As he walked into the halftime locker room during the Red River Rivalry game in between Oklahoma And Texas, Brent Venables said ABC’s Laura Rutledge he was stick with Michael Hawkins past the quarterback Jackson Arnold. ESPN’s Booger McFarland did not agree with the decision.

McFarland criticized Venables for not returning to Arnold while OU trailed 21-3 at halftime. He argued that the Sooners needed to throw the ball more often and that Hawkins wasn’t as talented a passer as Arnold, especially given their struggles on offense in the first half.

Oklahoma had just 107 yards of total offense in the first half, including 51 passing yards. The other 56 yards came in the running game, led by 19 from Hawkins. McFarland said if Oklahoma wants to win the game, the Sooners need to pass the ball more often – which is why he advocated bringing Arnold into the game.

“I think it’s the wrong decision,” McFarland said. “They had 100 yards of total offense in the first half. Jackson Arnold is clearly the better passer. You’re not going to come back into this game reading the quarterback zone. So it’s something to at least think about as an Oklahoman.”

Co-analyst Dan Orlovsky but had a different opinion. He believes Hawkins is the better passer of the two quarterbacks and would therefore put Oklahoma in a position to win the game.

In Orlovsky’s view, the biggest problem isn’t necessarily with the quarterback. OU is dealing with multiple wide receiver injuries, which doesn’t help either.

“First of all, I would stay with Hawkins,” Orlovsky said. “Secondly, I think he’s a better pitcher than Jackson Arnold. The ball quickly gets out of his hands. They are not so healthy on the edge. That’s the biggest problem. And Coach Venables believes they need to be more focused on defense than who plays quarterback.”

Hawkins completed 6 of 10 passes for 51 yards in the first half in addition to his 19 rushing yards in the first half. However, he also lost a fumble as Oklahoma committed two turnovers as a team and fell behind 21-3 heading into the halftime locker room.