Blatant Homerism: The other team has coaches, too
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is taking fire this week in the wake of another loss in which the Oklahoma Sooners struggled to move the ball. After an offseason of hyping up new personnel additions intended to inject life into their offense, a 17-10 defeat at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines felt like the same old story from the previous two years. The dean of Oklahoma sportswriters, Berry Tramel, even made a point during OU’s weekly media luncheon on Tuesday to inquire about Arbuckle’s confidence in his job security.
You could point to one specific play in the first quarter of last week’s game that crystallized Arbuckle’s dilemma. Here’s the situation.
Oklahoma at Michigan. 9/12/26
The Sooners have the ball on the right hash of their own 18 yard line, facing second down with four yards to go after gaining six yards on a carry by running back Jason Avant. OU is using 12 personnel with two tight ends lined up to the boundary on the left side of the formation. Receiver Isaiah Sategna is attached as a wing, and receiver Trell Harris is split out to the boundary on the left. Quarterback John Mateer lines up in a shotgun formation with Avant to his right.
Michigan is playing the equivalent of a five-man front with two standup edges in seven techniques outside the offensive tackles. The Wolverines have rolled up a safety to give them three inside linebackers, while the other safety plays centerfield. Both cornerbacks line up to the field side of the formation in man coverage versus Sategna and Harris.
Essentially, the Sooners have two options: Run the ball into a forbidding defensive look or accept Michigan’s offer to go for a chunk play by throwing to Harris’ back shoulder on a sideline route. (To describe this as a decision is being facetious.)
On the snap from the center, Harris takes an outside release against his defender as Mateer fakes a handoff to Avant. Facing no pressure from the Michigan rushers, the QB cocks back and launches a shot in Harris’ direction. Harris adjusts to the flight of the pass, but he never gets a hand on the ball, which lands well out of bounds about 25 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage.
Even if a completion in that situation isn’t a given, it’s a standard throw for a college QB. Yet, Mateer’s pass never even has a chance to find its target.
Looking back, the result of that play feels like a microcosm of OU’s day versus the Wolverines – and the larger challenge facing OU and Arbuckle, in particular.
Mateer is erratic. Arbuckle is getting paid to build a functional offense under that constraint. The solution appears simple enough: De-emphasize the role of the QB. OU even structured its roster moves following last season largely around that implicit directive.
Unfortunately, much like war, the other side has a say in what happens on Saturdays. Other teams have coaches, and those coaches have eyes. The same factors driving OU’s coaches to limit what is required of their QB are driving the coaches on the other sideline to do more to put the game in his hands.
“Run the damn ball” produces diminishing returns, in other words, if your quarterback can’t make teams pay for selling out to stop the run. Mateer’s ability to do that seemingly depends on the day.
Do the Sooners have any reasons for optimism going forward?
The bad news is that they will face a slew of defenses in the same stratosphere as Michigan, which currently ranks 13th overall in Defensive SP+. Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina and Missouri all rank in the top 18 at this point.
On the plus side, Michigan and Oklahoma fumbled the ball a total of three times combined on Saturday, and the Wolverines recovered all of them. That probably won’t happen much more often this season. Expecting turnover luck to shift your direction isn’t a plan, though.
Stud left tackle Michael Fasusi also should return to the lineup in the near future. That should strengthen two spots on the offensive line, in theory, because it also means Ryan Fodje moves back to one of his preferred positions at guard or right tackle. (On the other hand, Fasusi’s injury could render him only marginally effective for the entire year.) But if Mateer’s shortcomings are putting a ceiling on OU’s offense, improved offensive line play will only take the Sooners so far.
Finally, all things considered, Mateer played the worst game of his career versus Michigan. That doesn’t mean the rest of his performances will be so ugly. Of course, it doesn’t mean they won’t be, either.
Buckle up for a bumpy ride.
About Michigan…
Excluding sacks, Wolverines QB Bryce Underwood ran the ball 16 times for 96 yards against OU. Seeing as Michigan snapped the ball just 58 times in the game, that easily constitutes Underwood’s biggest usage rate of his college career. His previous high came last year in Michigan’s bowl game against Texas, when Underwood ran the ball on 11 of his team’s 81 total plays.
Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham commented to the media in the week before his team’s matchup with the Sooners that Underwood’s hold on his job wouldn’t last forever. That was seen as a warning about Underwood’s uneven performance throwing the ball in week one versus Western Michigan. But what if Whittingham was sending a message to Underwood and his camp about running the ball? They might have balked at that proposition in the past.
Keep an eye on how Michigan deploys Underwood as a runner going forward.
Other games on my radar
I’m not going to talk about that one guy.
LSU at Ole Miss
Maybe this should be the new version of Bedlam? LSU’s nasty defense trying to corral Trinidad Chambliss sounds like box office.
Houston at Texas Tech
The Cougars have looked surprisingly potent on offense so far this year, while the Red Raiders remain a work in progress in that regard. A Friday night game in Lubbock doesn’t sound like it has the makings of an upset, but you never know with UH coach Willie Fritz.
Colorado at Northwestern
Define “culture clash.”
Virginia Tech at Maryland
Once upon a time, Hokies coach James Franklin was the heir apparent in College Park. He has probably forgotten all about that.
Florida State at Alabama
The Seminoles knocked off the Crimson Tide last year in one of the strangest results of the season. Who’s laughing now? (No, seriously, who’s laughing here?)