Oklahoma’s offense has faced challenges this season, but they showed promise in the first half against Ole Miss on Saturday.
Despite ultimately losing to No. 18 Ole Miss 26-14, extending their losing streak to three, the Sooners offered a glimpse of their potential. Oklahoma, a program with a rich offensive history and seven Heisman winners, isn’t accustomed to settling for moral victories, but their first-half performance showed they might still have the tools to revive their offense.
“We hope to see improvement sooner rather than later,” said Oklahoma coach Brent Venables. “Progress has been slow at times, but it’s definitely there.”
The offensive expectations at Oklahoma are high, as evidenced by the recent dismissal of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, an alumnus and former national champion, just seven games into his role. His offense struggled in nearly every metric, with Venables even describing it as “crap” at one point.
In Joe Jon Finley’s first game as play-caller, the Sooners quickly moved down the field against a top-15 defense. However, they missed an early opportunity to score after a failed fourth-down attempt on the Ole Miss 2-yard line. Still, Oklahoma managed two touchdowns in five first-half possessions, taking a 14-10 lead at halftime — their first lead over an SEC opponent this season. The 14 points were also their highest first-half score in conference play this year, surpassing their total points from the last two games combined.
Quarterback Jackson Arnold connected with tight end Bauer Sharp for an 11-yard touchdown on an eight-play, 60-yard drive. Later, with just 2:40 left in the half, the Sooners drove 92 yards in under three minutes, culminating in another touchdown pass from Arnold to Jacob Jordan. Oklahoma totaled 235 yards in the first half, including 125 rushing yards, an impressive feat against an Ole Miss defense that had been allowing only 66.6 rushing yards per game.
However, the Sooners’ offense struggled in the second half, failing to score and gaining just 94 total yards and 22 rushing yards. The offensive line allowed a school-record 10 sacks.
“It was definitely a tale of two halves,” Finley said. “After a tough week, the guys came out swinging, showing what this offense is capable of in that first half. Now it’s on me to make better adjustments in the second half. But we did show we can perform against a strong defense, and that’s something we need to build on.”
The first half revealed both the potential and the persistent issues in Oklahoma’s offense, even with a new play-caller. With four games left, including an upcoming matchup with Maine, Oklahoma needs two more wins to secure a bowl game. To do so, they’ll need to build on the confidence gained from their first-half performance and continue to improve.
“We saw what we’re capable of in the first half,” said running back Taylor Tatum. “We’re taking the positives from that and focusing on improving each week. The goal is to keep getting better as a team.”
