New OU Coach Smokes Easter Brisket That Doesn’t Trigger PTSD…

I hope everyone had a fun, festive, and not-too-soggy Easter.

Maybe it’s because I’m not religious and think searching for candy-filled eggs hidden by a giant bunny to honor a peaceful zombie who rose from the dead over two thousand years ago is a bit odd, but Easter's probably my least favorite of all the big candy holidays.

At least with Halloween, you can have fun; Christmas, you can get presents; and Valentine’s Day, you can get laid; but with Easter, all you get are bad seats at church, a couple of stale jelly beans, and that annoying green plastic grass stuck in your carpet until Labor Day.

Good luck cleaning that up over the next couple of years.

Although Easter isn’t my favorite holiday, one new tradition I can get behind is OU fans using it as an annual excuse to troll local sports Judas Lincoln Riley.

In case you forgot, on Easter weekend of 2021, the former Sooner coach infamously shared a photo of a sad brisket he allegedly smoked for the family. The hunk of cow flesh looked about as juicy and tender as a deflated football, and—alongside his ever-diminishing returns on the field—was one of the first signs that maybe Lincoln wasn’t built for the Sooner State:

You know what happened next.

Although OU fans, media, and insiders initially rushed to defend the brisket—“Put some sauce on it and I bet it’s just fine!”—once Lincoln bolted for the West Coast, the seasoning changed.

What was once a forgettable bad food pic quickly became a digital rallying cry for Sooner fans from all over—a charred, leathery symbol of betrayal that they used to bond with each other and roast their former coach into hickory-smoked oblivion.

And apparently, it’s not just the fans who are in on the joke.

This past Easter weekend, new Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle—the 20-something coach Brent Venables brought in to save his job and the program—decided to celebrate the holiday by smoking up his own Easter brisket.

As part of an apparent effort to connect with the fanbase, win over the community, and casually throw some mesquite-flavored shade at a certain former coach, he shared pics of the final product on social media.

The results? A barked-up, beautifully smoked brisket that would make any BBQ lover outside of Los Angeles salivate:

Screw Rudy’s—it’s time they start filming the OU Coaches Show on Ben Arbuckle’s back patio!

Seriously, I’m not just saying this as an OU fan, but that meat appears legit.

Unlike Lincoln’s try, which looked like someone accidentally tossed Red Grange’s helmet onto a pellet grill for 18 hours, Arbuckle’s brisket was juicy, glistening, and had just the right amount of bark and smoke ring. You could practically taste the redemption.

Anyway, I have no clue if Ben Arbuckle will end up being the next Seth Littrell or turn into another Lincoln Riley in disguise, but after that tweet, he'll always have a soft, tender, and very juicy spot in my heart.

OU fans—myself included—will inevitably complain about his play calling, scream for his job following the first three-and-out, and pout into the void when he eventually jumps ship for a better gig. But one thing we’ll never complain about?

His brisket.

And in Oklahoma, that’s almost as important as winning.

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.