Oklahoma
How the Offensive Line Gave Oklahoma an Identity on Offense
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables had a lot of emotions Saturday night after his team took down No. 7 Alabama, but surprised wasn’t one of them.
The defense and running game prevailed in the 24-7 upset that stirred fans at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to rush Owen Field for only the second time this millennium. But the truth is, fans only storm fields when there’s an unexpected result.
The Sooner faithful had that faith in the defense, even if it was only the size of a mustard seed when going up against Bama’s potent offense led by Heisman hopeful Jalen Milroe. But what was expected from OU’s offense was low, especially after the consistent struggles from the offensive line, which broke program sack records you don’t want to break and didn’t pave the way for a 100-yard rusher until Week 10, and even that was against an FCS opponent.
“I think if you go back and watch the film, I think each game we kept improving, kept our head down,” right guard Febechi Nwaiwu said. “Like we were saying at the beginning of the season, we knew it would take a lot of work to get to a point where we would feel like an elite offensive line. I still don’t think we’re at that. I still think there’s a lot of things we can work on, but Saturday, of course, it felt amazing. It was a good step forward, but it’s not done.”
Even if Venables denies being shocked by what transpired in the trenches Saturday night, the rest of us were. OU’s offensive line handled a group playing for a program that’s famous for winning with physicality. The Sooners rushed for 257 yards and averaged 5.1 yards a carry behind Logan Howland, Heath Ozaeta, Troy Everett, Nwaiwu, Spencer Brown and Eddy Pierre-Louis.
“Just knew it was coming,” Venables said postgame. “Could we do it consistently? We had shown signs here or there, just one guy off here or there, and it all looks bad. And tonight, man, I think it’s a culmination of the development process, as we’ve said.”
The left side of freshmen Howland and Ozaeta first showed improvement in the passing game against Maine, when the big guys didn’t let the Black Bears get to their quarterback one time. The next week against Missouri, the Tigers sacked Jackson Arnold three times, which was still drastically better than the nine sacks given up in both games against Ole Miss and South Carolina.
Although the sack numbers stood out against Maine, though, that was when the Sooners seemingly found their offensive identity with a sophomore quarterback and injury-plagued receiving group. Jovantae Barnes ran for 203 yards to become OU’s first 100-yard rusher of the season as the team totalled 381 rushing yards.
“I think we are building (an identity),” Nwaiwu said. “You know, I can’t say what everybody else thinks, but I think that an offense should be good at everything—not good at everything, but I think an offense should be well-rounded all around, so yeah, we were good at running the ball, but there’s always something to improve on. You can never be too good at everything.”
With Barnes missing the next game against Mizzou, OU posted 122 yards on 36 carries as Arnold threw for only 74 yards. Even in the loss and the numbers not being as polarizing, it was still evident what offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley wanted his group to do.
Then against Bama in a win, Arnold actually threw for even less yards, 68, on only 11 attempts. It was OU’s lowest passing total of the season, yet, the Sooners still beat a top-10 team. Arnold did rush for a team-high 131 yards, though, as freshman running back Xavier Robinson had 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns to give the Sooners’ a pair of 100-yard rushers.
“It really starts with that front five,” Robinson said. “They did a great, great job. Monday started that week. You can see it all. They just did a good job opening up the gates and just having us make those reads. With Jackson back there, that really opened up some windows.”
“I mean, it’s just the standard, you know what I mean,” Brown said. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been grinding for the last few weeks and the work finally showed and the work showed on Saturday night.
Oklahoma RB Xavier Robinson Looking to Build on Breakout Game vs. Alabama
How Jackson Arnold Assured Brent Venables’ Belief in Him as Oklahoma’s QB
The LSU Tigers (7-4, 4-3) will host the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in the 2024 regular season finale with Brent Venables’ squad heading to Baton Rouge.
It’ll be a Southeastern Conference clash with Brian Kelly and Co. looking to end the season on a positive note and carry the momentum into the offseason.
LSU is bowl eligible, but it’s imperative the program wraps up the regular season in the win column and reaches 8-4 status on the year.
The Tigers will have a tough task in front of them when it comes to containing Oklahoma signal-caller Jackson Arnold.
A quarterback on the rise, Arnold is fresh off of a career game against the Alabama Crimson Tide where he led the Sooners to an impressive upset victory.
Now, it’s all eyes on the SEC matchup in Week 14 between a pair of programs looking to wrap up the regular season with a statement win.
The Sooners will head to Tiger Stadium, a venue the Oklahoma declares one of the “most intimidating” in all of college football.
A look into what both head coaches had to say ahead of the matchup and what to expect on Saturday night in Death Valley.
“Incredibly talented football team. They’ve got a fantastic roster. Coach [Brian] Kelly is one of the best coaches in college football. He has a fantastic staff and really good players,” Venables said of LSU. “I got a lot of people I can brag on, but I don’t want to do that right now and take me out of this great moment we’re in right now.
“It’s going to be a great challenge in one of the loudest and most intimidating venues in all of college football. I’ve never been there. I was hoping and praying and doing my rain dance for no night game, but no such luck.”
Containing Jackson Arnold:
“[Arnold] is an outstanding quarterback that can throw it, but he rushed he rushed for 131 yards on 25 carries,” Kelly said. “Everybody here knows our history with the quarterbacks that run the football. That will be a challenge for us.”
Closing Out SEC Play on a Positive Note:
“I think you’ve gotta look at it from a perspective of ‘Where are we relative to the season?’” Kelly said. “We’ve made really good progress and then we have three games where, take the Alabama game out of the mix. If you take the three games that we had a lead going into the fourth quarter, then you know a lot more about yourself. You need to finish and close games. We didn’t finish and close games or we could’ve been 9-1.
“So part of it is having the confidence to know that you can go and win games in the SEC and they certainly can. They’ve won a lot of games. Regardless of the three-game losing streak, they’ve won 11 of their last 15 games. They’ve won 15 out of 16 night games. So this is a team that has repeated winning. So you talk about that during the week and you go back and prepare and they did and they came out and they played with a lot of confidence.”
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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.
The Southeastern Conference announced Sunday that the University of Oklahoma has been fined $200,000 for violations of the league’s access to competition area policy during and after its game against Alabama on Nov. 23.
Oklahoma fans stormed the field twice during the Sooners’ stunning 24-3 victory over the No. 7 Crimson Tide. The first violation occurred when fans prematurely entered the field before the game clock expired, causing a delay in the contest. The second violation came when fans fully stormed the field after the final whistle to celebrate the upset win on Senior Night.
The $200,000 fine includes $100,000 for Oklahoma’s first offense under the SEC’s revised policy and an additional $100,000 for the premature on-field entry. Fines collected for these violations are directed to the opposing institution.
The SEC’s access to competition area policy, designed to protect the safety of players, coaches, officials, and fans, prohibits spectators from entering the field at any time before, during, or after games. The policy applies to all sports sponsored by the conference and was last updated at the SEC Spring Meetings in 2023.
“This policy is in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” the SEC stated. Penalties for violations range from $100,000 for a first offense to $250,000 for a second and $500,000 for subsequent offenses.
Oklahoma’s historic victory over Alabama marked its first on-field celebration at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in over two decades. Despite the fines, the Sooners’ triumph stands as a defining moment in their inaugural SEC season.
Sunday evening the OU Athletics Department said they did not have a statement regarding the fine.
Riley Green led Oklahoma fans in a very touching Toby Keith tribute over the weekend.
The Sooners pulled off a shocking 24-3 upset over Alabama in Norman Saturday night, and one of the coolest moments was when Green led the crowd in singing a classic Toby Keith song:
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
Riley Green leads Oklahoma fans in honoring Toby Keith.
The country music icon was a huge Oklahoma fan, and the football team has been honoring him all season long with fans singing his songs.
The moment from Saturday might have been the best as Riley Green led fans in singing the legendary pro-America song.
Check it out below, and let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
There’s no doubt that’s an awesome and chilling moment. Seeing a packed Oklahoma stadium rocking out to Toby Keith with Riley Green leading the way is epic.
There’s no other way to describe it. Keith is among the most famous country music singers to ever walk the planet, and he passed away at the age of 62 after battling stomach cancer.
His death was nothing short of heartbreaking for country music fans. Yet, his legacy lives on, and that was on display Saturday night in Norman.
Oklahoma has been honoring Toby Keith all season long following his death. (Photo by Kevin Winter/ACMA2014/Getty Images for ACM)
Props to the Sooners and Riley Green for honoring Toby Keith. You simply love to see it. Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
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