With Oklahoma’s offense already under the microscope in its mid-season report card, the defense and special teams are the units that tell the sharper story right now. The Sooners enter Saturday’s game against Mississippi State (2:30 p.m., SEC Network) ranked No. 5 in FBS in total defense at 260.7 yards per game, and the numbers back up what’s been on display: this group has been mostly excellent.
The defensive line has been one of the sturdier pieces. Taylor Wein and Adepoju Adebawore have held up on the edges, while Jayden Jackson and David Stone have given Oklahoma a solid interior presence.
The Sooners are sitting in the top 15 nationally in sacks with 3.0 per game, and freshman edge rusher Jake Kreul is the current sack leader with three, including 2.5 in the loss to Kentucky. Wein, after some uncharacteristic missed tackles in the opener, has settled in nicely.
Trent Wilson and Bishop Thomas have also helped provide depth inside.
That said, there are still a couple of gray areas up front. Danny Saili and Braxton Fely were expected to help sooner after joining the roster late, but they haven’t made much of an impact yet.
That’s not exactly shocking given how demanding Brent Venables’ system is, especially on a compressed timeline. Jackson and Stone haven’t been bad, but neither has filled the stat sheet in a way that jumps off the page.
At linebacker, Oklahoma has cleaned up some early tackling issues and looks much steadier over the last four games. Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke have driven that improvement.
Lewis missed time after getting hurt against Michigan, then came back and has been excellent. Heinecke briefly got banged up against Georgia but has stayed solid and leads the Sooners with 44 tackles.
No other OU defender has more than 29.
Depth remains the concern in that room. Heinecke has played 274 snaps and Lewis 205, which tells you how heavily Oklahoma has leaned on them lately.
Cole Sullivan has been dealing with injuries, and even when available, he hasn’t been a steady force. James Nesta started in Lewis’ place against New Mexico, but he has played only two defensive snaps in each of the last two games.
The secondary has given Oklahoma another strong layer, even if injuries have forced some shuffling. Safety Peyton Bowen has the highest Pro Football Focus grade among OU defensive regulars at 81.4, and his defining play so far was the interception return for a touchdown against Texas.
Courtland Guillory added the late pick in that same game, setting up the game-winning field goal. Over the past two games, sophomore Trystan Haynes has done a solid job filling in for injured Eli Bowen.
Through this point, opponents have averaged just 151.3 passing yards per game against Oklahoma, sixth best in FBS.
Still, the back end hasn’t been spotless. The Sooners have surrendered a few big plays, even while making plenty of their own.
Guillory hasn’t looked quite as sharp as he did as a freshman last year, though that may also reflect how opponents have attacked him. Injuries have been the bigger issue overall, with Michael Boganowski and Eli Bowen missing time and reserve corner Jacobe Johnson sidelined after getting hurt against Georgia.
Outside of the two Texas interceptions, Omarion Robinson is the only other Sooner with a pick.
Special teams has its own story, and it’s tied closely to the season’s biggest moment so far. The Texas win stands as the midpoint highlight, and special teams played a major role in it.
Doug Deakin and Stephen Copeland designed a punt block that landed exactly as planned, Tate Sandell steadied himself after a rough stretch to make two second-half field goals, and the second one - a 47-yarder - proved to be the winner. Isaiah Sategna, who had come close to breaking one last season, finally delivered with an 88-yard punt return touchdown.
That unit has also had its share of blemishes. Sandell, after an historic season last year, missed three straight field-goal attempts before connecting on those final two kicks against Texas.
Sategna’s punt-return fumble against New Mexico handed the Lobos the ball at the Oklahoma 39 in the first quarter of that game. The Sooners have also dealt with a handful of special teams penalties.
And for the second year in a row, they changed punters early, though both Grayson Miller and Jacob Ulrich have been effective. The ugliest moment came on the fake field goal against Kentucky, when Ulrich threw an interception.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Faces A Frightening Sean Hutton Situation After Practice
A frightening scene unfolded at Oklahoma practice when sophomore offensive lineman Sean Hutton collapsed during a non-contact incident and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The university confirmed the incident but did not identify Hutton by name, leaving the focus squarely on the young linemans health as the Sooners tried to sort through what happened.
Sean Huttons father, JD Hutton, later provided some detail on the situation and said he had been in contact with Oklahomas coaches and trainers. For a team that has already spent the fall dealing with the usual grind of camp and roster battles, the priority now is simply getting answers and making sure Hutton is taken care of, with more clarity still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Heads To Mississippi State With One Major Line Concern
Oklahoma heads into its road trip to Mississippi State with the kind of injury report that can make a staff hold its breath, especially along the offensive front. The Sooners listed 13 players on the report, and four of them are linemen, which puts extra attention on a unit that already shapes everything from pass protection to the run game.
Michael Fasusi, the star left tackle, is questionable to return after suffering a shoulder injury, while Ryan Fodje and Eddy Pierre-Louis have already been ruled out. Mississippi State has its own uncertainty with quarterback Kamario Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell both listed as questionable, but for Oklahoma the bigger issue is clear: how well the line can hold together before a tough SEC road test. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Sarkisian Problem Oklahoma Fans Will Love
Steve Sarkisian entered the season with Texas looking like a team that could steady the pressure around its program, but the last two weeks have changed the tone around Austin quickly. After opening 4-0, the Longhorns have stumbled into consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Florida, and the frustration is starting to show even with the contract extension he signed in January 2025. For Oklahoma fans, the sight of Texas suddenly having to answer bigger questions about its coach is the kind of development that never goes unnoticed.
Now Texas has to turn the page to Ole Miss with the spotlight still fixed on Sarkisian and the direction of the program. He has already committed to Arch Manning as the starting quarterback, but the broader concern is whether the Longhorns can settle things down before the noise around his job security gets louder. Around these parts, any sign of instability in Austin tends to draw attention in a hurry, especially when it arrives this early in the season. [Read more 🡒]