Brent Venables finally calling out Ben Arbuckle's Oklahoma offense still isn't enough

Even tomorrow wouldn't be soon enough for Brent Venables to fire Ben Arbuckle as the Oklahoma Sooners' offensive coordinator.

There's no reason to wait any longer, especially with Kevin Wilson already around, after the No. 24 Sooners' atrocious offensive performance in their 14-6 win over New Mexico out of the Mountain West. We didn't think it could get any worse than what we saw against Michigan last week, but I say this again with a giant gulp, surely it can't get worse than Saturday night, and the schedule only gets tougher from here.

It's Venables' job to ensure it doesn't get worse. For the first time during a postgame press conference, there was no hopeful optimism or deflection of blame from Venables regarding Arbuckle's deficient offense, as he did last week after the Michigan loss. He was blunt and honest.

"I expect more," Venables said. "We gotta be a lot better than that. That can't be the product. We've got a lot of work to do there."

Venables was even asked if he felt there was something OU's offense does well that it could hang its hat on. His response: "Not really. No. I mean, you watched the game. Did you see anything?"

Ben Arbuckle clearly on hot seat after terrible offensive performance against New Mexico

Credit to the Lobos -- they have a solid defense loaded with experienced veterans. But they still do not compare to any SEC defense, which is all the Sooners have left on their schedule. That was the easiest task left for Arbuckle, and he made it look like his offense was taking on Georgia, which is exactly who's next.

The Sooners totaled 299 yards against New Mexico, with 238 through the air and 61 on the ground. The Lobos loaded the box and dared OU to rely on quarterback John Mateer's arm. That resulted in two interceptions that put the Lobos deep into Oklahoma territory both times. Thankfully, Mateer has an elite defense to bail him out.

"Just not respecting us pushing the ball downfield," Venables said of defenses matching up with OU in that way.

If not for the defense and the Sooners playing a Group of 6 opponent, they probably would have been down 28-7 at halftime instead of clinging to a 7-6 lead. Projecting this OU offense to score a touchdown against a Power 4 defense right now is also generous.

The Sooners jogged to the locker room at halftime as boos echoed throughout Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. There were "Fire Arbuckle" chants yelled from the student section during the second half.

This isn't just a two-game sample size and a knee-jerk reaction from one poor performance against a weak non-conference opponent. Even just this week, Arbuckle was asked if he felt like he was coaching for his job. It was a question he said he hadn't put any thought into.

It's definitely something that has crossed Venables' mind if he truly does want to see things change for the better. He was asked on Saturday night about his confidence in Arbuckle as OU's play-caller. A head coach will never admit during a press conference that a firing is looming, but the answer can't have Arbuckle feeling good about his status.

“I’m not going to talk about confidence," Venables said. "He’s our offensive coordinator. We’ve got a lot of work to do and need to improve to have a chance to win against the teams we’re going to play.”

It's clear Venables is as fed up as the rest of us with OU's offense under Arbuckle. The difference is, though, that he can actually do something about it. Do something, Venables.

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