Sooners Serve Charred Duck To Kick Off 2030 Campaign
Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: August 31st, 2030
All of Sooner Nation was glued to their television sets on Saturday afternoon to see just who in the heck Armando Leon trotted out to lead the Oklahoma Sooners into the 2030 season. To the surprise of some, myself included I'll admit, it was true freshman Markelle Nickey who took the field on the opening drive. What wasn't a surprise however, unless you're an Oregon Ducks fan, was the end result: a 44-14 re-assertion of dominance by the Oklahoma Sooners who relied on gutsy play by Nickey, suffocating defense, and a barrage of running backs to simply overwhelm the visiting Ducks and Dan Lanning.
While Terrance Butcher entered the season as a Heisman favorite, it was his backup, Brad Thorne, who stole the show. On the first play from scrimmage, Thorne ripped off a 49-yard scamper to send the already electric crowd at the "Palace on the Prairie" into a frenzy and capped off the opening drive with a bruising 17-yard run, dragging three Duck defenders into the end zone on his back.
In all, it took four plays—all runs—for the Sooners to take the lead, for good.
Markelle Nickey threw a pair of touchdowns and Brian Rowe put in some timely kicks as the Sooners took a commanding 27-0 lead into the halftime break, thanks in part to the masterclass the Sooners' defense displayed on the field. Four sacks, four tackles for loss, and only two first downs for the Oregon Ducks told the tale of a team that was in over its head to start the game.
The Ducks would recover, marginally, in the second half, but it would ultimately be for naught. Vai Sagapolu led a precise touchdown drive to open the second half, finding De'Andre Hurd—who was the only Duck to consistently make plays against Oklahoma's defense—for a 45-yard touchdown to finally put Oregon on the board.
Sagapolu would toss a second touchdown in the fourth quarter with the game already well out of hand, but his day would fittingly end in disaster with a desperation heave on fourth down, trailing 44-14 late in the final frame, putting a disappointing end on the first start with the Ducks for the former UCLA Bruin.
While Markelle Nickey had his own struggles, tossing interceptions in the second and third quarters, he would rebound with a gutsy 62-yard touchdown to Darren Lyles in the fourth quarter to cap what was ultimately a stellar first start for the former four-star recruit.
After the contest, Leon praised Nickey's moxie, his defense's relentless effort, and the readiness of his stable of running backs.
•••
Question One - James McDavid (OU Daily): "Coach, I don't think anyone expected you to run out a true freshman coming off a National Championship last year. What ultimately went into the decision to go with Nickey instead of AJ Hatchett or the other quarterbacks on the roster with more experience in your offense?"
Armando Leon: "It's simple, James, we feel like he gives us the best chance to win. That's not a knock on AJ, Larry, or any one else in that quarterback room. But with his combination of accuracy, demeanor, and attention to detail, Jerry Mack and I felt like Nickey had earned this opportunity. And you saw some of that today. He opened the game with the pinpoint accuracy we've come to expect from him; starting the contest 10/12. He hit a speed bump midway through with a pair of interceptions—although we can't blame him for the second, it was just a heads up play by Zach Schell—but showed his composure by powering through. You saw that in the fourth, a lot of guys making their first start, in front of 80,000 screaming fans, coming off two interceptions, they don't make that sideline throw. They check it down and play it safe, not Markelle. He saw the look he wanted and put it right in the breadbasket. That's why he's our guy."
Question Two - John Shire (The Daily Emerald): "Coach Leon, your defense was swarming Vai Sagapolu all afternoon, limiting the Ducks' offense to just 266 yards in the game and only 37 in the first half. What was the game plan to attack Vai despite the limited game tape since his UCLA days?"
Armando Leon: "Same plan as always, get after the quarterback and build from there. A lot of critics were skeptical if this defense could live up to last year's unit. I think we answered some of those questions. We have five different guys record a sack, and nabbed seven total in the contest; that doesn't happen by accident. We kept everything in front of us, with the exception of a few big plays, and punished whoever had the ball. That's the gist of our game plan nearly every contest, and we executed to perfection today."
Question Three - Meg Semental (SEC Network): "A lot of the talk going into this game was the depth you had at running back. That was tested in the first game of the season with three different running backs leaving the game with injuries. What can you say about that group of position players that they were all ready to step up and answer the call when needed so early in the season?"
Armando Leon: "To be fair, they were all prepared to be in the game rotationally if everything went to plan, so each one of those guys was prepared to play. But it's one thing to be prepared for your small role, and another to play a chunk of the game without a break. That's this team's mentality though, step up when your number is called. Brad was a coveted player in the portal for a reason, 'cause he is a baller. You saw that today and you're going to keep seeing it all season. Whether Butch and Slye are healthy or not, Brad is going to get his."
•••
Outside of the two interceptions, I was thoroughly impressed with the debut for Nickey. I'll admit, seeing No. 15 trot out onto the field and getting his first action against a talented Ducks defense, I was questioning if Leon was making the right decision. The jury is still out on this season, but at least for tonight, per usual, Leon was right on the money.
It's only game one and while the Oregon Ducks program still has a certain prestige to it, let's not forget this is the same program we roasted 52-14 last year and limped to an 8-5 record. If anything, we're a step behind last year's team, scoring eight fewer points than last year.
I kid, of course. I will say, I'm more than happy to celebrate a win, but excuse me if I'm not booking tickets to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game just yet. Game one is in the books in dominating fashion, but with the target on our back all season, it only gets harder with each win.
|
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 44 |
|
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Oregon | Oklahoma |
| 1st | Oklahoma | 8:27 | Brad Thorne, 17 Yd Run | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | Oklahoma | 3:51 | Brad Thorne, 26 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 0 | 14 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 9:53 | Brian Rowe, 35 Yd FG | 0 | 17 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 4:11 | Floyd Canaday, 10 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 0 | 24 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 0:00 | Brian Rowe, 45 Yd FG | 0 | 27 |
| 3rd | Oregon | 7:39 | De'Andre Hurd, 45 Yd Pass From Vai Sagapolu | 7 | 27 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 2:56 | Floyd Canaday, 13 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 7 | 34 |
| 4th | Oregon | 9:15 | Kevin Calcaterra, 58 Yd Pass From Vai Sagapolu | 14 | 34 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 8:33 | Darren Lyles, 62 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 14 | 41 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 3:58 | Brian Rowe, 54 Yd FG | 14 | 44 |
Oregon Oklahoma
Passing | Stats Passing | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Vai Sagapolu | 19/28, 278 Yds, 2 TD, INT Markelle Nickey | 19/29, 260 Yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Joel Diawara | 7 Att, 23 Yds Brad Thorne | 10 Att, 145 Yds, TD
Vai Sagapolu | 8 Att, -48 Yds Terrance Butcher | 9 Att, 65 Yds
Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
De'Andre Hurd | 6 Rec, 116 Yds, TD Maurice Lucky | 4 Rec, 47 Yds
Bryce Floyd | 5 Rec, 39 Yds Brad Thorne | 3 Rec, 30 Yds, TD
Kevin Calcaterra | 2 Rec, 64 Yds, TD Floyd Canaday | 3 Rec, 47 Yds, 2 TD
Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
CB Zach Schell | 8 Tkl, 2 INT MLB Alan Breckner | 9 Tkl, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks
MLB Joe Kopp | 5 Tkl, 2 TFL MLB Gordon Paul | 8 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1.5 Sacks
LB Jabari Verrett | 8 Tkl, TFL CB Richard Trainer | 4 Tkl, INT
SEC Week One Results
41 #16 North Carolina @ #1 Florida 13
28 #8 Texas A&M @ UCLA 22
17 UNLV @
Arkansas 47
17 FCS @
#3 Missouri 52
17 FCS @
Vanderbilt 35
51 Texas @ Nevada 10
38 #4 Tennessee @ #18 Pittsburgh 30
35 Washington State @
Mississippi State 42
0 FCS @
Kentucky 51
3 FCS @
LSU 41
25 Rutgers @
South Carolina 40
15 #13 Miami @
#9 Auburn 23
35 Alabama @ Georgia Tech 28
24 Clemson @
#6 Georgia 42
17 Ole Miss @ Oregon State 14
Notable Week One Results
20 #24 UConn @
#12 Duke 58
35 Indiana @
#2 Notre Dame 49
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