Oklahoma’s offense has reached the point where change feels inevitable, and that change is expected to come at coordinator. The Sooners are expected to fire Ben Arbuckle in his second season, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, after another rough showing in a 42-25 home loss to South Carolina on Saturday. Oklahoma managed just three first-half points on offense in that defeat.
Arbuckle arrived in Norman in 2024 as a promising, inventive hire from Washington State, where he helped guide one of college football’s most productive attacks. Oklahoma also brought in starting quarterback John Mateer with him, landing the No. 3 quarterback in the transfer portal that year. The pairing was supposed to jump-start a unit that had been searching for answers.
Instead, the results have gone the other way. After an uneven first season that was complicated by a hand injury to Mateer, the Sooners’ offense has fallen apart in Year 2. Oklahoma ranks No. 15 in the SEC in both total offense and scoring offense, even with defensive and special teams touchdowns helping prop up the scoreboard.
The move would add another chapter to Brent Venables’ ongoing shuffle on offense. Since Jeff Lebby left for Mississippi State, the Sooners’ production has dropped sharply. Venables already fired Seth Littrell seven games into his first season in 2024, and he also dismissed multiple assistant coaches after the 2025 season.
Now Oklahoma is staring at the possibility of its third losing season in five years under Venables, along with a real threat of missing a bowl game for the first time since John Blake’s final season in 1998. The Sooners are 4-4, and the schedule ahead is brutal, with No.
12 Ole Miss, No. 19 Missouri and No.
25 Florida still to come.
Mateer was supposed to be the answer at quarterback after Oklahoma’s problems there in 2024, when the Sooners struggled through the season with five-star starter Jackson Arnold and true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., both of whom transferred out. There were bright spots early in Mateer’s time at Oklahoma, including a game against No. 15 Michigan in 2025 when he threw for 270 yards, rushed for 74 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns.
But since hand surgery a year ago, his play has cratered. Mateer finished last season with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and this year he has 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His rushing has been limited to 1.7 yards per carry, and in a 21-13 loss to Kentucky, he threw one touchdown and three interceptions.
The quarterback change Oklahoma hoped would solve everything has not delivered that kind of fix.
The problems also run well beyond the coordinator’s headset. Arbuckle has struggled to mold the offense into his vision, but the bigger issue has been the line in front of him. Oklahoma’s offensive line has been a mess for much of the last five years, and the damage has only gotten worse.
The Sooners rank No. 131 nationally at 3.2 yards per carry and have scored a nation-worst three rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has Oklahoma as the No. 105 run-blocking unit in the country, behind UTEP. Top offensive lineman Michael Fasusi missed several games, but the unit has been bad regardless.
That leaves Venables facing another major evaluation after the season, including longtime offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. No coordinator is going to thrive with that kind of inconsistency up front.
If Venables is still in place in 2027, the next offensive coordinator search will be a tricky one. Oklahoma would be looking for its sixth new playcaller in six years, and the last two full-time hires were both fired midseason before reaching two full seasons on the job. Since Lebby departed - and Lincoln Riley’s players cycled out - coaching the Sooners’ offense has become a dead-end assignment.
After missing on a young, rising candidate, Venables may be pushed toward a more established name. He continues to run the defense, and the offense has steadily declined under that setup. With the head coach focused on one side of the ball, Oklahoma could look to follow Texas’ lead and hire a “head coach of the offense” type of role.
The bigger question is who would want the job under these circumstances. Venables is on the hot seat, and the fit could be difficult to sell.
Could Oklahoma lure Mike Norvell? Or will the Sooners be forced to settle for a second-tier option?
In Other News...
South Carolinas Arkansas Trip Just Got A Late-Season Twist
South Carolinas trip to Arkansas on Nov. 14 now has a clear nighttime slot, with kickoff set for 7:45 p.m. at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and television coverage on SEC Network. It adds another late start to a schedule that already has the Gamecocks moving through a demanding November stretch, with Texas A&M up next on Nov. 7 before the calendar turns deeper into the season.
The timing matters because South Carolina is trying to keep its footing while the final month brings a steady climb in difficulty. After Arkansas, the Gamecocks still have Georgia and Clemson ahead, which means every week now carries a little more weight as they work through the back half of the schedule and try to stack results before the year closes. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Faces A Real SEC Test As Momentum Keeps Building
South Carolina heads into Saturday with a little more buzz around it than it had a few weeks ago, and the next step is a meaningful one. The No. 23 Gamecocks have won three straight, built their momentum behind strong offensive performances and now get Texas A&M at Williams-Brice Stadium in an SEC matchup that should say plenty about where this team really stands.
The Gamecocks have been especially effective on the ground, leading the league in rushing yards, with quarterback LaNorris Sellers continuing to be a central part of the attack. Texas A&M arrives with its own playmakers, including wide receiver Mario Craver, but the Aggies have had a harder time in SEC play and away from home, which makes this one a real test of whether South Carolina's recent surge can hold up against a conference opponent with enough talent to make things uncomfortable. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Has South Carolina Suddenly Looking Like A November Threat
LaNorris Sellers has turned October into a showcase for South Carolina, and the timing could hardly be better. The Gamecocks have looked far more dangerous with him driving the offense, as he averaged 342 yards of total offense and 3.75 touchdowns per game during the month, a stretch that has changed the tone around a team that suddenly has a real November pulse.
For South Carolina, the bigger question now is whether that surge can carry into the closing stretch and keep the Gamecocks in the conversation when the calendar flips. Around the sport, October also reshuffled the bigger picture, with Ohio State dealing with defensive issues after its loss to USC and Wake Forest putting itself in control of its ACC fate, but South Carolinas rise feels especially relevant because it comes with a quarterback who has made the offense look explosive at just the right time. [Read more 🡒]