Oklahoma gets another shot at something it has not managed yet this season: winning two straight.
The Sooners are 4-3 after a road win over Mississippi State, and that snapped one of a familiar pattern. Three times already this year, OU has followed a victory with a loss. Brent Venables said the point now is to build something steadier.
"You want to have a program, a team that's consistent," OU coach Brent Venables said afterward.
That challenge comes with South Carolina in Norman on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Gamecocks arrive with some heat of their own after an emotional upset of then-No.
11 Tennessee. They had already beaten then-No.
16 Florida on the road on Oct. 10, giving Shane Beamer and his team back-to-back SEC wins after an 0-3 start in conference play.
Beamer, of course, knows OU well. He coached the Sooners’ tight ends from 2018-20 under Lincoln Riley. And the last time South Carolina played in Norman, in 2024, the Gamecocks walked out with a 35-9 win.
Here’s the setup for Saturday:
Oklahoma vs South Carolina
When: 3:15 p.m., Saturday
Where: Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
TV channel: SEC Network
Line: Sooners by 4.5
Over/under: 44.5 points
South Carolina brings a roster loaded with explosive athletes. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers had a strong 2024 season, then hit some rough patches last year and early this season, but he flashed what makes him such a problem Saturday against Tennessee with a 4-yard touchdown run that turned heads.
Nyck Harbor is always a danger to break something big. On defense, Dylan Stewart has been a problem for opposing offenses, piling up two sacks and forcing three fumbles in four games.
There’s a simple path for the Gamecocks: keep Sellers away from costly mistakes and let the defense go after John Mateer. With the way South Carolina has played lately, that’s enough to make things interesting on the road.
OU’s answer starts with Mateer. If he plays the way he did against Mississippi State, the Sooners should be in good shape.
He did not have to be flashy in that game, just efficient. With OU’s defense doing the heavy lifting, the Sooners need Mateer to stay smart and clean with the ball.
Tate Sandell also figures to matter more this week, and OU will likely need better production from the kicker.
In Other News...
Sooners Suddenly Have A Real Path Back Into The Top 25
A win over Mississippi State gave Oklahoma a needed jolt in Week 8, and the ripple effect around the rest of college football could make the Sooners road back into the AP Top 25 a little more realistic. The weekends results shuffled the landscape in a way that mattered well beyond Norman, with several ranked teams taking hits and a few others positioned to rise when the new poll comes out.
That kind of chaos is exactly what Oklahoma needed after its own recent slide. With the poll expected to move again after another round of mixed results nationally, the Sooners suddenly have a path to climb back into the conversation if the teams around them keep stumbling and they keep stacking wins on their own schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Keeps Showing Fight But One Problem Still Wont Go Away
Owen Heinecke gave Oklahoma another snapshot of the grit this team keeps leaning on, playing through illness and still leading the Sooners in tackles during their 23-15 win over Mississippi State. It was the kind of performance that fits the broader tone of the season so far: this group has found ways to answer setbacks, and it has shown enough fight to stay in games and bounce back when things go sideways.
The issue, as coaches and players have made clear, is not toughness. It is consistency. Oklahoma has alternated wins and losses all season, which means every encouraging step seems to come paired with a reminder that the Sooners still have not put together a sustained run, and until they do, they will keep living in the space between resilience and real momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Fasusi Just Changed What Oklahoma Can Be Up Front
Michael Fasusis return gave Oklahoma something it had been missing since Week 1, and the effects showed up quickly in the win over Mississippi State. Back on the offensive line after recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in fall camp, the true freshman All-American looked every bit like a player the Sooners can build around, handling 39 pass-block snaps without allowing pressure and helping steady an offense that needed a cleaner day up front.
Just as important, his presence helped open lanes in the run game and gave Oklahoma a more complete look along the line. The Sooners piled up 184 rushing yards on 41 carries, their best ground output since the previous season, a sign that Fasusis return could change more than just one game plan. For a team trying to establish itself in the trenches, that kind of reinforcement matters, even if the real ceiling of what this line can become is still waiting to be seen. [Read more 🡒]