Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Loss to No. 18 Mississippi

The Sooners hung with Ole Miss for a half before succumbing to the Rebels in Oxford on Saturday.

Ole Miss' Jared Ivey (15) reacts with Suntarine Perkins (4) after a sack during the first half against Oklahoma. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

OXFORD, MS — Oklahoma shocked everyone for two quarters. 

The Sooners, fresh off staff changes amid back-to-back blowout losses, took their first lead into half in conference play, but OU couldn’t finish off No. 18 Mississippi. 

Lane Kiffin’s team dominated the third quarter to power past Brent Venables’ Sooners, as the Rebels notched a 26-14 victory Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. 

OU’s offense showed moved the ball for the first time in weeks, but it wasn’t enough to avoid falling to 4-4 on the year and 1-4 in the SEC. 

Signs of Life… At First

The biggest question all week was how much could actually change for Oklahoma’s offense since Seth Littrell was dismissed on Sunday. 

Under Joe Jon Finley and Kevin Johns, it turns out everything can change. 

Things looked a lot closer to what Jeff Lebby ran the last two years than Littrell’s operation, with Jackson Arnold getting rolled out to try and nullify Ole Miss’ (6-2, 2-2) pass rush. 

Running back Jovantae Barnes ran the ball consistently against the nation’s top rushing defense, allowing the Sooners to march down the field multiple times. 

OU’s final drive of the first half, a 92-yard touchdown drive, was the team’s longest of the season. That came after starting left tackle Jacob Sexton exited the game with an ankle injury, too. 

The first drive of the game, a 74-yard drive that fell six feet short of the goal line, was the Sooners’ sixth-longest drive of the season. 

Finley needed just one half of football for both of those series. 

Unfortunately, the Sooners didn’t have the element of surprise after halftime. 

While Jaxson Dart carved up OU’s secondary (more on that in a minute), the offense gained just 23 yards in the third quarter. 

That allowed the Rebels to flip the momentum inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and open up a 26-14 advantage after three-straight scoring drives to open the half. 

Vulnerable Through the Air

Dart opened the game with ease, moving Ole Miss’ offense effortlessly down the field for a touchdown, though the first half was far from easy for the Rebels’ offense. 

Out of halftime, Kiffin went back to the air. 

Ole Miss connected for five passing plays of 20 yards or more five times in the third quarter alone, attacking the middle of the field, cornerback Kani Walker and then eventually cornerback Dez Malone, who was thrown into the fray in place of Walker. 

Playing without leading receiver Tre Harris, the Rebels needed to find other means to stress Oklahoma. 

The result was a balanced passing attack with Dart spreading the ball to plenty of different wide receivers — none of which Venables and defensive coordinator Zac Alley seemed to have an answer for. 

It was also the second straight week in which the defense didn’t force a turnover, as the Sooners’ only takeaway came when J.J. Hester negated a Taylor Tatum fumble by punching the ball out himself.

Kiffin didn’t sit on the ball in the second half like South Carolina did a week ago, meaning the OU defense had its chance but couldn’t help the offense out by setting Arnold up with prime field position in the second half.

Arnold Steady in Return 

There will be no quarterback contraversy this week. 

Arnold’s return to the lineup was something to build on, despite Ole Miss bottling up the offense in the second half. 

Finley and Johns helped the offensive line out by rolling the pocket, and Arnold was able to make faster decisions to get the ball out, even if he had to settle for check downs for most of the afternoon. 

His only turnover was far from his fault, as it looked like right guard Febechi Nwaiwu was unable to pull fast enough on a running play which led to Arnold getting obliterated at the mesh point. 

The former 5-star quarterback was able to calmly move the offense down the field at the end of the first half to perfectly manage the clock and score a touchdown, too, something the offense will hope to build on. 

There were still very few opportunities to strike deep for Oklahoma’s offense, but the coaching change didn’t change the offensive line situation or the health status of the receiving corps. 

As the Sooners were forced to throw the ball on every down on the final few possessions, the offensive line capitulated and prevented Arnold from having a change to engineer a comeback. 

He was sacked six times on the final three drives alone and nine times total as everything around Oklahoma’s quarterbacks continued to struggle. 

Sunday’s film review will bring plenty for the young quarterback to build on, but Arnold looked much more at home at the helm of OU’s offense in his fifth start of the year.