Oklahoma’s offense spent much of the first half of the season looking for something it could trust. For one afternoon in Starkville, the Sooners may have found it.
The numbers from last weekend’s road win over Mississippi State were the kind that get a staff’s attention: 467 total yards, with 283 through the air and 184 on the ground. Both were season highs for OU, and the balance of it all gave the offense a shape it hadn’t consistently shown before under Ben Arbuckle.
Quarterback John Mateer said it plainly: “We were really efficient,”
That efficiency started with the run game doing enough to matter. Arbuckle stayed with it, the Bulldogs had to respect it, and that opened space for Mateer to operate without having to carry the whole thing by himself. The result was one of his cleanest outings as a Sooner - 22 completions on 29 attempts, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Brent Venables liked what he saw from the game plan, but he’s looking for more of the same, not a one-off. With five games left, he wants the offense to keep stacking small gains if Oklahoma is going to make any kind of late push.
“They’ve just kept their head down, are figuring things out and managing some of the obstacles that they've had to go through, both in personnel and some tough moments,” Venables said. “And then just making some incremental improvement, like they have here the last three weeks.”
Mateer’s recent stretch has been a big part of that gradual climb. Since the bye week, the fifth-year quarterback has looked steadier and sharper, starting with a clean performance and a game-winning drive against Texas. He followed that with some of his best football for three quarters against Kentucky, then stayed turnover-free again against Mississippi State.
Over that span, he’s been more efficient than Alabama’s Keelon Russell and Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, and he ranks seventh in passer rating in the SEC during that stretch.
Arbuckle said Mateer handled the moment the right way against Mississippi State.
“I thought what he did such a good job of the other day,” Arbuckle said, “was making the play whenever it had to be made. Then taking the easy stuff that went with it, too.
Not trying to do too much. Not trying to do too little.”
The ground game may have found a new focal point, too. Tory Blaylock entered the game with just 45 rushing yards, then turned 12 carries into a team-high 71 yards. It was his best rushing output since he ran for 101 at South Carolina last season.
Even with the yardage totals, Oklahoma still left points on the field. The Sooners settled for field goals too often, and Tate Sandell - the reigning Lou Groza Award winner - missed three of them.
That’s been a problem. After leading the nation in red-zone scoring percentage a year ago, Oklahoma has fallen to 113th in that category this season. Arbuckle didn’t mince words about what needs to change.
“Touchdowns win in this league,” Arbuckle said. “At the end of the day, watching the film, it was more us not them on self-afflicted things.
Whether it was a chop block penalty, or we had a touchdown, then we didn’t. Just little things like that, that we control.
That we dictate the outcome of.
“That’s the difference in four points and really the difference in eight points, if you talk about those two specific situations right there. So we gotta get out of our own way.”
The Sooners do have playmakers to build around. Isaiah Sategna III has 41 catches for 578 yards, which ranks seventh in the SEC, along with three touchdowns.
Tight end Rocky Beers leads SEC tight ends with 395 receiving yards and four scores. Manny Choice has also shown he can make things happen when Mateer looks his way.
Venables would like to see the ball spread around more, though, especially as the offense continues to settle into itself.
“It serves our offense well to get more guys involved,” Venables said. “And some of it's been just health, overall health, and some of it's just been trying to get into the continuity of where we are going into Week 9.
A week ago, Manny did a great job against Kentucky. And then doesn't do a whole lot.
He was open a couple of times, but we threw the ball elsewhere.
“So some of that is just a timing standpoint and game plan standpoint. But we need more guys involved without question, to develop the depth there.”
Oklahoma’s offense still isn’t where it wants to be by any broad measure. But the trend line is pointing up, and the staff is starting to sort out what this roster can actually hang its hat on.
With five winnable games left if the Sooners keep leaning into that formula, Arbuckle and the offense are under real pressure to keep it going. Venables said the next step is simple: figure out the identity, then stick with it.
“It's a players game so you start to figure out what those identities - what it is, what you can quote-unquote hang your hat on,” Venables said. “Once we've gotten into the season and coaches for the first time got some of their experience in the SEC to figure out what do we need to do to have an opportunity to win (each) week.”
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