Oklahoma
Oklahoma Must Turn Its 2024 Achilles’ Heel Into Strength to Get Offense Back on Track
Oklahoma added plenty of skill players to give its offense a jolt in 2025.
But if the Sooners aren’t able to take massive strides up front, the effectiveness of new quarterback John Mateer, running back Jaydn Ott and the host of wide receivers added by Emmett Jones will be limited.
As dysfunctional as the offense was a year ago — a unit plagued by an offensive coordinator in over his head, a starting quarterback who proved to be a turnover machine and injuries that essentially wiped out the entire receiving corps — even the best coaching staff would have been unable to overcome the shortcomings up front.
Center Troy Everett went down during the spring of 2024, and throughout the year, more and more linemen packed Oklahoma’s training room.
The result was a disjoint unit that struggled to find any continuity, giving Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins little time to operate post-snap.
If Mateer suffers the same fate this fall, no amount of starting experience will be able to help the Sooners turn things around on Ben Arbuckle’s side of the ball.
Tackle Logan Howland and guard Heath Ozaeta, who finished the season as the left side of the offensive line, missed spring football to rehab offseason shoulder procedures. Otherwise, the line made it through spring without major incident — the first big win of the year for Bedenbaugh.
With fall camp on the horizon, OU’s o-line guru must find real answers to have the offense ready to battle Michigan’s defensive front in Week 2.
Veterans Jacob Sexton, Jake Taylor and Febechi Nwaiwu return alongside Howland and Ozaeta, though fans never truly saw the best of Sexton and Taylor a year ago as they both battled injuries.
Bedenbaugh also added experienced transfers in former Stanford interior offensive linemen Luke Baklenko and Jake Maikkula and Western Carolina tackle Derek Simmons.
But the best-case scenario lies with OU’s underclassmen.
Guard Eddy Pierre-Louis was the first name out of Brent Venables’ mouth when he was asked about underclassmen at SEC Media Days last week.
“You’ll see a lot of Eddy Pierre-Louis,” he said.
Pierre-Louis was not an early enrollee last year, so he entered the 2024 season a bit behind. He played against Temple, Maine, Alabama and Navy, totaling 65 snaps on offense per Pro Football Focus, and he needs to win one of OU’s guard spots to raise the ceiling of the offensive line.
Nwaiwu started every game at right guard. He was OU’s highest-rated guard who played a significant role, but with a PFF grade of 59.6 for the year, that’s hardly a high bar to clear.
Nwaiwu played 864 snaps, allowing four sacks, 12 hurries and 16 quarterback pressures.
Ozaeta played 630 offensive snaps per PFF, and he also allowed four sacks, 11 hurries and 15 pressures.
Bedenbaugh will have plenty of options at tackle.
Sexton, Howland, Taylor and Simmons all have experience, but the best indication that the line will take a leap is if 5-star freshman Michael Fasusi finds his way onto the field.
Barring injury, the Sooners won’t have to force Fasusi into action until he’s ready. Bedenabugh is traditionally conservative with his underclassmen, but the last time he trusted a talented freshman, the move paid off.
Cayden Green was Bedenbaugh’s highest-rated commitment when he initially joined the Sooners.
He earned playing time in the early stages of conference play in 2023, and by the end of the year, his future appeared to be incredibly bright in Norman.
Fielding freshmen and sophomores increases the chances of mental miscues, but things couldn’t get worse than last year up front, and the line will have to make drastic improvements to lift the offense in 2025.
Trusting underclassmen is a risk, but so was hiring a 29-year-old offensive coordinator with no SEC experience.
Venables refused to play it safe when he hired Arbuckle. Bedenbaugh needs to follow the example of his head coach.
The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.
New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.
Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.
After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.
Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.
Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.
The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.
After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.
The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.
There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule
- Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
- Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
- Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
- Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
- Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
- Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
- Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
NORMAN — To say that Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell has become a legitimate weapon for the College Football Playoff-bound Sooners would be putting it lightly.
The Sooners’ dynamite placekicker has already wrapped up First Team All-SEC honors and Special Teams Player of the Year in the conference.
Now, Sandell hopes to check a few more boxes off his wish list as early as Friday.
“It’s what me in eighth grade dreamed of in high school,” Sandell said on Wednesday when asked about the season he’s had. “These are all things you think about when you’re lying in bed, like, this is really happening. This is something that you work for, and it’s just such a blessing.”
Sandell is 23-of-24 on field goals this season — hitting 23 in a row since he missed his first kick of the season against Michigan. Not only is this consistency a school record at OU, but it’s a single-season record in the SEC as well.
Sandell has had a busy week already. He’s been jetting around the country doing community events for the Lou Groza Award — the coveted trophy that goes the the nation’s best kicker every season. He will find out Friday night if he will take the award home during the Home Depot College Football Awards show (ESPN, 6 p.m.).
Should Sandell win, he will become the first Sooner kicker to win the award.
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“That’d be great, but it’s not in my hands,” Sandell said. “That’s not what I set out to win this season; it’s just to win games and make kicks, and that’s just a byproduct of our work. If that happens, that’s great.”
Sandell is up for the award against Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr. Each kicker has their résumé that demands respect, yet it appears that Sandell is the favorite to win.
The University of Texas-San Antonio transfer did it in big moments in ballyhooed environments. Sandell’s four field goals, where he made three 50-plus yarders — 55, 51 and 55 — was a Neyland Stadium record So was the distance. Oklahoma’s “Red November” run, in large part, was aided by Sandell’s big leg.
“My swing is my swing,” Sandell said. “I’m not going to try to be somebody I’m not or swing like I’m not. I’m not going to swing out of my shoes. I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to make the kick as possible, and if it goes in, great. If it’s not, then it is what it is.”
“Another guy that’s a team guy, hasn’t flinched,” said head coach Brent Venables. “He’s been Boomer Sooner since the moment he signed his contract. And then he’s been just a stud when it comes to leading and just being a really good teammate.”
Humble he may be, but the Groza Award would be a cherry on top for any college kicker. Still, Sandell’s main focus is on Oklahoma’s rematch with Alabama on Dec. 19.
And yet, Oklahoma’s placekicker is not short on confidence — in himself, or his team.
“For us, it’s not about who we play,” Sandell said. “If we play our brand of football, we can compete with anybody in the country.”
The Oklahoma Sooners are readying themselves for the most crucial game of the season, and perhaps the Brent Venables era, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. After a 10-2 season, which included a 6-2 mark in SEC play, six Sooners were named to the AP All-SEC teams.
That comes after 10 Sooners earned 11 All-SEC Honors as voted on by the coaches, and kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.
Selected to the first team were Sandell, punter Grayson Miller, and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna.
Sandell has the highest field goal percentage in the conference and has made all seven field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.
Miller is fourth in the nation, and first in the SEC, in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Like Sandell, he’s been a special teams weapon for Brent Venables, helping Oklahoma win the field position battle in a number of their wins this season.
Sategna is tied for second in the SEC receptions with 65, yards with 948, and tied for fourth in the conference touchdowns. He’s been a big-play threat for the Sooners, especially in recent weeks. Sategna closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard days, giving him four on the season. He had more than 60 yards receiving in nine of Oklahoma’s last 10 games.
Earning second team honors for the Sooners were linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the regular season, three and a half quarters vs. Tennessee (injury), and a half vs. Auburn (targeting suspension). He’s been a force each of the last two seasons, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2024, and was a first-team selection as voted on by the league’s coaches this season.
Halton, like Thomas, was a member of Brent Venables first recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. He’s been awesome again this year, recording 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles. He’s been a force in the middle, making life difficult in the running game and providing an interior pass rush for the Sooners.
Heinecke has been one of a number of breakout stars for Oklahoma as part of a great linebacker rotation. Heinecke is second on the team in total tackles and tackle for loss, behind only Kip Lewis, and has two sacks to his ledger as well. He’s come up big in key moments for Oklahoma, including the sack and forced fumble against Tennessee, which led to R Mason Thomas’ long touchdown return that changed the momentum of the game, and perhaps the season.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented roster and a number of players like Peyton Bowen, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jaren Kanak, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor Wein, and David Stone who deserved inclusion on the All-SEC teams. Even still, six players and a host of players worthy of mention is a great thing for the Sooners as they get set to take on an Alabama Crimson Tide team that earned just three selections to the AP All-SEC teams.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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