Oklahoma-Ole Miss Preview: One Big Thing — What's Next for OU's Offense?

After firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, can the Sooners' offense improve this week against the talented Rebels?

Oklahoma coach Joe Jon Finley / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

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OXFORD, MS — So where does the Oklahoma offense go from here?

Brent Venables fired his offensive coordinator this week, just in time for the Sooners to face one of the nation’s most talented teams.

Lane Kiffin and his No. 18-ranked Mississippi Rebels aren’t feeling bad for OU. It’s unlikely Kiffin will take his foot off the gas like Josh Heupel, Steve Sarkisian and Shane Beamer did.

So the OU offense will walk into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday with its big brother — the OU defense — by its side as usual, but will things be any different this week?

The Sooners are a 21-point underdog, but bigger upsets than that have happened already this season — even this week. Can OU shock the world and take one giant leap toward becoming bowl eligible?

If Jackson Arnold — his starting job restored after Michael Hawkins’ jaw-dropping turnover outbreak last week — plays well, the Sooners have a chance. (Arnold probably doesn’t need to be elite, but he needs to be error free and make plays when they’re there to make.)

If Deion Burks plays, that’ll help. But it’s looking less likely OU’s best receiver will be off the injured list for this one.

If Jacob Jordan (or anyone else, really) comes to life like he did last week against South Carolina, OU’s receiver corps can become instantly better.

If the OU offensive line plays its best game of the year — and, frankly, plays way above its head against a deep and talented defensive front — and can protect Arnold and give the run game something more than its pitiful season average of 3.1 yards per carry, then the Sooners have a chance.

Then — and only then — will it matter what plays Joe Jon Finley calls in Littrell’s absence.

Finley has called plays just one time in his coaching career — for Missouri in an Alamo Bowl loss to Texas. The game suddenly moves a lot faster when you’re the one calling plays, so Finley’s first directive needs to be to keep up with every single detail of every event that’s happening in a window of about 20 seconds and then find the best play to call out of everything the offensive staff repped in practice all week and then communicate it to Arnold (or Hawkins) within about 10 seconds.

And then do it again.

For about 3 1/2 hours.

It’s not clear yet where new quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns will be utilized during the game. Maybe he’ll be on the sideline so he can look his QBs in the eye in between series. Or maybe he’ll be in the booth giving Finley reassurance — and perhaps even a little backup. Johns has extensive experience calling plays, just not in Oklahoma’s system.

Finley might need help managing the play clock and the timeouts and the down-and-distance — not to mention scheming against an Ole Miss unit that leads the nation in run defense and ranks No. 2 nationally in fewest points allowed.

Finley is the son of a high school coach. He played quarterback for his dad. When he wore the Crimson and Cream, he was a tight end who succeeded with guile and intelligence, rather than size and speed. Venables said Finley has good football instincts and understands how to attack a defense.

All he has to do now is prove it.

“We do have a good support system and a process in how we put together daily practice and daily game plan, installation and the different situationals and things of that nature,” Venables said. “And so he'll play a major part in that, but so will other staff members as well. It’ll be a collective effort.”