Oklahoma
Joel Klatt on Oklahoma's problems on offense: 'It's not a quarterback issue'
Oklahoma is reshuffling their entire offense after what happened last weekend against Tennessee. That won’t be fixed in just a week, though, with how bad that Joel Klatt thought they were on that side of the ball.
Klatt assessed the Sooners’ offensive film from their conference opener and reacted to it on his show this week. Frankly, it wasn’t pretty whatsoever for OU.
“What was that?” Klatt asked. “I did watch their offensive film on Sunday. It was gross. It was gross…Their film is a disaster. This offense has to go back to square one.”
“The offense was an absolute mess. Now they have a quarterback dilemma but I’m here to tell you that it is not a quarterback issue at Oklahoma,” said Klatt.
Oklahoma totaled just 222 yards overall with neither aspect being all that effective. They also only converted on third down just three times in the entire game.
That’s before getting to the quarterback question of it all. Jackson Arnold started the game and went 7/16 (43.8%) for 54 yards with three total interceptions. The Sooners then sat him for Michael Hawkins who went 11/18 (61.1%) for 132 yards, plus 22 more in rushing, and a touchdown.
Coming out of that game, Oklahoma is now sticking with Hawkins. However, with what all is wrong with their offense from a technical and foundational standpoint, Klatt knows it doesn’t matter which quarterback that they play.
“You can say all you want that, like, okay, they’ve got a quarterback issue and they’ve got to fix the quarterback position. It’s not a quarterback issue. It really isn’t. While their quarterbacks played poorly, it is an offensive issue,” said Klatt. “Every single piece of their offense was bad – every single piece. The game plan? Bad. Execution? Bad. The fundamentals? Bad. All of it. All of it. Every single piece of it. The protection plan was, at times, egregiously bad where the quarterback is looking dead into the spot where the linebacker is blitzing from, which means he either should be hot or side adjust, meaning, like, throw the football quickly, and he’s taking a full drop, hitching, and almost getting sacked while the offense shuffles the other direction, slides the other direction.”
“It’s wild what they’re doing!” Klatt exclaimed. “The schematics are totally off.”
For Klatt, that leaves the blame on the coaching staff. Either they coached them to do what he saw on tape, which would be bad, or they’re allowing the team to do what he saw on tape, which would be bad too.
“As a coach, you have to understand these two truths about the film that you watch. What you see on that film? You are either only one of two things – coaching or allowing,” said Klatt. “At OU, there is a lot of bad football being played. If you’re telling me that everything that they coach them to do is not being done on the film then that’s a problem. If they are doing what’s being coached then that’s a problem.”
Oklahoma might find some better offense with this change ahead of their first road game in the league. Still, Klatt says it’s going to take a lot more than that to fix what he saw happening in Norman last weekend.
Oklahoma
Live Updates: No. 7 Alabama Football at Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama has one final road test to pass in the regular season if it wants to compete for an SEC title and make it back to the College Football Playoff.
The No. 7 Crimson Tide plays at Oklahoma on Saturday night in the first matchup as conference foes in the SEC. BamaCentral will have coverage all night from Norman. Follow along for updates.
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(latest updates at the top)
Who: Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-4)
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC/ESPN+
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).
Series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1
Last meeting: Alabama defeated the Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff 45-34. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns while the Crimson Tide rushed for 200 yards across 42 carries between Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Najee Harris.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Mercer 52-7 at home behind three touchdowns from Jalen Milroe and two touchdowns from Ryan Williams. The Alabama defense forced three more turnovers as they’ve now forced 16 in the last five games, making life challenging on opposing offenses.
Last time out, Oklahoma: The Sooners were off this past week, but went to Missouri two weeks ago and lost 30-23 after losing a fumble for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes. Oklahoma’s played five conference games and only won at Auburn this season.
Oklahoma
Staff predictions: Our picks for No. 7 Alabama at Oklahoma
After falling twice away from home already this season, No. 7 Alabama will look to avoid a potential trap game in its final road trip of the regular season. The Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2 in the SEC) will visit Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
This will be the seventh matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma. The Sooners hold a 3-2-1 advantage in the series, but the Tide won the most recent meeting, recording a 45-34 victory in the 2018 Orange Bowl. Alabama is currently a 14-point favorite for Saturday’s game, according to the Caesars Sportsbook.
Here’s how Tide Illustrated’s staff thinks the game will play out.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Offers 2026 Bixby DB Braeden Presley
The stark reality of the Cowboys future on the gridiron is up in the air. Can Oklahoma State bounce back in 2025 following one of the worst football seasons in years? Will the Pokes return next season and play with a chip on their shoulder? Only time will tell and the best way to improve the football team is for the coaching staff to hit the recruiting trail hard.
Oklahoma State will say goodbye to one of the greatest statistical wide receivers to ever wear the Cowboy orange. Senior Brennan Presley has been the cornerstone of the receiving core for the past four seasons. He is the all-time receptions leader in Oklahoma State history and has caught more than two passes in nearly every game since his sophomore season.
The offense won’t be the same in 2025 with Presley snagging catches across the middle, but the fans of Cowboy football won’t have to wait long as a familiar name will be entering the mix straight out of the class of 2026.
On Thursday, Oklahoma State looked to make it the Presley trifecta when they offered the youngest of the bunch, 2026 Bixby star Braeden Presley. Older brothers Brennan and Braylin both committed to Oklahoma State out of high school. Brennan hung around to become the all-time receptions leader in school history while Braylin transferred to Tulsa.
Braeden is the biggest brother of the bunch and measures in at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, according to 247Sports. He is unranked at the moment but still has a full season of football yet to play. The interest continues to grow for Braeden who has drawn offers from Tulsa, Boston College and Kansas.
Oklahoma State joined the mix on Thursday and is hoping to use its family ties to lock up their third straight Presley. Little is known about Presley on the field, and he has proven this season that he is a jack of all trades. He has logged a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown and passing touchdown this season for the Spartans of Bixby.
A majority of his highlights have come on the defensive side of the football. He has 27 tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble in 2024 for a Bixby team who is searching for yet another Class 5A State Championship.
The fans of Oklahoma State football may not have to wait very long to have a Presley once again under the lights of Boone Pickens Stadium.
Want to join the discussion? Like Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
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