The Oklahoma Sooners were coming off a loss, so of course that meant a week to be winners again, as they continue their 2026 trend of alternating wins and losses to a 5-4 record.
The Sooners upset No. 24 Florida 23-7 on Saturday night in Gainesville in what was Jason Witten's debut as play-caller after offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was fired this week. Witten became the other half of Brent Venables' complementary football to help the Sooners achieve the win, while quarterback John Mateer might have been the biggest winner of the night, thriving in Witten's new offense.
Witten and Mateer were obvious winners from Saturday, but a few others also stood out, while there was also one glaring loser, who wasn't even in Gainesville.
Winner: Hayden Hansen
Tight end Hayden Hansen keeps winning since transferring from Florida to OU over the offseason. He made his commitment even before OU hired an NFL legend as his position coach, and now Witten is in control of the entire offense to get Hansen even more involved in the offense.
Hansen made it known that he came to Oklahoma to run block, and he got to do that on Saturday night, as the Sooners ran the ball 40 times for 144 yards. He was also productive in the passing game.
He got the last laugh against his old team with a three-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter in the Sooners' eventual victory. Hansen had the privilege of hushing the same crowd that once cheered for him, and there's no doubt that Witten dialed something up to get Hansen in the end zone in his return.
👋 @HaydenHansen89
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 8, 2026
📺 @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/iyYuDP67gQ
It was Hansen's only catch of the game, but gosh, it had to feel good to score at his old stomping grounds while also leaving victorious to assure he made the right decision.
This one was special to me #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/t1gvIvLco2
— Hayden Hansen (@HaydenHansen89) November 8, 2026
Winner: Parker Livingstone
Wide receiver Parker Livingstone made a loud entrance into Oklahoma when he crossed the Red River to transfer from Texas to OU, but it's been nothing but silence all season. He entered Week 10 with six total catches for 51 yards this season.
Witten's offense had Mateer spreading the love on Saturday, as he completed a pass to eight different players. Livingstone was the first one to catch a pass from Mateer before recording a season-high three receptions and 26 receiving yards.
Those are far from eye-popping stats, but it at least had Livingstone as part of the offense for the first time this season. That's the first step in Livingstone breaking out to be the player we thought the Sooners brought in from Texas.
Winner: Tate Sandell
Tate Sandell, the winner of last year's Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college football, might be back to the Tate Sandell we got used to in 2025.
After being rather inconsistent and even having his job on the line, Sandell has now made six field goals in a row, including a perfect 3-for-3 against Florida. Two of those makes were from more than 40 yards away, reminding us how powerful Sandell's left leg is.
By the end of the night on Saturday, it once again felt like the Sooners were guaranteed three points when Sandell was on the field.
Loser: Ben Arbuckle
Former OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle should be singing the Taylor Swift lyrics, "Hi, I'm the problem, it's me!"
Arbuckle was fired this week to end a disappointing run of almost two full seasons as OU's OC after coming from Washington State ahead of the 2025 season. He deserved to be fired, and I hate to kick a guy while he's down, but it was obvious on Saturday night that Arbuckle was the problem with the Sooners' offense this whole time.
Credit Witten for turning things around, but there's no way that he could transform an offense that much in only five days. It was as simple as Arbuckle not holding the unit back anymore with head-scratching play calls and putting too much pressure on Mateer.
There are still obvious flaws within OU's offense that will rear their heads again, like Mateer's turnovers, a lackluster run game, and a weak offensive line, but at least Witten covered up the problems instead of magnifying them as Arbuckle did.
Had Venables realized after the Michigan loss that OU's offense had no chance with Arbuckle leading it, the Sooners might still be in position to make the College Football Playoff right now.
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