Some would describe Oklahoma's 2-2 start to the 2026 season as up and down. The truth is, the "up" part of that reference is applicable just to the season opener against UTEP. The Sooners have been on a downhill tumble ever since.
The interesting part of this is that the game the Sooners lost at Michigan in Week 2, they probably should and could have won. Similarly, OU probably should have lost the game it won vs. New Mexico.
Oklahoma has long been known for its offensive firepower, a characteristic of this program that goes all the way back to the Bud Wilkinson era and clearly manifested itself during the Wishbone years with Barry Switzer and again under the Bob Stoops coaching reign.
The Sooners also piled up large total offensive numbers and plenty of points as a national leader in Lincoln Riley's seven seasons in Norman, but in the last four seasons, with Brent Venables in charge, reengineering the defense for life in the SEC has been Job 1 and, as a result, the offense has regressed from a strength to a liability.
Oklahoma was idle last week ahead of its annual rivalry showdown on Saturday against No. 1 Texas. That should help in getting some injured players back to availability status, but also afforded the coaching staff some extra time to work out some solutions for the Sooners' struggling offense.
If there is any hope for this offense this season, it needs to show up at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Otherwise, buckle up, Sooner fans; it's going to be a frustrating, painful season following Oklahoma football.
Here is a good-bad-ugly breakdown of Oklahoma's first four games in the 2026 season by the numbers:
The Good
.230 -- Opponents' success rate (12-of-52) on third-down conversion attempts. Oklahoma leads the SEC in this statistical category and is No. 3 nationally.
122.5 -- Passing yards allowed per game by the Oklahoma defense, which leads the SEC and ranks 4th nationally. The Sooners have allowed just one passing touchdown this season.
129.8 -- Average all-purpose yards per game by Isaiah Sategna, second-best in the SEC through four games.
255 -- Pass receiving yardage by Colorado State transfer tight end Rocky Beers through four games. That's more than double the total receiving yards by converted tight end Jaren Kanak last season in 13 games. Beers also has two touchdown catches, two more than Kanak had all of last season.
The Bad
2.9 -- Oklahoma running backs are averaging only 2.9 yards per carry. That's down from a 14-game average of nearly 6.0 yards per attempt in 2017 through 2019.
109 -- As good as the Oklahoma defense has been this season at getting third-down stops, the Sooner offense has fared as badly as OU's opponents in converting third downs. Oklahoma is 18-for-53 in third-down tries, a success rate of 34%, which is 109th nationally.
The Ugly
6 -- Quarterback John Mateer has accounted for six of the Sooners' 10 total turnovers through the first four games. He committed half of that total in the loss to Georgia, which led to 14 of the Bulldogs' 41 points, including an 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
27 -- Oklahoma has given up a total of 64 points in four games; 27 of those points have come off of turnovers. That's 42% of points allowed.
99.0 - Average rushing yards per game by the Oklahoma offense. The Sooners rank 131st out of 138 FBS teams.
120 -- Where the Sooners rank among FBS teams in total offense, averaging 321.3 yards of offense per game, worst in the SEC.
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