Oklahoma’s trip to New Mexico arrives with a lot more riding on it than a typical nonconference tune-up. The Sooners are still heavy favorites, but the conversation around this team has shifted fast after the mess in Ann Arbor, where John Mateer’s latest rough outing turned into a bigger question about how he handles pressure, mistakes and the noise that comes with them.
Mateer is hearing the kind of chatter Oklahoma quarterbacks know all too well. The source of the frustration isn’t complicated: he threw the back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter that set up Michigan’s game-winning touchdown, and he also was part of a stretch that left points on the field earlier in the game.
Parker Livingstone’s fumble in plus territory only made the damage worse, while a play before that looked like a Mateer fumble before officials ruled it a forward pass. The Sooners had chances, and they let them slip.
That’s why this game is about more than just shaking off last week. Oklahoma needs cleaner football, period.
The talent gap should still be enough for the Sooners to beat New Mexico by a couple of scores, but that only happens if they stop handing out openings. Against a Lobos defense that can be aggressive but has also been leaky, giving the ball away would be the easiest way to keep things tight.
The offense, though, is the part that needs the most repair. Oklahoma went away from the run too early against Michigan and paid for it.
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said there were plenty of RPO calls where Mateer made the right read and chose the pass, but too many of those throws simply didn’t connect. If that’s the shape of the night again, the Sooners need to simplify things and lean into straight runs instead of leaving so much on Mateer’s shoulders.
That means more work for Lloyd Avant and Xavier Robinson, and it also means the line has to do a better job of creating space. Michael Fasusi is expected to be out again, which puts Ryan Fodje back at left tackle.
He needs to hold up, and so does the rest of the front. Arbuckle does, too.
Last week’s game plan raised plenty of eyebrows, and Oklahoma can’t afford another one like it.
There’s no quick fix here. The Sooners aren’t going to solve all of their offensive problems against New Mexico, and nobody should expect that. But some consistency has to start somewhere, and Saturday night is the next chance to find it.
The defense has its own issues to clean up, even if it hasn’t been the main culprit. Oklahoma’s tackling was sloppy in the first half against UTEP, and that carried over into last week.
Per Pro Football Focus, the Sooners missed 15 tackles against the Miners, then 21 against Michigan. With veteran linebacker Kip Lewis out, a defense that is already breaking in some new pieces has to settle in before next week’s road trip to face No.
2 Georgia.
The Sooners also need their skill players to step up after Trell Harris’ injury. If the offense protects Mateer, the line holds up, and Oklahoma keeps generating explosive plays the way it has in two games, the Sooners should be able to take advantage of a New Mexico defense that ranks 125th of 138 nationally in defensive explosiveness allowed. New Mexico has played Central Michigan and Mercyhurst, but the numbers still tell the story: there are plays to be made there.
For Oklahoma, the formula is pretty plain. Protect the football.
Run it better. Tackle cleaner.
And give this offense a chance to steady itself before the schedule gets a lot tougher.
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