It’s no secret that the offense for the Oklahoma Sooners this season has been bad. It’s the worst unit OU has fielded on that side of the ball since 1998, and one of the team’s two offensive coordinators was fired seven games into the year by head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].
Despite only putting up 14 points in Saturday’s loss against the Ole Miss Rebels, Oklahoma’s offense improved from what we saw versus Texas and South Carolina. Though they were shut out in the second half and the offensive line allowed a school-record 10 sacks, there were some positives to take away, albeit small ones.
The Sooners played some of their best offensive football in weeks in the game’s first half, and though it fell apart at the end of the game, there are a few players on that side of the ball that rose to the top and had positive outings, despite the chaos.
Here are three players on OU’s offense who deserve credit for the way they played against Ole Miss.
1. Jacob Jordan, WR
Despite being a true freshman walk-on, wide receiver [autotag]Jacob Jordan[/autotag] caught six passes for 38 yards on Saturday. He’s currently OU’s most effective wideout, and he possesses the combination of being able to get open and being able to catch the ball.
All of Oklahoma’s other wide receivers had exactly one catch in the game (J.J. Hester) and Jordan deserves even more snaps and targets than he’s already getting. Despite less experience this season than OU’s other reserve wide receivers, he’s had more impact in two games than they have all season.
2. Jackson Arnold, QB
Quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] should be applauded for not sitting and pouting when he was benched in favor of Michael Hawkins Jr. earlier this year. Instead of redshirting, transferring, refusing to play, or sulking, Arnold continued to stay ready for the team. In this day and age of college football, that’s extremely rare and speaks to the high character Arnold possesses.
He’s now burned that redshirt, and has become OU’s starter under center again. He displayed some really good things on Saturday, despite being under pressure most of the day. He played well in the first half, but was under constant duress when the Sooners were blanked in the second half.
He went 22-for-31 with 182 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions through the air. Take the sack yardage out and Arnold ran for 99 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.
The potential that the staff raved about with Arnold can be seen in glimpses. Let’s see if he can start to put the pieces together over the final four games of 2024, and then see what happens after that.
3. Jovantae Barnes, RB
Running back [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] is the offensive player I’ve been the most proud of over the past two weeks. He plays as hard as anyone on the team, and runs with physicality whenever he has the ball in his hands. His effort against Ole Miss kept the OU offense on the field on multiple occasions.
Barnes had 16 carries for 67 yards and added five catches for 57 yards, to lead OU in yards through the air and on the ground. He doesn’t have the speed or elusiveness that other players in the running back room posses, but he’s so tough and powerful when he gets moving north and south.
Ole Miss has a good defensive front that is one of the nation’s best against the run. Barnes certainly didn’t have a record-breaking day, but he showed that his effort and tenacity won’t stop and that he can be a focal point for this offense moving forward.