Who would have ever thought two games into the 2024 season, Oklahoma's high-scoring, high-octane offense would be in serious need of an engine tune-up?
Yes, there were some signs during the offseason and preseason that there could be some issues with a new starting quarterback and an all-new offensive line, at least in the early going. But I don't believe anyone expected the offensive breakdowns that have occurred in two of the easiest matchups the Sooners were expected to play the entire season.
For the past quarter century and most of the latter half of the previous century, Oklahoma football has been synonymous with offensive firepower and rolling up big-time offensive numbers. Several times in the last decade, the Sooners have led the nation in both scoring and total offense. Unfortunately, at the same time they were virtually unstoppable on offense, the Sooners were unable to stop anybody on the defensive end.
While the offensive was leading college football at one end of the spectrum, the OU defense was doing the same, but at the opposite end of the scale. Obviously that is not a sustainable situation for continued success. This is where Lincoln Riley's sudden departure was a blessing in disguise because it resulted in the hiring of the defensive-minded Brent Venables.
It was a rocky season for Venables and the Sooners in 2022 in his first go-around as the OU head coach. The offense continued to do what Oklahoma offenses have done in recent years -- with the exception of the blowout loss to Texas, of course -- but the defense continued to leak oil, finishing 122nd out 131 FBS teams. There was considerable improvement defensively in Year 2 of the Venables era at OU, and the 2024 season is clearly the best the Sooners have had in a number of years.
The OU offense remained one of the best in college football last season in the second year with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, ranking No. 3 in the country in total offensive yards. Even with a new starting quarterback, but with practically all of the offensive weapons from the year before back for the 2024 season, the expectation was that the offense would continue to produce at a high level, and now combined with a defense that could finally hold its head up high, the Sooners were in as good a position as they've been in recent year to compete at a high level in the high and mighty SEC.
Two games into Oklahoma's inaugural season in the SEC, however, the Sooners' strength and weaknesses have seemingly switched sides. The Sooners' scored 51 points in a Week 1 win over a much-inferior Temple team but didn't look all that good offensively in doing so. And in Week 2, those same concerns on offense became noticeably more blatant and troubling.
Through the first two games, the Sooners are averaging 313 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 108th out of 132 FBS teams. OU ranks 79th in rushing offense (146.0 yards per game) and 109th in passing offense (166.0 yards per game). This from a team that averaged nearly 200 more yards per game just one year ago, and that was for a full season.
Oklahoma currently sits third from the bottom out of 16 SEC teams in total offense and yards per play on offense and are dead last in third-down conversions (5 out of 26 for 19.2 percent). The Sooners ranked seventh in the nation in that latter category last season.
It's just two games into the season, so it's too early to go into full panic mode, but what's most troubling about poor offensive performance at this point of the season is that it is against two nonconference opponents that are projected to finish at the bottom of their conferences this season. The level of competition ramps up considerably the rest of the season and in a conference that has six teams ranked in the top-10 nationally this week.
At his weekly press conference, Venables was asked by Tulsa World sports columnist Berry Tramel, apart from injuries, how has the Oklahoma offense become so alarming so fast:
"I really don't know how to answer the question, other than the obvious," the Sooner head coach said. "There's a reason the ones are a one, and the twos are a two and the threes are a three (referring to the depth chart). And then there's a thing called chemistry and cohesion and timing and working together. Your best ability is your availability, so when you don't have your best guys available, you've got to get the next guys ready.
"There's a thing called experience and you have injuries...those are real things... then when you have it all happen at once...," Venables added, shaking his head. "Just is what it is. We'll get better the more we play."
"My job is to nurture the right perspective and the direction we have to go to improve." - Brent Venables on how he balances #Sooners' defensive success, offensive struggles.
— Mason Young (@Mason_Young_0) September 10, 2024
Not a very reassuring response from the man in charge, but it is abundantly clear that things have to get better on offense and fast if the Sooners want to avoid what could turn out to be a nightmare of a season with the difficult schedule ahead
I do not believe Venables and his coaching staff sacrificed the offense in order to get better defensively. All of the parts are still there for a quality offensive performance. The fact is, Arnold will be starting just his fourth game (third this season) at quarterback, and he's doing so behind an all-new offensive line, which is already into replacements because injury, with a new offensive coordinator calling plays (Seth Littrell) and with three key receivers out of action. These are not meant to be excuses, but they are the brutal reality.
Like they say, "You're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad as you think you are." The answer is somewhere in between. The Sooners will get it figured out. Venables is always quick to point out: It's never as fast as you want it to be. But in this case, the rest of what every Sooner fan is hoping will be a successful 2024 season is riding on it.