The Oklahoma Sooners thought they'd take a step forward on offense in 2026, but three games into the season, the reality is that the unit has taken a step back. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's group lacks an identity and is completely incompetent, despite the fact that he's the man who was tasked with fixing the offense and getting it back to its former glory.
When head coach Brent Venables was hired after the 2021 season, his first hire at offensive coordinator was a solid one. Jeff Lebby called the shots for two years, and the Sooners were good offensively, especially in his second season in 2023. Then, Lebby left to take the head job at Mississippi State, forcing Venables to replace him.
Venables made the mistake of promoting Seth Littrell
and Joe Jon Finley to co-OCs in 2024, with Littrell as the play-caller. That experiment lasted less than a season. Littrell was fired, Finley was given play-calling duties in the interim, and Kevin Johns was promoted to interim co-OC. The Sooners won just six games with their worst offense of the 21st century, and Venables hired Arbuckle after the season to make things right again. However, he kept the rest of the offensive staff intact.
Oklahoma's offense was better last year, but still not good enough. This program has always been on the cutting edge of offensive innovation and productivity, and the Sooners have rarely struggled on offense, with the exception of the dreaded 1990s.
Now, the offense has regressed to 2024 levels, and the Sooners are on the verge of seeing a season with very high expectations fall completely apart by mid-October. Georgia and Texas are the next two games on the schedule, and OU has to figure a lot of things out in not a lot of time.
Of course, there's plenty of blame to go around. Venables certainly deserves some, and Arbuckle deserves a lot, as it's job to make sure the offense is a lot better than this. The rest of the offensive coaching staff has to be way better, and the offensive line, in particular, has been bad through three games. Running back and wide receiver haven't been much better. Tight end is a lone bright spot through three games.
A chunk of the blame also falls on the shoulders of starting quarterback John Mateer, and he deserves a lot of the criticism he's received. I'm certainly not here to defend the way he's played, because he definitely has not been good enough. However, a simple quarterback switch isn't going to solve everything; OU's problems run far deeper than that.
There are very few quarterbacks in the entire country that could have success at Oklahoma right now. There isn't a former starting quarterback from the Venables era that would be able to come in and save the day for this offense; not Dillon Gabriel, not Davis Beville, not Jackson Arnold, and not Michael Hawkins Jr. There also isn't another quarterback on the current roster that would be able to come in and save the day for this offense; not Whitt Newbauer, not Bowe Bentley, and not Jett Niu. And no, Mateer isn't suddenly going to flip the switch and turn back into a superstar either.
Oklahoma's offensive problems are systematic. Ultimately, that falls on Venables. As the head coach, he's responsible for everything in the program. The defense is good, the special teams are good, the culture is, reportedly, good, the recruiting is good, and the roster talent is good. However, if the offense is this bad, the Sooners can't win games. Venables is responsible, and he has to fix it. Until he does, this is what it'll look like, regardless of who is playing quarterback.
When Lincoln Riley was OU's head coach, the Sooners were amazing on offense and putrid on defense. He did not foster an environment where the defense could have success. Now, it seems like Venables is the exact opposite of that. It's beginning to look like he cannot foster an environment within his program where offense can have success.
Riley won a lot of games, and he made the four-team CFP 60 percent of the time he was in charge in Norman. However, that came in the Big 12 days, where the schedule was easier. Venables has won a lot less often, making the 12-team CFP just once. However, that's mostly come in the SEC, where the schedule is a lot easier. If you put a Riley OU team in the SEC, they'd get eaten up. If you put this 2026 Venables version of OU in the Big 12, the Sooners would probably be more successful.
This isn't a fire Venables piece. He just signed another contract extension, and the people making decisions at OU love him; understandably so. He's a good coach, and there aren't a lot of options out there that the Sooners would want or could get if they needed to replace Venables. However, if something major doesn't change with the way he runs his program, at least when related to offensive football, Oklahoma's hand will eventually be forced. The Sooners can't win without an offense.
Oklahoma has already replaced the offensive coordinator and the quarterback. That didn't work. While running backs coach Deland McCullough and tight ends coach Jason Witten are new to the staff this year, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones are both holdovers from previous eras, and quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski came over with Arbuckle.
Simply changing quarterbacks isn't going to fix Oklahoma's problems. Mateer has to be better, but throwing an inexperienced QB into the teeth of the SEC isn't a recipe for success. Changing play-callers might be a more effective solution, but that's not the overall answer either. Oklahoma's issues are a systematic thing. Something that is happening within Venables' program isn't allowing the Sooners to put up points. OU can switch coordinators and quarterbacks all they want, and it won't help unless even bigger changes are made.
Right now, Mateer and Arbuckle don't look like the answer. Both are fighting to keep their jobs for the rest of this season. However, simply replacing them and starting over with a new OC and QB won't work unless more changes are made. That duo will be in the same exact place at some point if things stay this way. If Venables wants to stay off the hot seat, he'll have to make systematic changes to whatever is stunting his offense's growth in Norman. It's way deeper than just benching the quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Benching John Mateer won't solve Oklahoma's offensive problems
