norman to be exact.

It’s a schedule shift the Sooners have had in the back of their mind all week.

Head coach Brent Venables laid out how his team’s weekly rhythm will chance on his Coaches Show last Monday night, shifting practices up a day.

TCU has the same fate, though their Saturday contest against Baylor kicked off three and a half hours after Oklahoma and BYU, but OU has to win its regular season finale to keep hopes of a Big 12 title game berth alive.

“We’re going to flip the script and get right to TCU on a short week,” Venables said after the game on Saturday. “As I told the team, nobody will feel sorry for you. Our guys have had knowledge of what the schedule is. So we’ve got to do a great job of taking care of their bodies and get them back right.”

The biggest question facing the Sooners will be the availability of quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

OU’s starter was knocked out of Saturday’s game. Gabriel completed 13-of-21 passes for 191 yards and two scores in the first half, but he never emerged from the locker room after halftime due to an upper body injury.

Last year, Gabriel exited Oklahoma’s loss to TCU with a concussion, and he was unable to get cleared in time to take on Texas.

With one less day to work his way back to full health, even Venables didn’t know for sure what the quarterback’s status would be for Friday after the victory over the Cougars.

“We’ll see how it all goes,” Venables said. “I really honestly haven’t spoken to anybody since halftime.”

True freshman Jackson Arnold took over for Gabriel in the second half, completing 5-of-9 passes for 33 yards, adding another 24 yards on the ground with eight carries.

Crucially, Arnold took care of the football, limiting the chances BYU’s offense would get with prime field position.

Once the quarterback spot gets sorted, the rest of Oklahoma’s participants against TCU should be known.

Stutsman said he was dealing with food poisoning ahead of the contest with BYU, but he believes that won’t be an issue against the Horned Frogs.

“I’ll be good,” he said on Saturday. “Food poisoning doesn’t last that long. I’m probably fine right now after playing that game, getting everything through me, adrenaline. I feel like I’m good to go.”

After the game, veteran offensive guard McKade Mettauer said the team was already getting mentally ready to turn the page from the victory.

“Just come in (Sunday) ready to correct what happened today,” Mettauer said after the win. “I know it’s a short turnaround, but correct whatever happened today and then get rolling on TCU film.”

Venables has a lot of respect for Sunny Dykes’ Horned Frogs, but he believes his team is ready to attack the short week and end the year on a high.

“They got to be able to refocus, recommit and put everything they got, into finishing the regular season the right away,” he said. “Again, it’ll be a very talented TCU team.

“… Took Texas down to the wire here a week or so ago. So we’re going to have to recover quickly and have to get our mind on the next opponent.”

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