
On3 analyst Oklahoma has a quarterback advantage in 2025
On3 analyst Oklahoma has a quarterback advantage in 2025
When the Oklahoma Sooners made the offseason addition of former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, they made a massive upgrade at one of the most important positions on the team.
In 2024, for the most part, OU was at a QB disadvantage against almost every team they played, especially in the SEC. That's extremely uncommon for a program that is used to having the better player under center. J.D. PicKell, who covers college football for On3 Sports, believes that the script has flipped in Norman, due to the presence of Mateer.
"The schedule for Oklahoma and the quarterback matchups they have, I think it's very, very sneaky that Oklahoma, I think, is gonna have the advantage in a lot of those games," PicKell said on his podcast, "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell.
Going through OU's 2025 schedule, PicKell proceeded to say which games he believes the Sooners have the QB edge in, excluding matchups against lesser competition like Illinois State, Temple, and Kent State.
PicKell believes Oklahoma has the quarterback advantage against Michigan (Bryce Underwood), Auburn (Jackson Arnold), Texas (Arch Manning), Ole Miss (Austin Simmons), Tennessee (Joey Aguilar), Alabama (Ty Simpson/Austin Mack/Keelon Russell) and Missouri (Beau Pribula). He declined to say the Sooners have the QB edge against South Carolina (LaNorris Sellers) and LSU (Garrett Nussmeier).
"We just went through that entire schedule and there's two games that you're talking about a superior quarterback for the opposite side, as we sit here right now," PicKell said.
By all reports, the Sooners look to have a quarterback in the saddle again who can change games for them in a positive way. Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are trying to make sure that Year 2 in the SEC goes differently than Year 1 did for Oklahoma and head coach Brent Venables.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.

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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newspaper seeks public release of Centennial Park feasibility study
Niagara Falls City Council Chairman Jim Perry has talked with Mayor Robert Restaino about the unreleased feasibility study for the proposed Centennial Park arena and events campus and said he's encouraged by what he's been told about it so far. In response to questions from the Niagara Gazette on Thursday, Perry did not say whether he would support releasing the study to the public in response to a Freedom of Information Law request filed by the newspaper. Instead, Perry said he spoke to city attorney Tom DeBoy who acknowledged receipt of the newspaper's formal request for the document and was assured that the city's legal department is working on it. 'I'm not part of that process, but (DeBoy) assured me it's being done,' Perry said on Thursday. Restaino confirmed in an interview with the members of the local press on May 13 that he received what he described as an incomplete version of the study, which was prepared by the private Florida-based consulting firm Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC at a cost of $140,000, plus expenses. While he has since indicated that the study results support the city building Centennial Park, he has declined to release the contents publicly. In an interview with the Gazette earlier this week, Restaino said he intends to do so by the end of the month after the results are shared with 'stakeholders,' namely representatives from New York's lead economy development agency Empire State Development Corp. and National Grid, the two entities that covered the city's cost for the study. 'One of the things we will do is meet with the stakeholders who paid for the study and show it to them,' Restaino told the Gazette in an interview earlier this week. 'And then we'll release it to the public. This month everything is going to be out in the open.' During an appearance on Monday on 'Your Community Accountability with Sam and Jon,' a Falls-based social media program aired on Facebook and YouTube, Perry said he has had a 'lot of discussions about it' and that it 'looks positive.' On Thursday, Perry told the newspaper he hadn't seen the study but had talked to the mayor about it. 'I can't share everything because this will be up to the mayor to unveil, but this project should be one of the more positive advancements to our local economy I've seen in my 70-plus years here in the city if everything falls into place,' Perry said. On Thursday, the newspaper filed a formal Freedom of Information request with the city's legal department and clerk's office, requesting a copy of the study from Restaino's administration. The newspaper's request cited two opinions from the New York State Committee on Open Government that indicate state law allows public agencies to release documents in their possession even in instances where they are considered to be drafts or incomplete. 'Draft records are subject to FOIL,' said Paul Wolf, a Williamsville attorney and founder of the government transparency group, the New York Coalition for Open Government. The city clerk's office acknowledged the newspaper's request on Thursday afternoon. Under state law, public agencies are allowed up to 20 business days to either grant or deny requests for information. In its initial response, the city clerk's office indicated that should 'circumstances arise' that prevent the delivery of a response within 20 business, the newspaper would be contacted with a 'new response date.' 'Examples of circumstances that may lead to extended response times include staff shortages, requests for a large volume of records and requests that require significant document redaction and/or seek documents that are not maintained electronically,' the response from the clerk's office notes. The results of the feasibility study are expected to more clearly define elements of the Centennial Park project and shed light on whether it would, as proposed, be viable in the Falls. A previous arena study, commissioned by Niagara County in 2017, concluded that the city lacked a sufficient number of hotel rooms needed to support such a project at that time. City officials, including Restaino and Perry, are seeking to acquire, using the city's power of eminent domain, 10 acres of land currently owned by the private firm Niagara Falls Redevelopment for the purposes of building Centennial Park. The courts have sided with the city's argument that it has the right to forcibly acquire the property — located off John B. Daly Boulevard at the intersection of 10th and Falls streets — for the purposes of developing the 'park.' The city is currently engaged in litigation, arguing that 5 of those 10 acres are actually still owned by the city as NFR failed, more than a decade ago, to properly obtain permission from the state to annex what was at the time public parkland formerly known as 10th Street park. NFR is disputing the city's position in court. The company also insists it intends to use the 10 acres for the first phase of a project of its own, a proposed $1.5 billion data center it says it intends to build in partnership with the Canadian firm, Urbacon. During his interview on Sam Archie's social media program on Monday, Perry backed the city's position that the city, not NFR, owns the 5 acres because it was formerly public parkland that was never properly acquired by the company. He said he agrees with the city's position based on maps and other documents that show the area in question was a public park dating back to the 1940s. 'A park is a park forever until you get that it is no longer parkland by permission from the state,' he said. 'When it was transferred over, those papers were never filed,' he added. 'You can argue all you want, that is still a park. Unless it's done legally, there is no claim to it.' As to NFR — a company owned by the Milstein family of real estate developers in New York City — Perry said the city has heard 30 years of promises and stories from the company with no tangible results. He also said there 'is no two solutions,' a reference to what some residents and officials have suggested could be a compromise that would allow both projects to happen. 'The convention center is real,' Perry said, referring to Centennial Park, 'and I know that because I've been working on issues and I've been talking to people. The data center, to me, is another pie in the sky.' 'If we gave this fight up tomorrow, (and said), 'OK, you guys can have the park, we'll do the paperwork and turn it over to you.' Let them have it, turn it over to NFR, all the stuff, you know what's going to happen? They are going to say, 'Well, you took so long Urbacon's not interested in it anymore' because that's the M.O.' Perry did concede in his interview with show host Sam Archie that, if the city is successful in its claim for the 5 acres, it may be required to reimburse NFR for taxes paid on the property in the past. 'I would assume that is correct,' Perry said.


Forbes
33 minutes ago
- Forbes
2025 NBA Finals: Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Make Extraordinary Routine
OKLAHOMA CITY – There were 2.5 seconds left on the clock in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and the entire Indiana Pacers bench was on their feet. Every member of the Pacers roster and coaching staff, poised and breathless in a big moment, edged closer to the hardwood in unison as the clock ticked down. They knew a celebration was coming. Across the court from them stood Pacers reserve forward Obi Toppin, who had provided enough offensive value throughout the night that head coach Rick Carlisle opted to close the game with him in the lineup. The freakish athlete knocked down five threes in Game 1, and he put his arms up with 2.5 seconds to go with a chance to do it again. He was wide open, and the Pacers trailed by just one point. Moments later, those same arms shot up again. This time, Toppin was celebrating. His teammates on the bench erupted and poured onto the floor. Myles Turner, the Pacers starting center who was replaced by Toppin, was more excited than anyone as he jumped for joy several times. The team, staffers, and coaches were giddy. With 0.3 seconds left to go, their star teammate had done it again. For the fourth time in this playoffs, Tyrese Haliburton had buried a shot that felt like a once-in-a-lifetime event. Toppin knew right away it was going in. 'It's not the first time we've been in that position,' he said enthusiastically at his locker. It was his first-ever NBA Finals victory. 'We trust [Haliburton] With Cason Wallace defending him, Haliburton dribbled to his right. He went all the way from the backcourt to the right wing before splashing in a 21-foot two-point jumper that gave Indiana a 111-110 lead with negligible time left on the clock. It was the Haliburton's 14th points of the game, and it gave his team the scoreboard advantage for the first, and only, time in their Game 1 victory. It capped off a 15-point comeback for the Pacers, who trailed 94-79 with 9:28 left in the game. They looked out of sorts to many. Internally, that's where the blue and gold thrive. Erasing a deficit is their comfort zone. Indiana slashed the deficit from 15 to 11 in 41 seconds. They were down eight one minute later, then down four with six minutes to go. It happened fast, but it's what the Pacers do, even on the biggest stage the sport has to offer. They were finally forcing stops and took advantage on the offensive end. 'To show the resiliency, especially against a great OKC team like that… it's amazing,' Pacers center Thomas Bryant shared. His confidence has returned of late, only adding to the Pacers conviction. He showed it on the floor in Game 1. While the Thunder continued to keep the Pacers away for the next few minutes, even extending their lead to nine with 2:39 to go, Indiana never blinked. With 1:59 remaining, it was a three-point margin. That set up an epic finish as Indiana looked to take their first lead of the entire game. The three-point Thunder lead became one with 49 seconds to go, and the Pacers defense was at its best for two more possessions. That gave them the ball with about seven seconds to go. They had one more shot. With Haliburton on the floor, Toppin handed him the rock while his teammates got out of the way. Haliburton hit perhaps the biggest shots in Pacers franchise history to give Indiana the win, and the lead in the NBA Finals. He was calm during the play, but elated internally. 'I'm obviously confident in my ability and feel like if I can get to that spot, I feel very comfortable there. So yeah, it's a shot I've worked on a million times and I'll work on it a million times more,' Haliburton said postgame with his brand new signature shoes on the table in front of him. 'Just have confidence in that shot.' The Pacers were down 15 points in the fourth quarter because of imprecise play. Multiple players, including backup point guard T.J. McConnell, noted postgame that they have a lot to clean up. McConnell noted that there was a collective lack of satisfaction from the group even in victory. They have to be better in many ways. Indiana's turnovers, in particular, were alarming – they had 19 in the first half and 24 in total. But closing out improbable games is what the Pacers do. It's their thing. Every time, it seems like a miracle. But it's not – especially if it keeps happening. ESPN has a win probability model that updates after various plays throughout the game. When OKC took a 15-point lead, that model gave the Thunder a 97.9% chance to win. Up eight with 2:52 to go, that percentage was 96.4%. Yet they lost. 'We are one step closer,' Turner said, referring to a championship. 'It feels good to get the first [win] underneath your belt because now you have a baseline and you can make adjustments and you do what you got to do.' That swing in win probability is nothing new for the Pacers. In Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks, they erased a seven-point deficit late. In Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they did so again. Indiana's comeback in Game 1 vs the New York Knicks was historic. This is what the Pacers have made routine. They just find a way to win. In moments when many teams would quit, they don't. It's how they have made once-in-a-lifetime games seem normal. Everyone within the Pacers franchise expected Haliburton would make the final shot Thursday night, and they were right. This time, it was in the NBA Finals. It was the biggest possible stage. But it wasn't too big of a stage for Haliburton, and the Pacers lead 1-0 as a result. It's the first time the blue and gold have ever been ahead in a Finals series. They stole the game, and they need just three wins to become champions for the first time ever. So it's no wonder the Pacers, who knew a celebration was coming with 2.5 seconds to go in the game, were in such a good mood after the win. They are leading in the NBA Finals. James Johnson, the team's 38-year old veteran who has never made it this far in the playoffs, feels better than ever. 'I feel great about us!' he exclaimed postgame. How could he not? What was once miraculous is now customary. The entire Pacers team feels great.


New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
The N.B.A. Has a Star Problem
If you tuned into the thrilling Game 1 of the N.B.A. Finals on Thursday night, you may have found yourself wondering: Who are these guys? There's no LeBron James, no Stephen Curry. No Lakers, no Knicks, nor even any Celtics. Neither of the teams — the Indiana Pacers or the Oklahoma City Thunder — had been in the N.B.A. finals for more than a decade. To the average sports fan, their rosters are largely unknown. 'I'm not sure I completely buy into the premise of your question,' said Adam Silver, the N.B.A. commissioner, when asked about a finals with limited star power. 'I think Shai is an enormous star.' He was referring to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the N.B.A.'s Most Valuable Player Award this year after leading the league in scoring and helping drive the Thunder to 68 wins, the most in franchise history. Silver also mentioned Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacer's guard with a penchant for late-game heroics. But even Silver acknowledged those players are lesser known outside basketball fandom than the league's biggest stars. In some ways, that's a product of what the league wants — for all of its teams, no matter how small the market, to have a chance at making the finals. But that change also conflicts with one of its major tenets — that star power sells. Stars have fueled the N.B.A. since the 1980s. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson drove its stampede into the popular consciousness, and then Michael Jordan globalized the game. Stars drive viewership and interest, which in turn drive up the price of media rights deals, cash from sponsors, ticket sales and team valuations. For the past decade, the league's ecosystem has revolved around James and Curry. James is now 40 years old, and Curry is 37. The question of who will be the next face of the league, once those two have retired, has hung over the sport for years. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.