The Oklahoma Sooners did exactly what everyone expected them to do on Friday in their 2024 home debut, their season opener at Norman, against Temple.
They romped and rolled.
The only difference? This year, they’re a member of the Southeastern Conference.
Offensively, the Sooners shined: three touchdown passes from quarterback Jackson Arnold to Deion Burks, and Arnold added a fourth TD pass for good measure. Arnold went 17-of-25 for 141 yards and the four TDs. Burks, the Purdue transfer, had six catches for 36 yards, half of them in the end zone.
He’s in elite company: in addition to other receiving records with that stat line, he set one of his own: the first player in Oklahoma history (and that’s quite a history) to have three touchdown catches in the first game of a season.
The Sooners also got a nice debut from a player out of the backfield: Taylor Tatum, a freshman running back, who wound up with 66 yards and a TD on just four carries, 35 yards on one carry.
Defensively, Temple turned the ball over six times and didn’t manage 200 total yards. The defense had six sacks.
Special teams got into the act, as well. Kicker Tyler Keltner, his first game as a Sooner, as well, had a 50-yard field goal.
The Sooners will host Houston, a member of OU’s former conference, the Big 12, on Saturday, Sept. 7.
