Oklahoma 2023 Schedule Preview: Arkansas State
As August closes in, AllSooners previews every game on the 2023 schedule.
Oklahoma’s 12-game regular season schedule features six home games, five road games and the annual neutral-site Red River Showdown.
The Sooners open the 2023 slate in Norman against the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
Oklahoma suffered an extremely underwhelming season in 2022, but with a year of growth and impact players from the transfer portal, Brent Venables will try to right the ship this fall.
The non-conference slate opens with an unfamiliar foe in Arkansas State, a team the Sooners haven’t played since 2000 — the same season Oklahoma won its last national championship.
As a whole, the three out-of-conference games are very winnable. But the Sooners started off strong a year ago, too, dominating all three matchups, including a seemingly big-time road win against Nebraska. Once conference play started, however, it was a completely different story.
Despite Oklahoma and Arkansas State having virtually zero previous history, the Sooners made recent memories with the Red Wolves’ current head coach, Butch Jones. Before Jones took the Arkansas State job in 2022, he was the head man at Tennessee when the Baker Mayfield-led Sooners stole a win at Neyland Stadium in 2015. Against all odds, Mayfield mounted a fourth quarter comeback as Lincoln Riley got the best of Jones in his first season as Oklahoma’s coach.
Now at Arkansas State, Jones is heading into his third season with a record of 5-19 overall. The Red Wolves had nine straight bowl eligible seasons, but have fallen off a cliff in recent years.
Last fall, Jones’ team went 3-9 overall and 1-7 in the Sun Belt. It hasn’t been the start his coaching staff hoped for, but with impact transfers and a handful of returning contributors, the script could be different this time around.
The biggest change on both sides of the ball starts at the quarterback position. The Red Wolves added J.T. Shrout, a senior signal caller who started out at Tennessee, saw action at Colorado, and is expected to lead a new-look Arkansas State offense. Shrout has thrown for 1,714 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons of games and will finally be in control of his own offense. He’ll have a bonafide No. 1 option to throw the ball to, with Corey Rucker back in Jonesboro.
Rucker broke onto the scene in 2021, catching 59 passes for 826 yards and nine touchdowns before transferring to South Carolina. He suffered a season long injury playing for the Gamecocks, and opted to return to Arkansas State where his success originally began. If Shrout and Rucker can form a dynamic duo through the air, Arkansas State has a clear path to shoring up its offensive issues from a year ago.
Arkansas State’s defense should be the better side of the ball, at least on paper. The Red Wolves return senior linebacker Melique Straker, junior safety Trevian Thomas and senior safety Eddie Smith — all impact players a season ago. Straker compiled 81 tackles, two sacks, and eight tackles for loss a season ago and should continue to lead the unit by example. The Red Wolves pair of safeties combined for 129 tackles and three interceptions, giving Jones experience and production in the secondary.
Get to Know Arkansas State
Sept. 2, 11 a.m. Norman
- Series: OU leads 2-0
- Last meeting: 2000 (OU won 45-7)
- Head coach: Butch Jones, 3rd year (5-19), 14th overall (89-73)
- 2022 record: 3-9 (1-7 Sun Belt)
- 2022 offense: 117th overall (127th rushing, 72nd passing, 84th scoring)
- 2022 defense: 89th overall (81st rushing, 89th passing, 106th scoring)
Oklahoma's offense returns veterans at key positions, including starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel and a handful of starters on the offensive line. Gabriel will be tasked in creating chemistry with a new wide receiver room, though, missing last year's top option Marvin Mims. An opening contest against Arkansas State will give the unit a game to gel and show off a year of experience in Jeff Lebby's system.
Playing against the Red Wolves' veteran secondary will be a nice first test for Oklahoma's new top options, led by Jalil Farooq.
For Arkansas State's new-look offense, it's never an easy task to start on the road in front of 80,000 fans. Oklahoma's defense struggled a season ago, but added depth at key positions through the transfer portal and a top-notch recruiting cycle.
Shrout threw eight interceptions in nine games for Colorado a season ago, proving to be turnover prone under center. The Sooners can start off the season on a much better note by taking advantage of any Shrout mistakes and giving the secondary confidence heading into the rest of the season.
Oklahoma and Arkansas State will kick off Sept. 2 in Norman at 11 a.m. to begin the 2023 season.
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