Oklahoma’s first month of 2026 has been a split-screen story.
The Sooners are 2-2 after four games, with wins over UTEP and New Mexico and losses to Michigan and Georgia. They head into a bye week with No. 1 Texas waiting next, and after that comes a brutal run of seven straight SEC opponents to close the regular season.
The defense has carried most of the load so far. The offense? It hasn’t settled in since the 51-0 blowout of UTEP in Week 1.
Start with the headline number on defense: Oklahoma is giving up only 122.5 yards per game, which leads the SEC. Georgia’s Gunner Stockton turned in the biggest passing day against the Sooners’ secondary, but even he finished with relatively modest numbers - 171 yards, a touchdown and an interception. OU’s back end hasn’t been flawless, but it has made life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
Peyton Bowen has been the top-graded defensive player on the roster, according to Pro Football Focus, with an 84.9 mark. That’s the best grade Bowen has posted at Oklahoma. As a junior in 2025, he earned a 78.6 defensive grade from PFF.
There have been bright spots on offense, too, but they’ve mostly come in isolated bursts. Oklahoma’s tight ends have already combined for three touchdown catches in four weeks.
Rocky Beers scored against UTEP and added another against Georgia, while Hayden Hansen caught one of the Sooners’ only two touchdowns in the 14-6 win over New Mexico. For comparison, Kaden Helms was the only tight end to catch a touchdown last season, and that came in OU’s rout of Kent State.
Still, the Sooners need more disruption from the secondary. Omarion Robinson has OU’s lone interception, picking off a pass in the second half of the 41-13 loss to Georgia. Oklahoma struggled to generate takeaways last year, and with the offense sputtering early in 2026, those hidden possessions matter even more.
The biggest issue on offense has been a lack of efficiency on third down. Oklahoma has converted just 34 percent of its chances, a figure that ranks 14th in the SEC and ahead of only Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Even teams like South Carolina and Texas A&M are converting at a better rate.
The line has been part of the problem. Oklahoma’s offensive front has slipped from where it was in 2025, and the 44 pressures allowed tell that story. Quarterback John Mateer has made plenty of mistakes on his own, but he hasn’t gotten much help up front.
Mateer’s turnover numbers have been ugly: six in four games. As a team, Oklahoma has coughed it up 10 times, and opponents have turned 27 of their 64 points into scoring off those giveaways.
The ground game hasn’t found traction either. Oklahoma’s tailbacks are averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, and the Sooners have only two rushing touchdowns all season. Both came in that opener against UTEP.
Even on a defense that has generally played well, tackling has been a problem. Oklahoma has missed 49 tackles through four games, with Owen Heinecke leading the team with 10. There was at least some improvement against Georgia, where the Sooners missed only four tackles.
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What makes Jacksons start even more valuable is the timing. Oklahoma has been good on that side of the ball, but the missed tackles have been hard to ignore, with 49 of them over the first four games, and that leaves plenty of room for the Sooners to tighten things up. Senior captain Kip Lewis has pointed to Jacksons consistency and leadership as part of that process, and for a defense still chasing cleaner execution, having a player in the interior who keeps showing up the same way every week matters. [Read more 🡒]