Oklahoma's First Bye Week Report Card

The Sooners have been very good on defense, but from QB play to the offensive line to coaching, the offense has left a lot to be desired.

Oklahoma's Damonic Williams (52), Jake Roberts (87) and Jaquaize Pettaway (17) celebrate the Auburn win. / John Reed-Imagn Images

Most who follow Oklahoma football probably would have predicted the Sooners would be 4-1 heading into their first of two open dates.

But not like this.

A quarterback change less than 3 1/2 games into the 2024 season, almost zero reps for OU’s top five wide receivers from last year and musical chairs on the offensive line have produced one of college football’s most anemic offenses.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma defense has literally won two games and appears to be the kind of unit that Brent Venables was brought back to Norman for.

Victories over Temple, Houston and Tulane in non-conference play preceded the Sept. 21 SEC opener, a 25-15 home loss to Tennessee.

Last weekend, the Sooners went on the road, rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and secured a monumental 27-21 win at Auburn — the program’s first-ever Southeastern Conference win.

OU is off this weekend, and can heal up an injury list that included 11 players missing from Saturday’s win.

Just ahead is the annual showdown with Texas — ranked No. 2 this week and coming off its first College Football Playoff appearance and its first Big 12 Championship in 15 years.

The next open date is five weeks away following home games with South Carolina and Maine and road trips to Ole Miss and Missouri.

Here’s Sooners On SI’s bye week report card for September.

Quarterback: C-

Five games in, Oklahoma has yet to produce a 200-yard passer. Jackson Arnold was mostly indecisive in his four starts — the exception being his performance against Tulane, when he threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and ran for 97 yards and two TDs. But his three turnovers against Tennessee — his fifth of the season and the ninth of his career going back to the Alamo Bowl — was untenable. Michael Hawkins produced two fourth-quarter TDs against Tennessee, and he had both a fast start and a fantastic finish to beat Auburn.

Running back: C

Five games in, OU has yet to produce a 100-yard rusher. Jovantae Barnes leads the team with 199 yards rushing, but is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. Taylor Tatum has 116 yards and is averaging 6.4 per carry, but his blown protection caused Arnold to throw a pick-six. Gavin Sawchuk is averaging just 1.8 yards per rush. OU’s offensive line is a big culprit here, but this position hasn’t done anything special yet.

Wide receiver: Incomplete

Hard to grade fairly here when the top five returning wideouts from 2023 — Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jayden Gibson, and Jalil Farooq — have missed the entire season. That’s 124 catches, 2,296 yards and 18 touchdowns. That quartet has played a grand total of 24 snaps this season, and doesn’t appear close to adding to that total any time soon. Purdue transfer Deion Burks looked like a real deep threat in the spring, but his 26 catches have gone for just 201 yards — 7.7 per catch — and he has three TDs. Speedy Brenen Thompson has 10 catches for just 106 yards — 10.6 per catch. J.J. Hester’s first catches of the year all came at Auburn, and he delivered two big ones — a gutsy third-down conversion and a game-changing 60-yard bomb to start the comeback.

Tight end: C+

Southeastern Louisiana transfer Bauer Sharp has been good, ranking second on the team with 18 receptions for 159 receiving yards and a touchdown. He’s struggled mightily with blocking, however, and his illegal motion penalty last week took a touchdown off the board. Likewise, Baylor transfer Jake Roberts has been good in the pass game with six catches for 67 yards and a TD, but he’s been overwhelmed at times in the run game, and his offensive pass interference penalty last week wiped out a 48-yard catch by Sharp. Kade McIntyre has 25 snaps in three games this season, but Kaden Helms and Devon Mitchell have yet to break into the lineup.

Offensive line: D

Injuries have been a real problem, obviously, with SMU transfer Branson Hickman winning the center job and then going down on the second series of the year. Jake Taylor won the right tackle job in preseason, but he’s been unable to stay healthy. Troy Everett could have helped, but he got hurt in the spring. Assuming no one gets hurt between now and Oct. 12, Bill Bedenbaugh will have the same starting five two weeks in a row for the first time this year. Still, those who have been healthy enough to play haven’t been good. Right guard and North Texas transfer Febechi Nwaiwu leads the team with 325 snaps but has only graded out at 56.8, per Pro Football Focus. Left guard Jacob Sexton, who’s also played left tackle, has posted a 61.6 grade. USC transfer Michael Tarquin has been the Sooners’ best blocker, with a 70.4 PFF grade, and has been valuable at both left and right tackle. Joshua Bates filled in at center and posted a 52.9, while Hickman has posted a 51.8. Heath Ozaeta plays left guard and graded out at 61.4. Taylor, in just 77 snaps, posted a 58.7.

Defensive end: B+

R Mason Thomas has directly helped win two games with his fourth-quarter sacks — three against Tulane and two at Auburn. He’s up to 5.5 on the season now, and his overall PFF grade is 73.6 on 199 snaps. The rest of the group has come along slowly, though: Ethan Downs has played 221 snaps with one sack and has a grade of 75.7, Trace Ford has eight tackles, two sacks and a grade of 78.8 (while also playing linebacker and cheetah), Miami-Ohio transfer Caiden Woullard has six QB hurries (same as Downs and Thomas) and a 66.4 grade on 89 snaps, and P.J. Adebawore has two hurries and a 58.8 grade on 47 snaps. 

Defensive tackle: B

TCU transfer Damonic Williams has been the most consistent of an improved DT room, leading the group with 12 tackles. But that only includes one tackle for loss as the starting rotation of Williams, Da’Jon Terry, Jayden Jackson and Gracen Halton have combined for just 4.5 TFLs (2.5 by Halton, including a game-clinching safety against Houston, to go with 10 QB pressures). More good days are ahead for a unit that has helped OU allow just 105.6 yards per game (30th in the nation).

Linebacker: B

Danny Stutsman has been as good as advertised to start his senior year, leading the Sooners with 40 tackles with two TFLs. He’s missed nine tackles, however, according to PFF, and has graded out at 69.4 so far this season on 279 snaps. Kip Lewis is fourth on the team with 21 tackles and 1.5 TFLs, but his pick-six at Auburn simply won the game. Lewis has played 168 snaps and graded out at 69.5, including 82.8 in coverage. Lewis Carter has 13 tackles (12 solo) and two TFLs with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and has the second-highest PFF grade on the defense, 86.2 overall, on just 48 snaps. Kobie McKinzie has gotten better and better, now with 13 tackles and a 67.1 PFF grade on 151 snaps. Sammy Omosigho has been a capable replacement for Kendel Dolby at cheetah linebacker, with a 73.7 grade on 139 snaps and ranks fifth on the team with 19 tackles and second with 3.5 TFLs. Dolby is missed, as he posted a 77.2 overall grade a 79.5 against the run and a 73.2 against the pass and a team-high 85.6 tackling on 94 snaps.

Cornerback: C+

Once projected as a strength of the defense, the cornerback spot has been one of the few weaknesses at times. Kani Walker is tied for second on the defense with 279 snaps and has posted a PFF grade of 66.7, and Dez Malone has played 213 snaps with a 68.9 grade. Both have given up deep balls this season, however. So has sixth-year senior Woodi Washington, who missed the opener and has shuffled over to cheetah linebacker for long stretches. Washington has 15 tackles and a 50.9 PFF grade on 170 snaps.

Safety: B+

Senior Billy Bowman leads the Sooners with 314 snaps, but his overall defensive grade is just 57.7. he third on the team with 23 tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery. Per PFF, Robert Spears-Jennings leads the entire defense with a PFF grade of 88.7 — underscored by his excellence in all areas: 82.8 against the run, 87.2 in coverage, 85.4 as a pass rusher and 84.6 tacking. Peyton Bowen has posted a 58.0 overall grade and has 14 total tackles on 165 snaps.

Punter: A+

Aside from Jackson Arnold’s 39-yard quick kick that landed inside the 5, nobody’s been better at their position this year than Luke Elzinga. He’s averaging 45.8 yards per punt with a long of 63, has 11 punts that went at least 50 yards, and has pinned 13 of his 29 boots inside the 20. Only two of his kicks were touchbacks, and only 10 have been returned — for an average of 1.9 yards.

Kicker: A-

Only three things have gone wrong for OU kickers this year: Tyler Keltner missed the first extra point of his career, he also missed a 45-yard field goal, and he didn’t initiate the snap that resulted in a delay of game that took three points off the board. Everything else Keltner has kicked this year has been dead-eye perfect. Keltner missed the Auburn game after an emergency appendectomy, but Zach Schmit came in and went 2-for-2 on field goals, made his one extra point attempt and drove five of his six kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

Coaching: C

On offense, Bill Bedenbaugh and DeMarco Murray’s groups have underachieved. Emmett Jones has gotten the most out of his crew. Joe Jon Finley’s tight ends have been hot and cold but mostly unremarkable. Seth Littrell’s starting quarterback never seemed to get comfortable in the offense, although the backup has been dynamic. Littrell’s play calling has lacked any type of identity or consistency, and that’s held the offense back. Brandon Hall and Jay Valai’s defensive backs have been good but not great, though better days would seem to be just ahead. Todd Bates’ tackles are better than they’ve been, and Miguel Chavis’ d-ends are buoyed by the late-game heroics of RMT. Zac Alley has brought along his young linebackers nicely, and his play-calling has been expert-level at times, such as Lewis’ pick-six off a fake blitz at Auburn. Brent Venables has gotten more comfortable in his own skin as a head coach, and his decision to let Ted Roof go and bring in Alley can’t be overstated. If Littrell ever finds his rhythm as a game-planner and play-caller, the offense will get markedly better.