Ben Arbuckle’s best day as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator may have come with a much simpler blueprint: get the Sooners out of the way and let the run game do the heavy lifting.
That approach paid off in Starkville, where Oklahoma walked out with a 23-15 win over Mississippi State on Saturday and moved to 4-3. The result came with the Sooners already past the midpoint of the season, and it was the clearest sign yet that Arbuckle may have found a formula that actually fits this team.
The numbers backed it up. Oklahoma scored more points against a Power 4 opponent than it had all season and finished with a season-high 467 yards, which also marked the most the Sooners have ever produced in an SEC game. Their 97-yard touchdown drive late in the first half stood out even more, becoming OU’s longest possession since 2022, back when the program was still in the Big 12.
And if Tate Sandell had cashed in on the three field goals he missed, the Sooners would have posted their highest point total against an SEC opponent in three years in the league without needing a defensive or special teams score to pad it.
For a team that has spent much of the season feeling like its offense was working against it, Saturday looked different from the opening series. Oklahoma committed to the ground game right away, and that changed everything for quarterback John Mateer. Instead of asking him to constantly create under pressure, the Sooners let the backs carry the workload and took some of the chaos out of the game.
Mateer benefited from that structure. He wasn’t hanging onto the ball and waiting for a miracle play to develop.
If nothing was there, he scrambled for what he could get or threw it away. Because Oklahoma wasn’t constantly behind the chains or chasing the scoreboard, he never had to force the issue.
The result was no turnovers and just one sack allowed.
“It felt good,” Mateer said during his postgame interview with SEC Network. “You prepare all week, and you’re in the dark to come out here and play free, and I felt that way. The guys did a really good job.”
When the Sooners did ask Mateer to deliver, he was efficient. He completed 76% of his 29 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns, with no turnovers. He also added 37 rushing yards, though this time his legs were more of a supplement than the centerpiece.
That shift showed up in the backfield production. Oklahoma’s running backs piled up 125 of the team’s season-high 184 rushing yards and handled 27 of its 41 carries. It was the first time since Week 1 against UTEP that Mateer did not lead the team in rushing attempts.
Tory Blaylock paced the group with 71 yards on 12 carries, while Lloyd Avant still had the most work with 13 rushing attempts for 55 yards. Wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III also chipped in 24 yards on three carries.
With Brent Venables’ defense backing it up, Oklahoma’s offense doesn’t need to become the star of the show. It just needs to stay out of the way. On Saturday, it finally did.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's Defense Gets A Serious Warning Before Mississippi State
Mississippi State brings a very different kind of test into the matchup, one built around a veer-and-shoot offense that leans on numbers in the run game and works in run-pass options when the look is right. For Oklahomas defense, that means the assignment is less about one dramatic wrinkle and more about staying disciplined snap after snap, keeping the front sound and making sure the Bulldogs dont turn the ground game into easy yards.
The tempo and pace also raise the pressure on the Sooners to communicate cleanly and line up correctly before the ball is snapped. If Oklahoma can stay connected and execute consistently, it can force Mississippi State to work longer drives and avoid the kind of explosive plays that make this offense so difficult to contain. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Finally Got The Formula Right But One Problem Wont Go Away
For one Saturday in Starkville, Oklahoma looked a lot more like the team it expected to be when it entered SEC play. The Sooners beat Mississippi State 23-15 at Davis Wade Stadium, moved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the league, and finally put together the kind of clean offensive and defensive showing that has been too rare this fall. John Mateer set the tone with 283 passing yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers, and Oklahomas defense did enough to keep Mississippi State under control for most of the afternoon.
Still, the win did not come without another familiar concern hanging over it. The Sooners left points on the field with missed field goals by Sandell, a reminder that even when the broader formula works, the margins remain too tight for comfort. Oklahoma got the result it needed and some much-needed traction in conference play, but the lingering issue is whether it can keep that balance intact when the pressure rises again. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Suddenly Has A Kicker Debate Fans Cant Ignore
Brent Venables didnt sound like a coach looking to open a kicking competition after Oklahomas narrow game against Mississippi State. Even with Tate Sandell missing three of six field goal attempts, Venables publicly backed the kicker and made it clear he still trusts him in the role as the Sooners work through a tense early-season stretch.
Sandells rough night is hard to ignore because Oklahoma has already shown how every point matters in games like this, and special teams can quickly become a pressure point when margins are slim. Venables confidence may calm things for now, but it also sets up the next few practices and games as the place where the discussion either fades or gets much louder. [Read more 🡒]