Much was expected from the Oklahoma–Tennessee Showdown to welcome the Sooners to the SEC on Saturday night. But a quarterback controversy in Norman was not something many could have predicted.

But after the Sooners had problems for a half with Jackson-Arnold under the middle before showing life under a true freshman Michael HawkinsColor commentator Kirk Herbstreit felt he knew which quarterback was the right choice. And it was the quarterback who led the touchdown drives on Saturday.

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“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.”

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Brent Venables shared some of his thoughts after half-time

Venables brought on Hawkins and stuck to that decision after half-time.

The driving force: Arnold’s three turnovers, all costly and two particularly ugly. But Venables has highlighted 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.