No. 16 Oklahoma, QB Jackson Arnold, take purpose at Temple

There’s no doubt who will be starting at quarterback for Oklahoma in its season opener against Temple.

The Owls’ quarterback situation is much more up in the air.

The 16th-ranked Sooners will take on Temple on Friday night in Norman, Oklahoma, in the season opener for both teams.

Sophomore Jackson Arnold will start for Oklahoma, making his second career start after guiding the Sooners in their Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona after Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon.

Arnold threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns while completing better than 57% of his passes but tossed three interceptions and lost a fumble in the defeat.

“He’s put the work in,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Monday. “(He’s had a) level of consistency and growth and maturation and worked hard at helping everybody else around him get better. He has a broad set of shoulders to carry the heavy load.”

While Arnold has talent galore at wide receiver, led by returners Nic Anderson and Jalil Farooq and Purdue transfer Deion Burks, he’ll be protected by a group of newcomers up front that includes just one player – left guard Jacob Sexton – that has started a game for the Sooners.

USC transfer Michael Tarquin at left tackle, SMU transfer Branson Hickman at center, and North Texas transfer Febechi Nwaiwu at right guard are all new to the program, while right tackle Jake Taylor is expected to make his first career start.

“They’ve been mature, they’ve been focused, they care for one another,” Venables said of the line.

Temple, which has won just 10 games over the last four seasons, doesn’t figure to push the Sooners to the brink.

The Owls will be the first team to test Oklahoma’s defense under first-year Sooners defensive coordinator Zac Alley, who replaced Ted Roof. Alley had spent the previous two seasons in the same role at Jacksonville State and worked with Venables for several seasons at Clemson.

Temple coach Stan Drayton hasn’t named a starting quarterback for the game as Forrest Brock and Rutgers transfer Evan Simon have been neck-and-neck for the starting job.

Drayton said Sunday that he knew who the starter was going to be but that he would wait until the last moment to make the announcement.

Owls Daily reported Brock would start against the Sooners.

“Our guys are getting better because of the competition in the room,” Drayton said. “There’s a lot of respect that they have for one another that I just want to keep that going.”

Brock appeared in just one game last season, going 7 for 15 with an interception in a late October loss to SMU.

Whichever quarterback Temple goes with, it’ll have some playmakers available at receiver, including returner Dante Wright, who had 39 catches for 507 yards and four touchdowns last season.

“They have game-breaking speed,” Venables said. “They have some excellent wideouts, too, that can take the top off a defense.”

The game will be the first matchup between the programs since 1942. The all-time series is tied 1-1.

–Field Level Media