The Oklahoma Sooners are finished with nonconference play and now enter one of the toughest stretches in college football. The Sooners will face seven currently ranked teams over the rest of the season.
That means the offensive struggles have to start getting fixed or the Sooners could be in for one of the worst seasons in program history. Oklahoma ranks near the bottom in college football in several offensive categories. But the main issue might not be the play call or even the quarterback; head coach Brent Venables revealed it might be the mental errors the offense keeps making.
"We made a couple of mistakes," Venables said. "Two of the first three plays, we've got fundamental mistakes. We've got a really well-designed quarterback run on play two;
we've got a great matchup. We've got a 6-foot-7 tight end on a spin-down safety, and we don't block him. That's a problem that shouldn't happen. We can't have those kinds of busts and get in any kind of sync."
Venables' comments highlight why Oklahoma's offensive struggles have been difficult to solve. The scheme has created opportunities, but execution has repeatedly kept the Sooners from taking advantage of them.
Oklahoma managed only 299 yards and 61 rushing yards against the New Mexico Lobos, continuing a troubling offensive trend after the loss to the Michigan Wolverines. The Sooners' offense has shown flashes, but too many missed assignments, poor execution, and mistakes have prevented those moments from turning into consistent production.
That is particularly problematic because Oklahoma is no longer facing a non-conference schedule. The Sooners open SEC play Saturday against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs before facing the No. 1 Texas Longhorns next. The margin for error will only shrink as the competition improves.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Brent Venables calls out Oklahoma's costly mental mistakes
