There is no way around it: Oklahoma was manhandled by Texas on Saturday in the Red River Rivalry. Aside from Billy Bowman’s interception on Texas’ opening drive, the Longhorns did whatever they wanted to the Sooners. Texas won 34-3 and out-gained Oklahoma 406 yards to 236, although it felt even more extreme than that. The Michael Hawkins-led offense didn’t even cross midfield at all in the second and third quarters and only managed to do so late in the fourth.
Now, Oklahoma needed a lot to go right to even have a chance in this one, but they were totally unable to move the ball on offense. The running game was inefficient, the offensive line was beaten on nearly every play, and Hawkins was scrambling for his life. Oklahoma is now 4-2 and still has five very difficult games left on its schedule. Oklahoma might not be favored in any of the rest of its SEC games this season and could miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 1998 if the Sooners can’t find a way to upset somebody. But given the state of this team, how can Brent Venables turn this team around?
Oklahoma Needs to Figure it Out
Solving the Offensive Issues
Putting the quarterback questions aside, Oklahoma’s offensive line issues may ruin this season on their own. Even before the season began, the Sooners had numerous questions on the offensive line and none of them have been answered thus far. OU has already used 12 different o-line combinations and the one they used against Texas didn’t work any better than the others. Unfortunately, fixing an offensive line midseason is a tall task and OU may simply not have the talent to even do it.
Against Texas, the offensive line problems manifested themselves in a wholly inefficient running game and the inability to protect Michael Hawkins from the pass rush. The Sooners averaged just 2.3 rushing yards on 39 attempts; Jovantae Barnes rushed 14 times for 28 yards and Hawkins rushed 20 times for just 27 yards. Even though Hawkins probably gave into his freshman tendencies and scrambled more than he should have, there was so much pressure in his face that it didn’t really matter. Many Oklahoma fans are calling for co-offensive coordinator and play caller Seth Littrell to be fired after total ineptitude of the offense this year, but that may not be enough to fix the talent issues that OU has on the line.
Will Venables Stick with Hawkins?
Hawkins looked very much like the true freshman he is against the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. He was skittish in the pocket and looking to scramble and get outside the pocket on every play. His speed and athleticism were apparent and when he did throw the ball it had great power behind it, but his lack of experience is very apparent.
Now, that’s not to say that Venables should rethink Hawkins as the starter. If he and the coaches have completely given up on the Jackson Arnold experience, then we’ll probably see Hawkins start every game for the rest of the season. But at the very least, the Sooners need to have an answer at quarterback by the end of this year. They simply do not have the luxury of entertaining a quarterback battle to begin next season. Hawkins clearly has the speed and agility to be a great running quarterback, but he needs his passing and pocket presence to improve by leaps and bounds. Arnold is also a good runner, but he needs to work on his decision-making and tendency to turn the ball over. As the season enters its second half, the most intriguing aspect of this Oklahoma team will be the quarterback position.
Hats Off to the Defense
Venables is a defensive mind first and foremost, and his defense has delivered this year. If they were paired with a better offense, the national media would be talking about OU as one of the best defenses in the country. Even though they allowed 34 points to Texas, at least 14 of those points can be chalked up to having to defend short fields thanks to the offense. But Danny Stutsman and his fellow defenders played hard and fast all game, even when it was out of hand. They were flying around, delivering hits and making sure Texas knew it wasn’t going to be an easy day.
The defense’s performance this season should give OU fans a lot of hope moving forward. Venables can clearly recruit and develop defensive players in a way that the Sooners’ previous coach was allergic to. Now, he just needs to do the same on the other side of the ball.
Main Image: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
