Ben Arbuckle is fighting for his Oklahoma job no matter what he says

Yes, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is most definitely coaching for his job. 

Arbuckle’s offense was the obvious Achilles' heel in the Sooners’ 17-10 loss to Michigan, and that performance (once again) has a chunk of the OU fan base wanting head coach Brent Venables to fire the young OC just barely into his second season in the role. 

During Tuesday’s weekly press conference, Tulsa World’s Berry Tramel had the guts to flat-out ask Arbuckle if he felt like he was already coaching for his job just two games into the season. 

"I haven't thought about that one bit," Arbuckle answered. "I take each week, it's a week-by-week basis of how can I put together a game plan, how can I install with our guys, get them to understand it? How can I get them to go execute it as high of a level as possible? And that's the only thing that is on the forefront of my mind, is these players and how to get them to go play at a really high level.

"So to answer your question there, that's what's on my mind."

Arbuckle didn’t deny that he’s on the hot seat, but he definitely avoided answering the question directly. But whether or not Arbuckle will publicly admit his job is on the line, there’s no denying it is. 

Seth Litrell is a warning to Ben Arbuckle that Brent Venables isn't afraid to make a midseason change

Venables has fired an offensive coordinator early in a season before, and he was even longtime friends with that guy. In 2024, Seth Littrell, whom Arbuckle ultimately replaced, was let go after just seven games into his tenure as full-time OC. 

Arbuckle has gotten a much longer chance to prove what he can do, which apparently isn’t much. The main difference, though, is that Arbuckle’s shortcomings have been overshadowed by an elite defense that carried the Sooners to 10-3 and the College Football Playoff last year. In 2024, OU went 6-7 and barely made a bowl game. 

Littrell’s offense through seven contests had averaged 24.3 points a game. Arbuckle has been in control of OU’s offense for 15 games heading into Week 3’s matchup with New Mexico. During that time, the Sooners have averaged 26.8 points per game, but that number drops to 21.8 against SEC teams. 

A 21.8-point-per-game average doesn’t help win games, and if you’re not helping your team win, then you don’t keep your job in college football. 

The excuse for Arbuckle is that his starting quarterback, John Mateer, whom he brought with him from Washington State, dealt with an injury most of last season after breaking his thumb in Week 4. Mateer’s healthy now, though, and some fans want a change there as well. 

Littrell was given a young Jackson Arnold, who also failed at Auburn and isn’t necessarily thriving at UNLV now. The Sooners also lost their five top receivers during that 2024 season and had a revolving door of injuries along the offensive line. 

Comparatively, neither met expectations, so if Arbuckle doesn’t right the ship, then his time is also inevitably coming to an end. After asking the question to Arbuckle, Tramel wrote in his column that Arbuckle has 10 games left to figure things out. I would argue he doesn’t even have that. 

OU faithful will swear that the Sooners struggling again against a team like New Mexico is unlikely, but the Lobos are giving up just 7.0 points a game through two weeks, albeit against weak competition. There’s a scenario to brace for where the Sooners’ offense still looks dysfunctional against New Mexico. 

No matter how good New Mexico has looked thus far, if the Sooners can’t move the ball consistently against a defense from the Mountain West, then they won’t be able to do so at all against SEC defenses. At that point, there's no need to keep Arbuckle around.

If the Sooners’ offense struggles on Saturday, then it could be Arbuckle’s last day on OU’s sideline before SEC play starts the next week with a trip to No. 2 Georgia. The Sooners then have a bye week to reset before the Red River Rivalry. It could also be a seamless transition for Venables since he has longtime OC Kevin Wilson already on staff. 

Soon, we could get the true answer to Berry Tramel’s question. 

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