Oklahoma’s afternoon unraveled fast in Norman, and by the time the fourth quarter was underway, the mood inside Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium had turned sharply against the home team.
South Carolina rolled past the Sooners 42-25 on Saturday, handing Oklahoma its fourth loss of the season and leaving the crowd restless long before the final whistle. The Sooners fell behind 28-10 by halftime and were staring at a 42-16 hole early in the fourth quarter, with chants of “Fire Arbuckle” directed at offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle as the offense sputtered.
The Sooners finished 4-4 overall and 2-3 in SEC play, while South Carolina improved to 5-3 and 3-3 in the league. The Gamecocks piled up 521 yards of offense, compared with 359 for Oklahoma, and the Sooners did most of their damage only after the game had already tilted heavily in South Carolina’s favor.
LaNorris Sellers was the engine of it all. The South Carolina quarterback accounted for five touchdowns, going 19 of 24 for 301 yards, three scores and two interceptions while also rushing for 96 yards and two more touchdowns. He gave the Gamecocks the first punch of the day with a 15-yard scoring run in the opening quarter.
Oklahoma briefly answered and even tied the game early in the second quarter when linebacker Kip Lewis picked off Sellers and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. But that spark didn’t last long. South Carolina answered with a 75-yard drive finished by Christian Clark’s short touchdown run, then Sellers hit DJ Black for an 84-yard touchdown on third-and-12 to make it 21-7.
The Sooners got a 52-yard field goal from Tate Sandell, but South Carolina kept coming. The Gamecocks marched 80 yards in eight plays, and Sellers capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Nyck Harbor with 16 seconds left in the half. That sent Oklahoma into the break down 28-10 after managing only 71 yards of offense in the first half, including 25 passing yards from John Mateer.
Oklahoma’s defense produced another takeaway in the third quarter when Michael Boganowski intercepted Sellers, but the Sooners couldn’t turn it into points. South Carolina then stretched the margin to 35-10 on another Sellers rushing touchdown.
The Sooners finally found the end zone on offense early in the fourth quarter when Mateer connected with Ivan Carreon on a 34-yard touchdown, the first touchdown of Carreon’s college career. The two-point try failed, and the deficit still sat at 19 points.
South Carolina answered immediately. Sellers escaped pressure and found Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 79-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 42-16 with 13:13 left, and fans started heading for the exits as the game slipped away.
Oklahoma added a 34-yard Sandell field goal and later another Mateer-to-Carreon touchdown, this one from 10 yards out, but the late scoring only trimmed the final margin.
Mateer finished 26 of 43 for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Carreon caught five passes for 88 yards and both scores. Bennett finished with four receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Black’s 84-yard grab was one of the biggest plays of the afternoon.
For Oklahoma, the bigger picture was hard to ignore. The offense never found a rhythm for most of the game, and the defense gave up too many explosive plays to stay in it. The loss leaves more questions hanging over the Sooners and head coach Brent Venables after another uneven showing.
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Oklahomas Offensive Collapse Just Raised A Bigger Brent Venables Question
Oklahomas offense never found its footing in the 42-25 loss to South Carolina, and the frustration around the program only deepened as the game wore on. The Sooners were outplayed by a Gamecocks team led by LaNorris Sellers, who carved up the defense through the air and on the ground in one of the more complete performances Oklahoma has faced this season.
Brent Venables was left to answer for the result afterward, but he declined to get into any possible coaching changes in the wake of the defeat. With the offense sputtering and the margin for error shrinking, the bigger concern now is whether this was just a bad night or a sign that Oklahomas issues run much deeper than one loss. [Read more 🡒]
Boganowski Sends Oklahoma A Blunt Message After Defensive Collapse
Michael Boganowski had a milestone moment in Oklahomas 42-25 loss to South Carolina, picking off his first pass as a defensive back, but the play was buried in a rough afternoon for the Sooners defense. The unit missed a season-high 27 tackles and gave up multiple long touchdown passes, turning a breakthrough individual moment into a footnote in a game that slipped away.
Boganowski didnt try to soften the bigger picture afterward, pointing to the defenses poor execution and the need to clean it up quickly with more games ahead. For Oklahoma, the interception offered a small bright spot, but the larger concern is whether the Sooners can turn that kind of effort into something more reliable before the next test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Fans Turned On The Offense As Pressure Mounted Fast
The frustration inside Norman showed up early and never really let go, as Oklahomas offense spent much of the afternoon searching for answers in a 42-25 home loss to South Carolina. The Sooners were booed by their own fans as the pressure mounted, a sharp turn for a team that had hoped to steady itself at home after a rough stretch. John Mateer finished 26 of 43 for 244 yards and two touchdowns, but the production never fully matched the urgency of the moment.
South Carolinas LaNorris Sellers kept the game moving in the other direction, making plays as both a passer and runner while Oklahoma tried to keep pace. The loss marked the Sooners second straight home defeat for the first time since 2024, a troubling note for a team still trying to find its footing in front of its own crowd. The schedule does not offer much breathing room either, with Florida up next on Nov. 7. [Read more 🡒]