Oklahoma State's struggles could cost the Oklahoma Sooners a rising star

While the Oklahoma Sooners seem to be back on the rise after a disappointing 2024 season, the ship continues to sink at Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys could look to their old Bedlam rival for a lifeboat.

All signs point toward the Cowboys needing to replace longtime head coach Mike Gundy before next season, and after the Sooners went all the way to Washington State last year to find their offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle, they might have brought Gundy's replacement to the state already.

Ben Arbuckle possible replacement for Mike Gundy

At only 29 years old, Arbuckle is one of the best offensive minds in college football who will eventually emerge as a hot head coach candidate, but if the Sooners continue to trend the way they are, Arbuckle could get opportunities sooner than later.

Not only does Arbuckle seem like a fit to one day lead the Cowboys down the road, but The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported Friday that it's a possibility. FanSided's John Buhler also mentioned Arbuckle as a coordinator auditioning for a potential head coaching gig this season.

The Cowboys were just humiliated by Oregon 69-3 for the worst margin of defeat in program history after Gundy's comments from the week before fueled Dan Lanning to run up the score. Gundy was already on the hot seat after the Cowboys went 3-9 last season and failed to even win a Big 12 game, but even after settling for a pay cut over the offseason, Gundy's seat is hotter than ever after that trip to Oregon.

Meanwhile, shortly after that blowout in Eugene, Arbuckle called a masterful game to help boost the Sooners to a 24-13 win over then-No. 15 Michigan while utilizing the legs of his quarterback, John Mateer, who has risen as the Heisman Trophy favorite heading into Week 3.

It's been just two games for Arbuckle at OU, but he's already completely transformed the Sooners' offense after one of the worst offensive performances the program had ever experienced last year. A lot of the early success, though, is credited to Mateer, who is second in the country in total yards a game and leads the SEC in passing yards.

Mateer led the FBS with 44 total TDs last season in Arbuckle's system at Washington State before the two went to Norman together. Before that, Arbuckle had future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Cam Ward running his offense in 2023, his first season as OC. As an offensive quality control staffer at Western Kentucky in 2021, Arbuckle also mentored Bailey Zappe, who broke single-season FBS records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62).

Although young, Arbuckle has proven success everywhere he's been already, especially with developing quarterbacks, which has been an issue at OSU. A program somewhere, especially at the Group of Five level, will likely be willing to take a risk on the young coach after this season for a head coaching role. However, it could take more than that to draw Arbuckle away from OU, especially if he still gets Mateer for another year.

An early shot leading a Power Four program, though, could draw Arbuckle's interest. It would for any young coordinator. The Cowboys appear to have other targets if Gundy doesn't drastically turn things around, but similar to what the Sooners did with Lincoln Riley after longtime coach Bob Stoops retired, OSU could hit the jackpot by taking an early gamble on Arbuckle.

There are certainly a lot of "ifs" and a long season still ahead, but the Cowboys poaching from the Sooners' success is at the very least a possibility.

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