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The Oklahoma Sooners finished a Saturday matchup with the Arkansas State Red Wolves with a 73-0 victory in Memorial Stadium.
Quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold combined for 422 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. The pair connected on 30 of their 33 pass attempts. Wide receiver Nic Anderson led the squad with 68 receiving yards on two receptions. Oklahoma's offense gained 642 yards without committing a turnover, according to a Saturday article from the Associated Press.
“You want to see discipline, which we showed, and see some physicality and toughness,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said, via the Associated Press. “We saw that. And then the efficiency, taking care of the ball — we did that on offense.”
Who are some Oklahoma football players who stood out the most during the Sooners' win over Arkansas State?
Gavin Freeman
Freeman returned an early punt for an 82-yard touchdown, extending Oklahoma football's lead to 13-0 with 12:38 remaining in the first quarter. The former three-star recruit ended the outing with 90 punt return yards on three returns. He added 19 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown on four receptions.
Freeman was placed on scholarship by Venables in August.
“Gavin – he's just a baller. He was balling last year as we all saw him explode onto the scene Game 1 and then, yeah, just continuing to mature over the offseason,” wide receiver Drake Stoops said, via SoonerScoop Staff Writer Bob Przybylo. “Getting bigger with Schmidty, continuing to push himself in conditioning, make sure he's in great shape and then he's just coming out here and playing like he always does.
“Playing his game which is just speed, making competitive catches, being a smart player. I'm trying to teach him all I can as well. I'm even learning from him, taking pieces his game and adding it to mine because you're never too old to learn. He's been great. I love watching him.”
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Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold
Both Oklahoma football quarterbacks showed out during Saturday's win over the Red Wolves.
Gabriel, who announced he would return to Oklahoma in January, ended the day with 308 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Arnold completed all 11 of his pass attempts, gaining 114 passing yards and one passing touchdown during the victory in Norman.
Arnold earned his first passing and rushing touchdowns just minutes apart, according to On3 national news desk writer Nick Schultz. He lobbed a pass to wide receiver Jayden Gibson near the left boundary of the endzone in the third quarter before pushing the Sooners even further ahead of the Red Wolves with a seven-yard rushing touchdown.
“I thought it was really good for him to be able to go, operate, play cleanly,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said, via AllSooners Publisher John Hoover. “Obviously, you know, take care of the football, have some throws to where he was able to push it down the field and it wasn't all just really easy stuff. And, again, just proud of him being able to go out and be clean, be efficient.”
Both quarterbacks must replicate their performances against Arkansas State to boost an offense that took sixth place in the Big 12 with 254.2 passing yards per game in 2022, according to Big12Sports.com.
Jaquaize Pettaway
Pettaway, a four-star recruit in Oklahoma's 2023 football recruiting class, finished the day with 56 yards on nine receptions. 10 Oklahoma players combined for a total of 422 receiving yards on 30 receptions. Pettaway, Freeman, and Stoops all recorded four receptions or more.
Pettaway was one of 39 first-year Sooners who saw the field on Saturday, according to News 9 Director of Digital Content Ryan Welton. He joined linebacker Dasan McCullough, running back Daylan Smothers and defensive back Kendel Dolby.
