Oklahoma’s offense doesn’t need a makeover so much as it needs a ground game that forces defenses to think twice.
That was the glaring issue all through the 2025 season. The Sooners simply didn’t run it well enough, and that weakness sat at the center of an offense that never quite found its footing.
Oklahoma finished No. 113 nationally in rushing yards per game at 118.5, and no Sooners back cracked 500 yards on the season. In fact, only Tory Blaylock, Xavier Robinson and quarterback John Mateer got past 70 rushing yards.
That kind of production is why the run game has become such a priority heading into 2026.
There are reasons for optimism. Oklahoma is bringing back four of five starters on the offensive line, and the team’s top three rushers from last season are also back. Add in a reworked tight end room, and the Sooners have a chance to be better at the point of attack in a real way.
On3’s J.D. PicKell sees that as the key to unlocking the offense.
"The running game was bad," PicKell said. "You know that, I know that, Oklahoma knows that.
Is there any chance that the Oklahoma run game stays as bad as it was a year ago? I don't think so.
That would shock all of us. Take it a step further, if Oklahoma were just balanced offensively.
I don't need, like, 200 yards on the ground; I just mean, like, can we do one thing offensively to demand one high safety? To make opposing defenses put somebody else in the box?
That would feel like a win to me."
That’s the real bar for Oklahoma. It doesn’t have to turn into a bulldozing, run-first machine.
It just needs to be credible enough that defenses can’t ignore it. If the Sooners can get there, Mateer and the passing game should have more room to operate, and the offense as a whole becomes much tougher to defend in the SEC.
And if the line, backs and tight ends all do their part, Oklahoma could finally have the balance to match what should be one of the best defenses in college football.
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Jake Kreul arrived in Norman with the kind of profile that usually buys a little time, even for a top-ranked signee. The 4-star edge rusher from IMG Academy signed with Oklahoma in December after a strong high school run, and the expectation around him has been clear from the start: he is not being treated like a long-term project, but as a player who could matter right away on the defensive line.
That is what makes his spring so interesting for the Sooners, because the usual freshman edge-rusher timeline in Norman has not always been a fast one. Oklahomas staff and teammates have been upbeat about Kreuls readiness and potential, and he has already drawn notice for how advanced he looks for a first-year player. The only real question now is how much of that confidence turns into snaps once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Bob Stoops Kept These Oklahoma Stars Home And One Still Stands Out
Bob Stoops built plenty of Oklahoma teams with national reach, but some of his most memorable roster wins came much closer to home. He kept elite in-state talent from leaving, and the list runs through names Sooners fans still know well: Sam Bradford out of Putnam City North, Ryan Broyles from Norman High, Teddy Lehman, Gerald McCoy and Jason White from Tuttle, each one arriving with a different path and leaving with a bigger legacy.
Whites place in that group still stands out because he became a Heisman winner and a centerpiece of one of Stoops best eras, a reminder of how much the Sooners gained by protecting their borders. Bradford turned into a program-changing quarterback, Broyles became one of the most productive receivers in school history, Lehman was a tone-setting linebacker and McCoy grew into a dominant force inside, all of them proof that the best Oklahoma recruiting story under Stoops was often the one that never had to leave the state. [Read more 🡒]