What's gone wrong for OU football in 2024 season, and how can Sooners fix it for 2025?
Ryan AberColton SulleyThe Oklahoman
NORMAN — In what has become a lost season for OU, barring a surprise finish, there are no shortage of problem areas for the Sooners in 2024.
Most of the issues have come on the offensive side.
Going into Week 12 action, the Sooners were No. 117 nationally in total offense at just 326.8 yards per game.
Last season’s team averaged nearly that (324.8 yards per game) through the air alone.
So with OU on a bye, we take a look at the five biggest things that have gone wrong for the Sooners this season and five ways they need to address their issues this offseason.
Five things that went wrong for OU
1. Picking the wrong quarterback
Sooners coach Brent Venables said he didn’t know Dillon Gabriel would consider transferring to another college and didn’t know he would have a chance to convince Gabriel to stay.But while the plan all along was for Gabriel to depart after the 2023 season and for Jackson Arnold to take over, Gabriel’s success should’ve had Venables and his staff doing everything they could to retain Gabriel.
With Gabriel, the Sooners would’ve been a more attractive option for offensive transfers, and could’ve helped cover some deficiencies in the offense.
Yes, it might’ve meant Arnold would’ve transferred but that’s the reality of college football these days, and Arnold could well leave after this season anyway.
The Sooners’ quarterback situation — and Gabriel’s success so far this season — is yet another indication that it’s better to stick with the known vs. the unknown.
— Ryan Aber, staff writer
2. Promoting Seth Littrell
This one goes hand-in-hand with the first.Seth Littrell and Arnold had a strong relationship, so it made some sense for Venables to promote the offensive analyst to coordinator.
Littrell had a strong track record, though he also had never coached quarterbacks and the Sooners were in need of a strong quarterbacks coach with not only Arnold but freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. in the room.
Maybe without other factors, Littrell could’ve been successful but the offense was a mess with him calling plays.
Going out and getting an experienced offensive coordinator probably wouldn’t have made the biggest difference immediately, but not doing it looks to have put the Sooners a year behind.
— Ryan Aber, staff writer
3. Offensive line misses in the transfer portal
OU’s offensive line was one of the biggest concerns heading into the season.With Andrew Raym, Tyler Guyton, Walter Rouse and McKade Mettauer all departing for the next level and Cayden Green and Savion Byrd transferring, the Sooners needed a quick infusion of talent in the trenches.
So OU added Michael Tarquin from USC, Febechi Nwaiwu from North Texas, Geirean Hatchett from Washington and Spencer Brown from Michigan State.
For various reasons, the portal rebuild hasn’t worked.
Hatchett was hurt in the season opener and lost for the season, Brown has been mostly a disappointment, Nwaiwu has been up and down though at least available every game and Tarquin has been the best of the bunch — but that’s more an indictment on the others than an indication that his addition has worked swimmingly.
— Ryan Aber, staff writer
4. Wide receiver corps flummoxed by injuries
Jayden Gibson’s injury was the first domino to fall, but at the time it seemed OU could take a hit at the wide receiver position.It looked like the deepest group on the team, with Jalil Farooq and Nic Anderson returning after strong 2023 seasons, Andrel Anthony seemingly on schedule for return after being hurt vs. Texas last season and Deion Burks transferring from Purdue.
But one by one, those receivers went down with injury.
Anderson and Anthony have appeared in just one game each, Farooq played in his second vs. Missouri, and Burks has appeared in just five.
No OU player has more than 39 catches for 299 yards and no wide receiver has more than Burks’ 31 catches for 245 yards.
The freshmen haven’t been able to expand their roles, outside of the late emergence of walk-on Jacob Jordan.
With all the injuries, the Sooners haven’t been able to throw much over the middle of the field.
— Ryan Aber, staff writer
5. Gavin Sawchuk’s lost season
Gavin Sawchuk was excellent over the last half of last season, with five consecutive games of 100 or more yards to end the year.Sawchuk’s combination of speed and power seemingly made him a clear No. 1 running back for the Sooners, especially with Jovantae Barnes coming off a season of health struggles of his own and Tawee Walker having departed for Wisconsin.
But while Barnes has rebounded nicely, Sawchuk has been a non-factor.
He has just 20 carries for 42 yards despite no indication he wasn’t healthy until the last four games where he’s been out.
But clearly there’s been something else going on with Sawchuk, who averaged 6.2 yards per carry last season but who is averaging just 2.1 yards per carry this season.
— Ryan Aber, staff writer
More:Why did OU football give Brent Venables a contract extension over summer? Good question
Five ways to fix the Sooners
1. Hire the right offensive coordinator
There’s no question Brent Venables missed with the hirings of Seth Littrell as offensive coordinator and Joe Jon Finley as co-offensive coordinator.You could understand the rationale of wanting continuity for young quarterback Jackson Arnold with Littrell, a captain on the 2000 national title team, but the Sooners didn’t hire a quarterbacks coach. Venables now has the opportunity to embark on a national search and try to find the right fit.
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said the search will be “as open as it needs to be.” Venables said following the firing of Littrell that he “could care less about OU ties” when making his decision on who to hire next.
Who could be on Venables’ shortlist?
Tulane’s Joe Craddock worked at Clemson with Venables and has called plays in the SEC at Arkansas. Brennan Marion spent a season with Steve Sarkisian at Texas and has UNLV’s offense rolling and Georgia Tech’s Buster Faulkner won two national titles in three seasons as an offensive quality control assistant for quarterbacks at Georgia.
A dream candidate would be Indiana’s Mike Shanahan, but convincing him to leave head coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers would be tough.
The offensive coordinator market will be thin due to job security but Venables’ future might depend on whether he nails this hire.
— Colton Sulley, staff writer
2. Figure out the quarterback situation
The Sooners bet their future on Arnold.Arnold was benched in his fourth regular season start for Michael Hawkins Jr. before taking back the reins a few weeks later. But after last week’s road loss to Missouri in which Arnold continued his turnover struggles, some are questioning whether he could ever be the answer at OU.
That is, if he even desires to return.
Arnold has committed 11 turnovers during his short Sooners career. Opposing teams have scored a combined 44 points on eight of Arnold’s turnovers.
As for Hawins, time will tell if he wants to stay after everything that transpired this season. If Arnold departs, does OU go after a transfer portal quarterback to start and continue to develop Hawkins?
Hiring an offensive coordinator who could bring their quarterback or who has a quarterback in mind is seemingly the Sooners’ best bet moving forward.
— Colton Sulley, staff writer
3. Keep and develop young offensive linemen, find success in portal
OU whiffed on offensive linemen in the transfer portal last offseason and it has shown throughout this season.If the Sooners can keep players fully healthy ahead of next season and continue to develop young players like Eddy Pierre-Louis and Heath Ozaeta, the unit could be much-improved next season. If offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh can keep Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje in OU’s 2025 class, they could possibly even contribute next season as talented freshmen.
As things stand, the Sooners should probably go big-game hunting on a left tackle in the portal.
— Colton Sulley, staff writer
4. Add a transfer portal pass rusher
As solid as OU’s defense has played this season, it is still missing a consistent pass-rushing force other SEC programs boast.Going up against strong offensive lines each week has proved difficult for the Sooners.
OU will lose a lot of their production on defense next season and will need to make several new additions.
— Colton Sulley, staff writer
5. Improve the secondary
Speaking of positions needing to improve.The Sooners’ secondary, expected to be one of the deepest groups, has been one of the most inconsistent positions on the team in 2024. OU’s cornerbacks struggled mightily against SEC passing offenses like Mississippi and Texas.
The Sooners struck gold with true freshman cornerback Eli Bowen but will need young players such as Jaydan Hardy to take the next step next season.
OU has talent down the depth chart in the secondary but will likely make a few portal acquisitions to add experience next season, especially with Billy Bowman gone.
— Colton Sulley, staff writer
