Why Most Oklahoma Players, Coaches Now Will Tune Into Texas, OSU Games

Just about everyone in Norman has plans to be in front of a TV on Friday night. Same with Saturday afternoon.

Everyone, that is, but Oklahoma wide receiver Jayden Gibson.

“Oh, I probably won’t watch no football,” Gibson said minutes after the No. 13-ranked Sooners pounded TCU in Friday’s season finale at Owen Field. “There’s a Rod Wave concert tonight. So I’m gonna be at the Rod Wave concert. You know who that is? I’m gonna be at the Rod Wave concert tonight, and then tomorrow I’m gonna sleep. Cuz God’s got us.”

Gibson and his OU teammates finished their season, meaning everyone’s attention is now turned to Friday night’s game between Texas and Texas Tech and Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game between Oklahoma State and BYU.

If the Longhorns or Cowboys lose, the Sooners are back in the Big 12 Championship Game. (If it’s Texas, OU still needs Iowa State to beat Kansas State on Saturday.)

Interest is high — for everyone but Gibson.

“I don’t need to go watch. I already played against Texas and Okie State,” Gibson said. “And I done already watched 7-8 games of film. Each, for when we had to play them. So I don’t need to watch them no more. I only need to look up the score in the morning and I don’t know what needs to happen next.”

With a special Friday game out of the way, the rest of the weekend is freed up. Head coach Brent Venables said he’ll spend Friday night and Saturday with family and watch both games — as usual.

“Enjoy this win. Do what I do after every game — be with family, watch games and not get too uptight. It’s gonna work out exactly like it’s supposed to work out. Me hoping or guys in the locker room talking about it — what’s that called when you (talk about it) — manifest it? Sounds good in there. But I’m not sure if that’s going to have any effect on it or not. So, anyway we lost that power.”

Defensive back Billy Bowman, who scored his third touchdown of the season on another interception return in the closing minutes of the game, said he’ll watch.

“I’ll be with my family, with my teammates, just watching,” Bowman said. “There’s a bunch of good college football games going on, but we’ll be tuned into the Big 12 ones.”

Defensive end R Mason Thomas, who had a quarterback sack in Friday’s game, said he’ll simply “put it in God’s hands” and see what happens.

“A little high strung? A little stressed,” he said. “High strung, I’ve never heard that word before. You’re watching the other games and you’re antsy and your hands are shaking because you hope they lose. At this point, you have to give it to God.”

Cornerback Woodi Washington will be in front of the TV both days.

“Yes, sir, I’ll be tuned into all the games,” he said. “I just love watching football. I’m going to watch whoever plays. I can’t wait to watch some games.”

Offensive guard McKade Mettauer grew up watching Texas — and OU — and will be cheering hard for the Red Raiders.

“Yeah, I'm gonna lock into the Texas game tonight, root against them as usual,” Mettauer said. “And then Oklahoma State plays tomorrow? And the Kansas State game, is that tomorrow too? Yeah, I mean, I’m gonna be locked in, I’m ready to go.

“I want to practice on Monday.”

If the Longhorns and Cowboys win and set up a date next Saturday in Arlington, TX, for the Big 12 title game, OU will have next week completely off while coaches hit the recruiting trail.

“The greatest asset we have right now is our own mindset and perspective,” Venables said. “So again, just take care of yourself. Take care of yourself. You better be ready for a mental Monday and be ready to get in here and watch some film and get ready for Arlington, too. That’s gotta be your mindset right now as opposed to a bowl game. We don’t know what the next 48 hours are going to look like. Stay ready. Keep your mind right. Make good decisions.”

One thing that everyone says one be a part of their viewing experience: regret.

“No, sir, not at all,” Washington said. “I’ve played a great year. If it doesn’t fall our way, then that’s just the plan God has for us.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Bowman said. “It’ll all work in His plan and then we’ll have a bowl game to go play and get that 11th win.”

“We controlled what we had to do,” Thomas said. “To get to the Big 12, we had to win and we did that. We had to beat TCU. When we did that, the rest is God’s hands.”

“We’ll be ready to go,” Mettauer said, “if the opportunity presents itself.”

Gibson’s going to enjoy his rare Friday night off, then do the same on Saturday. Crying over the losses at Kansas and Oklahoma State won’t do anyone any good now.

“I feel like everyone has nothing to be sad about,” he said. “Do I want to go to the Big 12 Championship? Of course. I’m a competitor, and if we go to it, I’m going to do everything in my power to help us win. At the end of the day, we don’t got nothing to hang our heads about regardless, because we fought through a lot this year.

“I mean, look, losses always hurt. So, I’m going to look back at that as a loss regardless, but at the end of the day I won’t be sitting in my bed like, ‘Man, we could’ve went to the Big 12 if we did this, this, this.’ At the end of the day, losses happen, wins happen.”