Oklahoma’s 2024 season came to a close on Friday with a disappointing loss to Navy, 21-20, in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. The Michael Hawkins Jr.-led offense looked great in the first quarter and the Sooners took a 14-0 lead. However, the offense completely disappeared after that and didn’t score again until the very end of the fourth quarter, when a failed two-point conversion sealed the Sooners’ fate. While Brent Venables’ defense played admirably, despite being without its top two players, they couldn’t do enough to make up for the poor play of the offense.
Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 Season Ends With 21-20 Loss to Navy
Armed Forces Bowl Recap
Oklahoma received the opening kickoff and put together a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Gavin Sawchuk carried the ball four times and ended the drive with probably one of his best runs of the season: a 21-yard touchdown scamper. After OU’s defense forced a punt, the Sooners scored again, this time in less than two minutes. On third-and-seven from Oklahoma’s 44, Michael Hawkins Jr. scrambled to his left and then all the way across the field to his right before finding Zion Kearney down the field for a 56-yard touchdown.
But after taking that 14-0 lead, the Sooners went cold on offense and Navy took advantage. After OU turned the ball over on downs, the Midshipmen ran straight down the field in six plays and scored on an 11-yard run by Alex Tecza. Late in the third quarter, with Navy at their own five-yard line, quarterback Blake Horvath took an option play straight up the gut, nearly untouched, for a 95-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 apiece and setting a school record for longest rushing play.
In the fourth, Navy capitalized on a missed field goal by OU and drove 66 yards in over seven minutes and scored on another run by Horvath. With the Sooners trailing 21-14, Hawkins led an impressive drive that included one fourth down conversion and ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hawkins to Jake Roberts that put OU within one. Brent Venables quickly elected to go for two-point and the win, but the pocket collapsed quickly on Hawkins and he couldn’t escape the game-ending sack.
For the second time in three years under Venables, the Sooners have finished below .500 and unfortunately, Venables may be on the hot seat entering next season. During the offseason, he’ll need to address the offensive issues that have plagued this team the entire year.
Offseason Questions Facing the Sooners
The most pressing issue Venables will have to remedy is the offensive line situation. The o-line was downright atrocious win 2024 and was easily the Sooners’ biggest weakness. OU has already lost a few linemen to the portal, although, given the play of everyone in that position group this year, that probably isn’t concerning. However, the program has only landed one commitment from an offensive lineman: tackle Derek Simmons from Western Carolina. This portal cycle ends on Saturday December 28th, and won’t reopen again until the middle of April. All that is to say, Venables will need to hit the portal hard in the spring if he wants to avoid the disaster of this season again.
A few weeks ago, OU hired Ben Arbuckle, from Washington State, to fill its offensive coordinator position. He was the quarterbacks coach during the Armed Forced Bowl and will take over play calling duties next season. Along with him, the Sooners secured a commitment from the number one quarterback in the portal, John Matter, who is an electric dual-threat signal caller. What remains to be seen, is just how good Mateer can be next season. The Sooners lost nearly all of their best skill position players to the portal, and Mateer will be playing a whole new level of competition in the SEC in 2025. But for now, fans should be optimistic about Oklahoma’s shiny new quarterback and offensive coordinator.
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