NORMAN - Oklahoma got back in the win column Saturday night, but the performance hardly erased the unease that has started to build around the Sooners.
OU beat New Mexico 14-6, yet the offense again sputtered, the quarterback play remained shaky and the road ahead only gets tougher with Georgia waiting next week. After a loss at Michigan, this was supposed to be the reset. Instead, it was more of a mixed bag with some real warning signs.
John Mateer’s night was uneven from the start. The Oklahoma quarterback finished 19 of 25 for 238 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while adding 17 yards on 10 carries.
One of the picks was mostly on Parker Livingstone, who blew his block on a screen to Xavier Robinson and left Mateer throwing into trouble. But the first interception was on Mateer, and he also had another first-half throw that nearly got picked.
If the Sooners had a better option behind him, Mateer might have watched more of this game from the sideline. He needs to be better, even if the struggles around him are not all his fault. The offensive line has been inconsistent, the running backs have not given the offense much, and the receivers outside the tight ends have not produced the kind of explosive plays this group was expected to deliver.
That lack of rhythm showed up in the play calling, too. Ben Arbuckle earned a D+ because Oklahoma never really got the run game going despite talking all week about leaning on the tailbacks.
By halftime, OU’s backs had 12 carries to Mateer’s seven. By the end, the Sooners’ tailbacks had only 20 carries, with Mateer at 10.
If the goal is to establish balance, the offensive coordinator has to call it in a way that makes that possible.
There were also a few head-scratching sequences. Late in the first half, Oklahoma had the ball at the New Mexico 23 with time winding down and no timeouts left.
Rather than taking a shot at the end zone, Arbuckle called Robinson up the middle for no gain. That forced Mateer to spike it and set up a 41-yard field goal attempt that was missed.
Then there was a third-and-2 late in the third quarter, when Oklahoma needed just a short gain but instead asked Mateer to throw long across the field to Isaiah Sategna III. The pass came behind him. It was the kind of decision that leaves you asking why the ball was traveling 10 yards farther than it needed to.
The bright spot on offense was the tight end group, which earned an A. Hayden Hansen caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, his first as a Sooner, while Rocky Beers added two catches for 34 yards.
Every pass thrown to the tight ends was caught, and they were easily the most reliable part of the passing game. They also look like they need a bigger role.
On defense, Oklahoma again looked the part of a unit that can carry the team. The Sooners got an A there after holding New Mexico to 186 total yards. That number matters even with Georgia looming, because the Lobos came in with some expectations of their own as a Group of Six team that could make a College Football Playoff run.
The tackling was noticeably better than it was against Michigan or even in the opener against UTEP, which earned a B. The Sooners were much more secure bringing ballcarriers down, especially against the run.
New Mexico managed only 69 rushing yards on 38 carries. It wasn’t flawless, but it was a clear step forward.
Coverage, though, was a different story. That part of the defense got a C-.
Several New Mexico pass catchers found space, and tight end Cade Keith had the most glaring example when he got behind Markel Ford midway through the second quarter. That 40-yard catch put the Lobos in the red zone and led to a field goal.
What kept the defense’s overall grade high was the way it handled bad situations. The quick-change defense earned an A because it kept bailing out an offense that kept handing over difficult fields.
After Mateer’s first interception gave New Mexico the ball at the OU 37, the defense pushed the Lobos back four yards and forced a punt. After the second interception, which gave New Mexico the ball at the OU 22, the Sooners again forced the Lobos backward, and they ended up settling for a long field goal.
Late in the game, with Oklahoma up eight, the defense forced a turnover on downs and let the offense run out the clock.
“The defense continued to respond all night,” Brent Venables said.
Special teams did not have a clean night. That unit got a D+.
Tate Sandell missed a field goal before halftime. Sategna muffed a punt that New Mexico recovered.
The punt return game was shaky throughout, with Sategna looking uncomfortable. Grayson Miller shanked a punt that fortunately rolled long, and he also handled a snap in the end zone that could have turned into a disaster.
The Sooners also held their Senior Day ceremony before SEC play even began, which produced some odd optics. Several of the players honored had only played their second home game as Sooners. Rocky Beers, Hayden Hansen and E’Marion Harris were among those recognized, even though they had only been through one home game before Saturday.
And the pregame fireworks? They did not go smoothly either.
Sparklers placed on flags carried across the field by cheerleaders fell off and bounced around the turf as players and coaches were running out. The only reason that moment did not get a failing grade was because nobody appeared to be hurt.
It was that kind of night for Oklahoma: a win on the scoreboard, but plenty of rough edges everywhere else.
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Ahead of a matchup that already carries plenty of weight, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made sure to put Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables in the conversation for all the right reasons. Smart pointed to Venables reputation as a top-tier defensive mind and the history between the two coaches from Venables Clemson days, a reminder that this meeting is as much about elite game-planning as it is about the records each team brings in.
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