Sooner State of Mind

WHAT IS UP SOONER NATION! Casey Mallon here, and you are locked into another episode of Sooner State of Mind ! The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off one of the most satisfying wins in recent memory — a 24–13 victory over the Michigan Wolverines . From John Mateer’s Baker-like grit to Jaren Kanak’s Stoops-style energy, this game had everything: hustle plays, punishing blocks, highlight catches, and a...

WHAT IS UP SOONER NATION! Casey Mallon here, and you are officially in a Sooner State of Mind ! This week’s episode dives deep into Oklahoma’s statement win, the rise of John Mateer at quarterback, and why Jaren Kanak looks like the next big thing at tight end. From Brent Venables’ defense tightening up in the second half, to Tory Blaylock’s punishing runs and injury update, we’re breaking down ev...

WHAT IS UP SOONER NATION… I AM CASEY MALLON, AND YOU ARE NOW IN A SOONER STATE OF MIND! This Saturday at 3 PM PST , the wait is finally over as the #18 Oklahoma Sooners open the 2025 season at Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium against the Illinois State Redbirds . Vegas has OU as 35.5-point favorites , and I’ll tell you why I’m still taking the points. We’ll break down everything you need t...

Oklahoma Sooners fans, the countdown is on! We are officially just 7 DeMarco Murrays away from kickoff as OU prepares to take on Illinois State to open the 2025 season. But before we preview next week’s matchup, we’ve got breaking news that shakes the entire college football landscape: the SEC is moving to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. In this episode of Sooner State of Mind ,...

🏈 Sooner State of Mind – 17 Days ‘Til Kickoff & the John Mateer Story What’s up, Sooner Nation?! Casey here, and you are now IN A SOONER STATE OF MIND! We’re just 17 days —that’s 17 Marvin Mims Jrs. —away from the 2025 Oklahoma Sooners storming into Memorial Stadium to curb stomp the Illinois State Redbirds, and the stoke level is officially off the charts. This episode, we’re talking: The John M...

Sooner State of Mind: Joe Castiglione's Farewell, Big Recruiting Wins, and Game Day Upgrades! In this can't-miss episode of Sooner State of Mind , we dive into the monumental news out of Norman: legendary Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione will step down in 2028 after a historic run that reshaped Sooner athletics. We break down his legacy, from 26 national championships to OU’s bold move t...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind , the Sooners continue to build for the future as GM Jim Nagy makes another key hire and Oklahoma lands a massive 2026 commitment in 6'4", 290-pound DT Brian Harris. We dive into the latest College Football Playoff reseeding chatter and the ongoing arms race across programs, including Steve Sarkisian's denial that Texas shelled out $40 million on its ro...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. The NFL Draft has come and gone. While only two Sooners, Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman, heard their names called, it had been well over twenty years since OU had that few players drafted. That is something Brent Venables and Jim Nagy are expected to change, and change quickly. The good news is that several other Sooners did score...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Well, stoke levels are at least a little higher than they were last year at this time. Some unwelcome familiarity is rearing its ugly head once again. It is only April, but injuries are piling up for Sooner receivers. The word out of spring camps is that Javonnie Gibson suffered a long-term injury. How long is long-term? We are not...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Spring Ball is here, and we get John Mateer's thoughts on his new team and how tough it is going up against that Sooner defense in practice every day. Could a Bedlam return be closer than we think? If it is up to Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, the answer is yes. We will tell you all about it. Porter Moser and the Sooners did final...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. With so much activity surrounding the program, every little bit of news gets us that much closer to football season. A familiar face is back with the program. Kevin Wilson makes his way to Norman via Tulsa. If he picks up where he left off, there just might be another Heisman Trophy winner playing quarterback for the Sooners. OU has...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Although stoke levels vary in degrees of stokeness, depending on which level you are looking at. On one level, there will be no football for quite some time, but Sooner legend Jalen Hurts ended the NFL season as a Super Bowl Champion and the Super Bowl MVP as his Philadelphia Eagles destroyed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chie...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Brent Venables has completed his coaching staff for the 2025 season with the additions of Nate Dreiling and Wes Goodwin. Even with six current or former defensive coordinators on the staff, it will be Brent Venables who calls the plays for the Sooners on defense this upcoming season. We also take a quick look back at both the East/W...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Even though it was only hearsay, the word was Jim Knowles was in play to be the defensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2025 season. Instead, Knowles found over 3 million reasons to head to Pennsylvania and became the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football history. No word on what the Sooners will do m...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising. Every time we think that the news cycle has ended for these 2024 Oklahoma Sooners, we get a quick reminder that it definitely is not. After the Navy game, the Sooners found out that Zac Alley would be leaving his current position to take the same position at the University of West Virginia. Throw in the titles of assistant head coac...

In this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels rise even though the season is sinking. Well, the season has officially sunk. The Oklahoma Sooners lost to Navy 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl to put an end to a very frustrating season. All is not lost, there were some good things to take away from the game, but they were just overshadowed by all the bad things. Nonetheless, we tell you why th...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! The Sooners have their quarterback! John Mateer officially joined the Sooners this week. Panic was setting in with all of the Sooner departures via the transfer portal, but when news hit that Mateer would be joining Ben Arbuckle on the Sooners for 2025, the stoke outweighed the panic, and Sooner Nation collectively sighed in relief....

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! The Sooners didn't end the regular season the way they wanted to, but at least they will be headed to a bowl game. The Sooners are set to take on Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on December 27th. The question is, will they have enough players to field a team? The transfer portal losses for the Sooners are starting to add up, but will...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! The Sooners have their new offensive coordinator. OU welcomes Ben Arbuckle to the staff. He doesn't have much experience, but in the few short years he has coached, his offenses and quarterbacks have put up some legit numbers. We will talk about his fit on this OU staff. Unfortunately, it looks like the Jackson Arnold era has come t...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, it has been a minute, but stoke levels are definitely rising! Our Sooners are coming off their biggest win of the season. Last Saturday Night, the Oklahoma Sooners put an old-fashioned beat down on Jalen Milroe and the #7 Alabama Crimson Tide. Not only that, but they held the Tide out of the endzone with the 24-3 victory in front of a packed house at the Pa...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, we try to restore stoke to an appropriate level. One last home game for the Sooners and unfortunately the opponent is Jalen Milroe and the #7 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide are in their first season post Saban but to this point, it still looks very similar to Saban era football. The Tide are trying to secure their spot in the 12-team playoff and possibly th...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, we look back at what went wrong in Oklahoma's epic collapse against the Missouri Tigers. The Sooners wasted some Billy Bowman Sooner Magic on their way to the 30-23 loss on the road. The Sooners now fall to 5-5 and their hopes of becoming bowl-eligible have taken a turn for the worse. Many questions need to be answered. One of the biggest is if Jackson Arno...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! The Sooners are coming off their best game of the season. It was a 59-14 beatdown of the Maine Black Bears. The Sooners hope to build off last week's performance against a much better opponent this week. The Oklahoma Sooners are on the road this weekend to take on the #24 Missouri Tigers. If the Sooners can find a way to win on Satu...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! It's been a long time since we've felt like we are definitely going to get a win on Saturday. We all feel pretty good about the chances of getting that win this weekend, right? The Sooners are set to host the Maine Black Bears on Saturday, so this might be their best and last chance to get an easy win. I don't want to count my win c...

On this episode of Sooner State of Mind, stoke levels are rising! Because, there is nowhere to go but up after the dismantling, the Sooners received from the South Carolina Gamecocks. Beamer's boys rolled into Norman and rolled the Sooners 35-9. That was only a week after Texas rolled the Sooners 34-3. We now at least have some hope regarding the woeful production or lack thereof from the Sooners'...