Without much elaboration, Oklahoma’s offense was an abject disaster a year ago. The offensive coordinator was fired mid-season, and the starting QB, Jackson Arnold, transferred to Auburn only to get benched
there, of all places. They were 97th in the league in scoring, only breaking 20 points against P4 opponents 4 times (and one of those was Alabama and included a defensive score to get there). It was dreadful, and the Sooners had to make a move.
And so, they hired Ben Arbuckle away from Washington State, and the Air Raid guru brought QB John Mateer with him.
Arbuckle, for what it’s worth, is one of the youngest coaches in the league right now at a ripe 30 years old.
It was then that he reunited with both Kittley and Zappe at the FBS level at Western Kentucky. Arbuckle was a quality control coach for the Hilltoppers, as the offense put together an excellent year in Kittley’s Air Raid scheme. Zappe moved on to the NFL and Kittley was hired as Texas Tech’s OC after the season.
Suddenly, Arbuckle was in the driver’s seat in 2022, calling plays for the first time and serving as the co-OC for Western Kentucky. He and new starting QB Austin Reed had enough success that Arbuckle was hired as Washington State’s offensive coordinator after the season. The Cougars wanted Arbuckle’s Air Raid at WSU.
In 2023 and 2024, Arbuckle called plays for the Wazzu, first with future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward under center, then with John Mateer at the controls last year. Arbuckle took the open job at OU after last season, brought Mateer with him, and now brings the Air Raid back to Norman.
This is a good article to check out for a history on Arbuckle and his scheme. But the short version is that he was mostly influence by a guy who learned from Kliff Kingsbury, who learned from Mike Leach. The passing game makes the bulk of its hay through slants, curls, quick outs, and screens…. Then every so often there will be a premeditated go ball. But there’s very little in the middle distances of the field.
Where Arbuckle differs a bit from the Leach roots is that he runs pretty close to a 50/50 split with passing and rushing. Now, a lot of that is QB rushing, but it’s mostly designed QB rushes, and the RBs are actively involved off the zone read (or just zone run plays that look like a read).
Mateer is the centerpoint of the entire offense with 265 passing attempts and tied for the lead with 94 rushing attempts. The former Wazzu QB probably isn’t going to hit his volume totals from a year ago, especially after missing a game with a thumb surgery and playing limited for a few games after. Still, he’s decisive and quick as a rusher and is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt through the air. He’s got a fast release and can really drive those slant route throws with lightning speed. However, his accuracy can be scattershot as he starts going deeper down the field, and he can get himself into some really dangerous situations in the pocket at times.
Outside of Mateer, running backs Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson have played very well this season. Blaylock is a true freshman that burst onto the scene early, but Robinson is a 226-lb bruiser who’s taken over the biggest share of carries the last three weeks and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He may very well be one of the SEC’s best kept secrets thus far as a big back who can rattle off explosive plays.
As far as receivers, Arkansas transfer Isaiah Sategna has been the #1 man all season, leading the team with 49 catches for 692 yards and 5 TDs out of the slot. He’s pretty much a do-it-all player, and the Sooners are always looking for ways to get him the ball in space, one way or another. He’s flanked by Deion Burks, a speedy YAC guy who was mostly a screen target a year ago and is still expanding that role a bit.
TE Jaren Kanak makes for the third option with 30 catches for 410 yards. As a group, they all tend to be guys who are working to get the ball in the short areas of the field and turning it into quick yards. All three guys have about an 8-yard average depth of target
This will be an interesting one for the Alabama defense, as they haven’t played many schemes quite like this one. The Tennessee offense is the most similar one they’ve played, though Mateer is a better runner, while Aguilar is a much better passer with better receivers. And even then, there’s still quite a bit of schematic difference. On the whole, I think Alabama’s secondary will be able to gobble up all of the short passing from the Sooners. They’ll complete their balls, and then they’ll get tackled and that’ll be the end of that. I’m not sure I see where the Sooners will be able to get many explosive passing plays.
On the other hand, the Sooner rushing game is the exact type of game that has given Alabama fits early this year and all last year. The Tide has done better in recent weeks, but a QB rushing threat with a big-play RB running outside zone seems destined to break a few too many big ones to keep Alabama fans from ever getting comfortable.
The Sooners are averaging 29 points per game, so let’s say Alabama sticks to their trend of keeping everyone below their season average, but enough QB runs keep things interesting and the Sooners score 21.
