Josh Heupel talks about adjusting to Oklahoma’s quarterback swap at halftime

With Oklahoma Benches Jackson-Arnold and becomes a real freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins just before half-time, Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel will probably have to adapt. And Heupel does not rule out that Arnold will be seen more often in the second half.

While Hawkins played a series at the end of the half, it’s possible Arnold will start the second half again. Either way, Heupel will try to get his team ready for both.

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“Be prepared for both,” Heupel told the ESPN reporter Holly Rowe at halftime. “Both are strong runners, so we have to play hard and physically in the second half.”

At halftime, Arnold had completed 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards and one interception.

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Venables explained some of his considerations behind the decision

Oklahoma Head Coach Brent Venables will stick to the decision he made towards the end of the first half, Jackson-Arnold as quarterback, switched to true freshman Michael Hawkins against Tennessee. And he shared some of his reasons with ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe.

The driving force: Arnold’s three turnovers, all costly and two particularly ugly. But Venables alerted Rowe to some other problems.

“Brent Venables said the turnovers were a big reason he switched quarterbacks in the first half and that he’s going to stick with true freshman Michael Hawkins in the second half,” Rowe said. “He said it was the turnovers, but our offense also needs to be on time. We have plays with timing, things that need to happen, and it just wasn’t on time. He also said turnover differential was a big factor. They’re one point ahead of Tennessee. That’s unusual for OU.”

Arnold struggled a lot in the first half Saturday night, including three turnovers, two of which were particularly bad. When he was substituted, he had completed 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards and an interception, as well as two fumbles.

Hawkins led a series just before halftime and the Sooners quickly punted.

The last straw was a back pass that Arnold placed in front of his receiver a few minutes before the end of the second quarter, as the Volunteers recovered the fumble and scored a point. It was Jackson’s third turnover in less than 30 minutes.

In the first quarter, Arnold attempted to catch his interception pass on a deep corner route, but instead found double coverage and a Tennessee defender. Minutes later, right after Oklahoma forced and recovered a Tennessee fumble, Arnold fumbled himself and immediately got the ball back.

Then came his third loss of the ball, which was the last straw.

An analyst believes Hawkins is the best choice for the future

Much was expected from the Oklahoma-Tennessee clash to welcome the Sooners to SEC play on Saturday night, but a quarterback controversy in Norman was something many did not predict.

But after the Sooners struggled for a half with Arnold at quarterback before regaining life under Hawkins, the co-commentator Kirk Herbstreit felt he knew which quarterback was the right choice. And it was the quarterback who led the touchdown drives on Saturday.

“This kid is your quarterback,” Herbstreit said of Hawkins in the game’s final moments. “He’s the quarterback here, No. 9, going into next week. He’s done enough in those couple of series in the second half.”

“That’s what this is about. This boy fights for every inch.”