4 days ago
Oklahoma offense battling with Sooners defense
The Oklahoma Sooners bottomed out on the offensive side of the ball in 2024, posting the worst numbers on offense the program had seen since 1998. A rash of injuries, an inexperienced offensive line, poor play-calling, a lack of scheme and system identity, and shaky quarterback play all contributed to the demise of the unit, and the overall demise of the team.
OU hopes they've fixed at least some of those issues heading into the new season. Newcomers at offensive coordinator (Ben Arbuckle) and starting quarterback (John Mateer) are significant upgrades over what was in place this time a year ago. While the Sooners are still looking for their best five-man offensive line group and are waiting for playmakers in the passing game to emerge, there's reason to believe a big jump on offense could be coming.
Count head coach Brent Venables among those who believe that last year's offensive misery was a blip on the radar, not the new norm in Norman. He was asked on Friday after fall camp practice about the level of competitiveness between the offense and the defense this season, compared to last season. Venables believes it's back where it needs to be for the Sooners to have a good offensive showing in 2025.
"I think maybe just look back at the last team, for sure," Venables said. "You know, 2023 our offense, again, was top five in the country, 2022 really, really good. I think (top five) in every category in '23, scoring, total offense passing offense, so they were really good. So, probably a little more like that, push and shove and punch and punch back. So it's good, really good competition."
In 2022 and 2023, the OC-QB duo of Jeff Lebby and Dillon Gabriel led two offenses that both averaged over 30 points per game. In Year 1 of the Venables era, the offense was 33rd in the country in PPG, averaging 32.8. In a 10-3 season in 2023, that number ballooned to 41.7 PPG, good for fourth in the nation.
But after Lebby and Gabriel departed, and Seth Littrell and Jackson Arnold stepped into their shoes last season, that number dropped down to 24 PPG, only good for 97th-best in America. Littrell was fired after seven games, and Arnold transferred to Auburn shortly after the regular season ended.
This time last year, the Oklahoma defense was dominating in fall camp and making life miserable for Arnold and the offense. While Sooner Nation took that as a good sign that Oklahoma, finally, had a really good defense, it proved disastrous for the other side of the ball, as Arnold and the offense never had the kind of confidence they needed to excel.
However, it sounds like the Arbuckle-Mateer version of the OU offense is punching back at the defense more this fall. Players have also commented on the level of competitiveness in camp this year, with some returners also saying it's more competitive than it was in 2024.
OU's defense has improved each year under Venables. They've gone from 99th nationally(30 ppg) to 49th (23.5 ppg) to 29th (21.5 ppg) in three seasons, and look to have the pieces in place to have another solid season in Year 4 under his leadership. No, they won't have Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman Jr., or Ethan Downs, but they returned a lot of production and players that are ready to lead the way in their absence.
If this Oklahoma offense is consistently making things competitive against the likes of a veteran, Year 4 Brent Venables defense, it's understandable that the head coach and his staff have belief that an offensive turnaround is coming to Norman in 2025.
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