The Oklahoma Sooners are on their bye week this week, taking a break after a rocky first month of the season. OU is currently 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC to begin the 2026 season, and a year that began with very high expectations is teetering on the brink of falling apart.
After this off week, OU will play eight straight SEC games, so this is the only chance head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners have to catch their breath before the end of the regular season. With the way this year has gone so far, Oklahoma absolutely has to use this open date to improve in a big way.
The season started innocently enough, as Oklahoma won its season-opener at home 51-0 over the UTEP Miners in Week 1. Strong performances on both offense and defense led the way
against an overmatched opponent, but it was exactly what Sooner Nation wanted to see to start the season.
Things quickly went sideways, however. OU's first test of the season came on the road against the Michigan Wolverines in Week 2. Despite being favored, Oklahoma left Ann Arbor with a 17-10 loss that dampened all the preseason hype. The new offensive identity shown in the opener was gone, and the duo of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer looked overwhelmed. The Sooners focused on physicality and running the ball the following week, and many hoped it would be a blip on the radar for an improving offense.
Week 3 saw Oklahoma host the New Mexico Lobos, and though the Sooners escaped with a 14-6 win, nobody around the program was happy with the victory. The offense was completely stuck in the mud and struggled to find any semblance of an identity. A great performance from the defense saved the day, but clearly OU had problems. Arbuckle and Mateer weren't as advertised; the offensive line was poor, the passing game was ineffective, and the running game was invisible. Still, OU was 2-1, with a big test on the horizon in the SEC opener.
Things fell apart in the Sooners' Week 4 loss on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs. The game wasn't even that close, and four turnovers doomed the Sooners. Three of those giveaways were courtesy of Mateer, who looked rattled all game long. Venables and Arbuckle stuck with him for the full game, and the offense once again lacked an identity.
After the bye, Oklahoma heads into the Red River Rivalry contest against the Texas Longhorns next week at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The 'Horns will also be coming off of their bye week, and they are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. This is essentially the opposite of a get-right game for the Sooners, and they have a lot to get right.
At the top of that list is the offense, which has regressed from last year. The Sooners have spent the better part of a month trying to find an identity on that side of the ball, and nothing has been figured out. Arbuckle and Mateer will take most of the blame, and they both have to be a lot better, but the offensive line has struggled throughout September. That has led to a poor running game and a predictable passing game, and the Sooners simply have to find something that they can do reasonably well on offense.
Venables' defense has been very good. However, tackling was a problem for the two games of the season, and with the margin of error this defense is being given by their offense, there simply can't be mistakes. Still, it's hard to heap too much judgment on the defense, as they are essentially being asked to win games by themselves right now.
Special teams coordinator Doug Deakin's unit hasn't been bad, but they've made some uncharacteristic mistakes that have hurt the Sooners. Tate Sandell, the best kicker in America last year, has missed his last two field goals. Isaiah Sategna III muffed a punt against New Mexico that could have easily cost OU if the defense hadn't had his back. The Sooners made a punter change against Georgia, as Jacob Ulrich started in place of Grayson Miller for the first time in over a year. Last season, special teams the difference for Oklahoma in a very positive way. This year's group has to get back to playing that way.
OU also needs to get healthy, as a number of impact players have missed significant time. Not having key players like Trell Harris, Michael Fasusi, Kip Lewis, Cole Sullivan, and Michael Boganowski for at least one full game (most for much longer) has hurt the Sooners in the first third of the season. Getting guys back on the field needs to be another priority for this team.
Overall, just about nothing has gone right this season in Norman. Ultimately, the product on the field falls at the feet of Venables and general manager Jim Nagy. They put this team together, and it isn't performing nearly well enough.
There are still eight games left, and Oklahoma can still turn the season around if they get a lot better in a short amount of time. The College Football Playoff is probably already out of reach, but a strong season is technically still possible. At the other end of the spectrum, the OU we've seen for the last three games will be lucky to make a bowl game, and the Sooners could be staring down their worst record in a long, long time in a season that began with so much promise.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Evaluating the Oklahoma Sooners at their bye week
