Oklahoma left Athens with a 41-13 beating from No. 2 Georgia, and the box score didn’t do much to soften the blow.
The Sooners are now 2-2 in 2026, and the bye week arrives with the Red River Rivalry against No. 1 Texas looming next.
Even in a lopsided loss like that, though, a few things stood out for OU - both good and bad.
The biggest positive came from the secondary. Oklahoma’s defensive backs did a solid job on Gunner Stockton, one of the better quarterbacks they’ll see all year.
Stockton came in as a fifth-year senior with 22 starts and plenty of big-game experience, but OU held him to a season-low 56% completion rate. He finished 14 of 25 for 171 yards and a touchdown, and safety Omarion Robinson picked off one of his passes.
The Sooners also kept Stockton from doing damage on the ground. After rushing for 97 yards against Arkansas a week earlier, he didn’t gain a single yard against Oklahoma.
That matters for a defense that will have to keep facing elite quarterbacks this season. With an offense that isn’t built to win shootouts, the secondary needs to do its part, and on Saturday it did.
The flip side of the game belonged to John Mateer, who had a brutal afternoon. There’s a strong argument that he’s never had a worse day on a football field.
His final line still looked respectable: 73.5% completions, 231 passing yards and two touchdowns. But the three turnovers told the real story.
After guiding OU deep into Georgia territory and reaching the two-yard line, Mateer lost the ball while trying to throw to an open receiver in the end zone. Georgia linebacker Chris Cole scooped it up and went 85 yards the other way.
On the next possession, Mateer threw an interception on an underthrown pass. Then he coughed it up again on the drive after that while scrambling and not protecting the ball.
Suddenly, a chance to make it 14-7 turned into a 28-0 hole by halftime.
Cole was one of Georgia’s clear winners, even if he didn’t have to make a spectacular individual play to get there. He was simply in the right place every time Mateer handed the Bulldogs a gift. On the first score, he was there when the ball slipped free and had nothing but open field in front of him for the 85-yard return.
Then, two possessions later, Cole forced Mateer toward the sideline. Raylen Wilson helped finish the play, Mateer lost the ball again, and Cole was there once more to recover it and return it 23 yards for excellent field position.
On the Oklahoma sideline, the offensive line was another problem area. Bill Bedenbaugh’s unit didn’t hold up, and the Sooners paid for it.
Mateer was sacked three times and had to escape pressure repeatedly just to get rid of the ball. The run game was even worse, with Oklahoma averaging only 1.9 yards per carry.
That’s one of the worst rushing attacks in college football, and only Arkansas has a worse Power 4 run game in 2026.
The larger issue is obvious: this offense isn’t going anywhere until the line improves. Mateer can’t be asked to rescue everything, and when he has to force plays, mistakes are going to keep piling up.
There was at least one encouraging note at receiver. With Isaiah Sategna carrying too much of the load and Trell Harris not coming back anytime soon, Oklahoma needs somebody else to emerge. Sophomore Manny Choice gave the Sooners a reason to look his way.
Choice played a career-high 19 snaps against Georgia, and while his role was still limited, he made it count. His only target went for a 14-yard touchdown, the first score of his career. Parker Livingstone and Elijah Thomas still haven’t broken through, so Choice may have earned himself a longer look after actually turning his opportunity into points.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Made A Venables Decision Fans May Regret Fast
Oklahoma moved to lock in Brent Venables well before the 2026 season, extending the football coachs contract through 2031 and giving him a significant salary increase. It was a clear sign the program still believes in the direction Venables is trying to build, even as the Sooners sit at 2-2 and try to steady themselves against a difficult schedule.
The timing is what makes the decision feel so loaded. If Oklahoma stumbles into a losing season, the contract becomes more than a vote of confidence - it turns into a financial commitment that would make any midstream reset far more complicated, and far more expensive, than it would have been before the extension. [Read more 🡒]
Porter Mosers Staff Just Added A Familiar Face And A Key Role
Oklahoma mens basketball has quietly filled out its staff with a pair of additions that should feel useful in different ways. Porter Moser brought in Greenman as both an assistant coach and director of player development, adding someone with coaching experience in the NBA, the G League, the WNBA and at Northwestern. The Sooners also hired Sam Godwin as assistant director of basketball operations, giving the program another hand in the day-to-day work that keeps a roster and staff moving.
For Oklahoma, the Greenman hire brings another basketball voice into the room, while Godwins return adds a familiar face with a direct connection to the program. Former Sooners players often bring a useful blend of institutional memory and practical support when they come back in off the floor, and Godwin steps into a role that can matter just as much behind the scenes. It is the kind of staff tweak that does not grab headlines for long, but can say plenty about how Moser wants the operation to function. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Fans May Not Like What This Bye Week Really Means
The bye week arrives with Oklahoma at 2-2 and searching for answers on an offense that has looked too uneven to trust. Brent Venables has been clear that the pieces are there for improvement, but the Sooners have not yet put it together, and the issues go well beyond a simple tweak in the playbook. Ben Arbuckle's plan against Georgia showed some signs of life, yet turnovers and shaky offensive line play kept it from turning into anything sustainable.
For Oklahoma, this pause is less about resting up and more about confronting the uncomfortable realities that have slowed the season. The quarterback room is still learning on the job, and the line has not consistently protected the passer or created room in the run game, which leaves the offense fighting uphill on nearly every series. A bye week can help clean up details, but it can only do so much when the larger problems are still sitting there in plain view. [Read more 🡒]