The Oklahoma Sooners have long been at the forefront of offensive innovation and production in the college football world. Whether it was Bud Wilkinson’s Split-T, Barry Switzer’s Wishbone, or the Air Raid and Spread attacks of the 21st century, OU typically hasn’t had trouble lighting up the scoreboard.
However, the Sooners haven’t been on that same level over the past couple of seasons on offense. In 2024, they posted the worst offensive numbers the program had seen since 1998. With three different offensive coordinators (Seth Littrell, Joe Jon Finley, and Kevin Johns) and a rotation between two quarterbacks (Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr.), Oklahoma bottomed out on offense in their first season in the SEC.
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OU took a step forward offensively in 2025, with OC Ben Arbuckle and QB John Mateer replacing the five names above. However, despite the Sooners making it to the College Football Playoff, the offense lagged far behind the defense and special teams.
Now, with Arbuckle and Mateer back for Year 2 together at OU (a first for the Sooners since OC Jeff Lebby and QB Dillon Gabriel were together for two straight years in 2022 and 2023), the Sooners hope another step forward is in store in 2026.
The progress of the offense is one of the keys to OU’s entire season, and CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello thinks it’s the biggest question facing the Sooners this spring. He identified the burning questions for each SEC team heading into spring ball, and took a look at the Oklahoma offense.
“John Mateer arrived at Oklahoma with enormous momentum. After a breakout run at Washington State, he followed offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Norman and quickly emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender early in the season. Then the momentum stalled. A hand injury slowed Mateer, the running game never found consistent traction, and the receivers struggled to create separation. Oklahoma enters this spring determined to fix those issues. One of the most important additions may be new running backs coach Deland McCullough, who is tasked with accelerating the development of Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson and stabilizing the ground game. The urgency is clear. Even after losing four of its top six linebackers, Oklahoma’s defense should remain one of the best in the country. That makes this spring critical for an offense that needs to catch up if the Sooners want to make some noise in the CFP.” – Brandon Marcello, CBS Sports.
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Fortunately for Arbuckle and Mateer, they’ve got some advantages coming into 2026. First, they get to spend another year working together, and they’ll be able to draw upon their excellent relationship and trust in each other in the crucial moments. Mateer knows the system well, as he’s spent four years in it now, and this year the system isn’t new to everyone else on the offense.
Additionally, the offensive line returns key players and starters this season, which wasn’t true the last two years. If health can hold up front, Mateer should have a better, more experienced offensive line protecting him this season.
Lastly, the Sooners upgraded their weapons around Mateer. Returning star Isaiah Sategna III joins Virginia transfer Trell Harris and Texas transfer Parker Livingstone to form a solid WR trio. Improvements at the tight end position, strong returners at running back in Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, and a heavy emphasis on improving the running game should all take some of the pressure off of Mateer, who often had to do everything himself last year, even with a broken thumb.
Under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley, the Sooners regularly had explosive and dynamic offenses. That trend continued under Brent Venables during his first two seasons, but then Oklahoma’s offense bottomed out. The build back up has taken a lot of hard work, but now it’s time for OU Football to get back to its high-scoring ways again this year.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: What is the top question for the Sooners this spring, per CBS Sports?
