Chris Williams Breaks Down Oklahoma Teams' Losses In Conference Debuts

It was a rough weekend for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as they both opened conference play with losses.

The Sooners fell to Tennessee in their first SEC game, and the Cowboys suffered a tough loss to the Big 12 newcomer Utah.

News 9's Chris Williams joined News 9 at 9 to discuss both games.

Williams said the offensive struggles were apparent in both Norman and Stillwater.

For OU, he said that their defense was what helped keep them in the game.

“Tennessee was the top offense in the nation coming in, and OU made them look just like a mediocre offense,” Williams said.

However, he said OU's offense was not there to help them, even after they switched quarterbacks.

“This offense is not just going to be fixed by switching out the quarterback; they have much bigger issues in the offensive line,” Williams said.

He said there was more excitement surrounding backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. than Jackson Arnold.

“It's not gonna be the big fix, but that energy could be enough for him to get the start at Auburn,” Williams said. “That offense still struggled, but he just lifted everybody up, energy-wise.”

As for the Cowboys, Williams said Utah's defense was strong against OSU quarterback Alan Bowman.

“I think this is probably the best defense Oklahoma State has seen in maybe a decade. This Utah team is very impressive, but they have to figure out their offense as well,” Williams said.

He said their upcoming matchup against Kansas State has heightened in significance for both teams, coming off losses.

“These are two teams that a lot of people thought could win the Big 12,” Williams said. “The loser of this game will be 0-2 to start conference play, so this is a big one in Manhattan.”