Oregon’s championship dreams get a reality check, but promise remains

The Ducks may be getting an early reality check after a confusing 2-0 start to the year.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t fully there for the Oregon Ducks’ 37-34 win over the Boise State Broncos on Saturday night.

Not at Autzen Stadium. Not mentally.

About 30 hours before kickoff between the No. 7 Ducks and the Broncos, my wife gave birth to our second child. Since paternity leave isn’t exactly a thing for a college football reporter adding to his family in September, I didn’t have the opportunity to completely check out of Oregon’s Week 2 game. However, I opted to watch the game from the comfort of my couch rather than in the middle of 59,000 anxious and agonized fans about two miles down the road.

It’s probably a good thing, too, because I’m not sure I had the brain power or energy to process all that happened.

Oregon’s first punt returned for a touchdown since 2018? The Ducks’ first kickoff return touchdown since 2019? An Oregon offensive line that trotted out 11 personnel combinations before finally figuring out which one protected Dillon Gabriel? The Ducks kicker nailing a game-winning field goal as time expired?

None of that even mentions Noah Whittington committing the most horrific of sins, dropping the ball short of the goal line on his TD return and being saved only by the grace of Jayden Limar.

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There were times while watching this game that I thought I had finally drifted off and entered Sweet Dreamland for the first time in a couple of days. I could feel myself slipping far away from the world of umbilical cords, swaddling blankets and nighttime feedings.

But then Ashton Jeanty would shake me back to reality. A reality in which I’m being forced to come to grips with the fact the Oregon Ducks might not be a very good team.

Yet.

Once again, Oregon earned a win on Saturday. Once again, there likely isn’t a coach or player exiting the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex feeling good about what they accomplished.

Boise State outgained the Ducks on offense, 369-352. Oregon lost the rushing yards battle, 221-109, committed 9 penalties for 74 yards, went 4 for 12 on third downs, punted 7 times, lost 2 fumbles and gave up 4 sacks.

This is not a team fit to compete for a national championship at the end of the year. It’s not even a team that can make it to the Big Ten Championship game at the beginning of December.

Fortunately for Dan Lanning, though, teams can change and morph throughout the season.

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We saw it take place with the Ducks last year. After barely beating Texas Tech on the road, the Ducks went on to have one of the better seasons in recent Oregon history. Down in Lubbock, I reached out to Lanning to thank him for accommodating media members who were delayed for his press conference due to a postgame snafu. His text back?

“We’re gonna get better, I promise.”

I didn’t doubt it then, and I don’t doubt it now.

On paper, the Ducks should be better. They have a leading Heisman Trophy candidate under center, a Rimington Trophy candidate spearheading the offensive line, multiple preseason All-Americans across the roster and a staff stocked with future head coaches.

Oregon is simply too talented to be this bad. However, I think everything is too fresh right now to be as good as many expect.

When you bring in nine transfers who are occupying spots in the starting lineup, it’s going to take a second for things to jell. It may not be fair to ask them to click like national champions in the first month of the season. That’s not making excuses for why Oregon has been as bad, sloppy or mistake-prone as they have so far this season, but just an understanding of why things might be playing out this way so far.

The good thing for Duck fans is there is a lot of time for these mistakes to be corrected, and so far they haven’t been deadly yet. Oregon is 2-0 with a pair of incredibly uninspiring and ugly wins under its belt. The Ducks fell from No. 3 to No. 7 in the AP Poll after Week 1, and could fall a couple of spots again after Week 2.

In the end, rankings in September don’t mean a damn, though.

Duck fans can still dream of a world where their team is competing for a Big Ten championship in their first season as members of the conference. A world where Oregon hosts a first-round College Football Playoff still exists, and a national championship is not yet out of the question.

If you want to, you can still dream of those things with realistic expectations that they may come true in a few months.

I myself am just going to try and skip past the REM cycle and get some good, deep sleep.

When my son’s cries shake me back to reality a couple of months down the road, I have a feeling the Ducks are going to be enjoying that dream season we all envisioned going into 2024.

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Where does Oklahoma land in CBS Sports’ latest power rankings?

Despite a 48-point win over Temple, the Oklahoma Sooners dropped in CBS Sports updated power rankings.

The Oklahoma Sooners won their first game as a member of the [autotag]Southeastern Conference[/autotag] on Friday night, defeating the Temple Owls, 51-3. It was one of many big wins by the top programs in college football in Week 1.

CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello released his power rankings as we head into Week 2, and his list included plenty of movement.

Despite the sound victory, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team dropped six spots to land at No. 16 on the list. Here’s what Marcello had to say about OU’s place in the rankings.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s debut was a success. He threw four touchdowns in the first half against Temple, picking up where [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] left off last season. The Sooners have scored 50-plus points in six games since last season, the most in the FBS. – Marcello, CBS Sports

Understandably, there were more impressive wins than Oklahoma’s across the world of college football, but the Sooners did nothing to drop from their initial spot at No. 10. Instead, several teams with statement-making wins in Week 1 jumped OU in the rankings.

But there’s no need to worry. Oklahoma will have plenty of opportunities to make a statement once [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play begins later this month. With the tough schedule the Sooners face, they’ll be able to jump back up the rankings if they take care of business in their conference games.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.

Jackson Arnold details Sooners win over Temple with Paul Finebaum

Jackson Arnold threw for four touchdowns in the Sooners win over Temple and the OU starting quarterback joined the Paul Finebaum Show to break down the win.

Oklahoma Sooners sophomore starting quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] earned his first career win on Friday night in his debut as OU’s full-time starter. Oklahoma beat Temple, 51-3, in Norman, as Arnold threw four touchdown passes.

Arnold joined host Paul Finebaum on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Tuesday to go over the win, OU’s first as a member of the [autotag]Southeastern Conference[/autotag]. Arnold told Finebaum he was happy with the win over the Owls, but that the Sooners had plenty of things to clean up on offense.

“(In the) film room first off, just seeing what the mistakes actually are, whether it’s missed assignments, missed signals, missed throws or missed reads,” Arnold said. “Anything like that you first see it in the film room, know what you need to adjust and then you go out to the field whether it’s the next day or next couple days and you work on those things that you messed up.”

The [autotag]SEC[/autotag] analyst commented that the offense looked very vanilla in the first game, something offensive coordinator [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] also alluded to in his postgame press conference.

Arnold said that is about to change.

“The playbook is definitely going to open up,” Arnold said. “It’s not that the playbook was very vanilla to begin with for the game plan it’s just coach Littrell liked the things that coach Littrell liked. I felt like he called a great game, put us in great positions, and I think for these next couple weeks it’s just us developing an identity, really establishing what we’re going to do with this offense and yeah I’m super excited for these next couple weeks to really open up the offense.”

Arnold also talked about his growth as a leader and his confidence coming into this season, as he knew he was going to be “the guy” after [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]’s portal exit. He credited his coaches for their help in his development in that area as well.

“That was the biggest thing, I think, for me this offseason was going into a situation where I knew I was going to be the guy,” Arnold said. “I knew that all these coaches had faith in me to go out and perform. I think for me, just building that leadership and the toughness that it takes to be the quarterback at, not only a Power Four school, but at the University of Oklahoma. Just having the offseason to really prepare myself for what I was walking into was huge for me, and to build chemistry with my coaches and my teammates.” —

Arnold is no doubt aware of the heavy burden he carries on his shoulders both in the present and the future at Oklahoma, but his first start as “the guy” showed he’s got the potential to lead the Sooners were they want to go.

Oklahoma will face the Houston Cougars on Saturday night in Norman. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.

Oregon Ducks QB Dillon Gabriel waves off hand injury ahead of Boise State game

Dillon Gabriel doesn’t seem to be concerned with his minor hand injury suffered in Week 1.

A lot of concerning things took place during the Oregon Ducks’ 24-14 win over the Idaho Vandals on Saturday afternoon, but one of the things fans took note of was a potential hand injury suffered by quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

On the second drive of the game, Gabriel dropped back to pass amidst some pressure and hit his throwing hand on the helmet of a defender. After the drive was over, Gabriel was seen shaking his hand out in pain and having it looked at by medical trainers.

After the game, Gabriel didn’t go into much detail about the injury other than saying it wasn’t serious, and on Tuesday after practice, he gave another brief, but positive update.

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“Hand’s good,” Gabriel said. “Just a bucket of ice and we’re rolling.”

Short, sweet, and to the point.

The Ducks will need Gabriel to be healthy and ready this weekend as they go into a big bounce-back opportunity against the Boise State Broncos on Saturday night. After a sluggish offensive output in Week 1, Oregon would do well to put some numbers on the board with explosive plays in Week 2 and get the confidence back on their side going forward.

The game is slated for a 7 p.m. PT kickoff on Peacock.

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Jackson Arnold’s first start at home a strong showing for the Sooners

Jackson Arnold threw four touchdowns, leading the Oklahoma Sooners offense to a great showing in week one.

The Oklahoma Sooners are used to high-flying offense powered by good to great quarterback play. For 25 years, the Sooners have had some of college football’s best quarterbacks.

From [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag] in 1999 to [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] last year, Oklahoma’s passing era is chock-full of prolific passers. In 2024, we get to witness another quarterback hoping to establish himself alongside those great quarterbacks of the last quarter century: [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Arnold was the subject of much offseason discussion, with most of the rhetoric focusing on the four turnovers from his first career start in the Alamo Bowl. Few people talked about the 360 passing yards or the two touchdown passes. But such is life.

Arnold had a good first start in his journey as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. He was 17 of 25 for 141 yards and four touchdowns and carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards. Sooners head coach Brent Venables lauded Arnold’s efficiency in the 51-3 win over Temple.

Take away the four drops and a throwaway and Arnold’s adjusted completion percentage was 83.3%, according to Pro Football Focus.

Arnold showed off his high level arm on his first throw of the game where he took a big hit, but stood tall in the pocket and delivered a strike to Jalil Farooq on an over route.

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On Arnold’s first touchdown to Bauer Sharp, he showed off an ability to throw on the move with great touch.

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And he showed great touch and accuracy on each of his touchdown throws to Deion Burks.

It was the first time an Oklahoma Sooners quarterback had thrown four touchdowns in their first home start since Heupel did back in 1999. It’s easy not to get overly excited about yardage total, but Oklahoma didn’t need Arnold to do a whole lot in the win over Temple. When a team has a defense like the Sooners do, you don’t need your quarterback to play superhero ball. Arnold made the throws he needed to make and gave the Oklahoma Sooners an opportunity to put points on the board.

As a team, Oklahoma needs to be better on third downs. Some of the issues were due to down and distance and Arnold looking to get the ball out quickly. The other issues were related to wide receivers catching passes short of the first down marker or dropping it altogether.

It wasn’t a perfect start for Arnold, even he’d tell you that, but it was a good one. It provided a strong foundation for the Oklahoma Sooners to build their offensive philosophy.

This week against Houston will give the Sooners an opportunity to roll out more of what Seth Littrell’s offense should look like. And with better offensive line health, leading to better play, Arnold and the Sooners should continue to light up the scoreboard.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Oregon Ducks’ expectations in 2024 mean winning ugly isn’t good enough

The Ducks expect to compete for a national championship in 2024. They know eeking by Idaho is nowhere near good enough.

On paper, the Oregon Ducks got the job done.

They put up 487 yards of offense. They tallied 31 first downs. Their Heisman-contending quarterback completed 83% of his 49 passes and threw for 380 yards. The defense tallied four sacks, seven tackles for loss, and bolstered a 2-for-12 third-down rate against the Idaho Vandals.

Those numbers look championship-worthy.

But the Ducks looked anything but.

You’d be hard-pressed to find an Oregon fan walking out of Autzen Stadium on Saturday evening feeling good about what they just saw in the Ducks’ 24-14 win over the Idaho Vandals, an FCS school punching far above its weight class.

Those fans would likely complain about the offensive line giving up three sacks — more than half of the total from 2023’s entire season — and a lackluster rushing attack that averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Whatever the issue was, it was valid, and it all boils down to the same underlying fact about the Ducks’ performance in Week 1.

It was nowhere near good enough.

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Not for a team with legitimate national championship aspirations. Not for a team ranked No. 3 in the national preseason polls for just the fourth time in school history. Not for a team that spends as much money as any team in the nation, recruits as well as any team in the nation, and views itself as highly as any team in the nation. I know it, and you know it.

Dan Lanning knows it as well.

“Different than what we thought it might look like,” the 38-year-old head coach said bluntly after the game. “A lot of learning moments for us, excited to watch the film and get back to work, because there are certainly some things that we can clean up.”

That’s putting it lightly. I’m sure behind closed doors, Lanning is a bit more cut and dry with his players and staff about the product they put on the field Saturday. The penalties, the turnovers, and the 63% of offensive drives that ended without points on the board. None of it up to the “standard” that Oregon strives for.

Fortunately, this happened in Week 1, and the Ducks have the benefit of time on their side. Six days from now, Ashton Jeanty and the Boise State Broncos will come into Autzen Stadium and give the Ducks an opportunity to bounce back.

Football fans have proven before that they have short memories, and Oregon should be aiming to put that on display. A vintage offensive showing against the Broncos is all that stands between the Ducks and a season back on the tracks.

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In the end, Lanning can, and likely will, use this wake-up call for good. The Ducks slept-walked through a game, underestimated their opponent, and nearly paid the price. After coming into this 2024 season with as high of expectations as they’ve ever had, being picked by a large portion of the public to win the national championship in January, Oregon almost fumbled out of the gates.

Concerning? Absolutely. But reality checks can be impactful when taken seriously.

I asked Dillon Gabriel after the game if he could take a step back and see the benefit in almost losing in Week 1 against an outmatched opponent.

I’m still not sure if he knows.

“I’d like to say yes and no. I want to give you a real answer, but no, but yes,” Gabriel said. “That’s kind of a mixed answer. No, you don’t ever want it to be like that and strenuous. But yes, you found a way to win and were put into certain situations: two-minute end of half, and four-minute end of game, where we could’ve definitely been better. You get all these situations within a game. Yes on that end, but no, you don’t want to be in those situations.”

In essence, you never want to put yourself in a position where you can lose a game, but if you’ve already done so, you might as well learn from the experience?

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I think that’s the best way of toeing the line, and I appreciate the candidness.

I also appreciate the fact that Oregon will learn from this, and get better going forward. I don’t leave Saturday’s game with any doubt that they can be the best team in the nation; that Dillon Gabriel can win the Heisman Trophy; that the Oregon Ducks can win the national championship in 2024.

All of that’s still possible, but a lot of things will need to change in order for it to be attainable. Because what we saw on Saturday afternoon was nowhere near good enough.

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Photo Gallery: Ducks look ugly, but come out victorious against Idaho

Photo Gallery: It wasn’t how anyone pictured it, but the Ducks came out on top to defeat Idaho 24-14 Saturday at Autzen.

There was a crowd of nearly 58,000 fans that packed Autzen Stadium on Saturday to watch the season debut of the 2024 Oregon Ducks football team.

And what they saw had to shock a lot of them.

Bottom line is that Oregon won the game 24-14 over the Idaho Vandals, but it was ugly and a lot closer than it should have been. The Ducks came into the game as 44-point favorites and they didn’t come close to covering.

In fact, it was 14-7 Ducks at the end of third quarter and everyone was on the edge of their seats of benches. Fortunately, the Ducks prevailed as they ultimately outlasted the smaller Vandal team, but for a while there, things were a bit hairy.

On a 90-degree day and a closer score than predicted, it didn’t stop the Autzen faithful from having a grand ole time. Here are the best pictures from the 2024 season opener.

Oregon Ducks 3 Keys to Victory against the Idaho Vandals

Here’s what Oregon needs to do in order to find success against Idaho on Saturday.

The wait is finally over. At 4:30 on Saturday afternoon, the Oregon Ducks will kick off their 2024 season at home against the Idaho Vandals, marking the start of what we all expect to be a great season.

For months, the speculation has been that the Oregon Ducks will be one of the top teams in the country, equipped with the best roster in the history of their program. The Ducks have a long way to go and a lot to do in order to realize that potential, but they are in great shape ahead of their week one opener.

Oregon’s matchup with Idaho is a bit of a layup to begin their season. The Vandals finished in second place in the Big Sky Conference last year, but they’re still nowhere near Oregon’s level.

For that reason, this week’s “Keys to Victory” will be adapted to “Keys to Success.” Below are the three things Oregon needs to do against the Vandals to ensure they’re on the right path for the rest of their season.

An Unwavering Front-Seven

Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa

The Ducks made several improvements to their defensive line this offseason, and they have one of the strongest linebacking groups in college football. So against an offense like Idaho’s, the Ducks’ front seven should be dominant on every snap, allowing nothing in the run game, and wrapping up Jack Layne — the Vandals QB — when he drops back to pass.

A Smooth Run Game

(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

On the flip side, I want to see the Oregon rushing attack chugging for all four quarters on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks have elite RBs and a fantastic offensive line, so they should have no trouble trampling the Vandals. There will be some wrinkles to iron out since it’s the beginning of the year, but I want to see those issues adjusted too quickly.

Some Flash from Dillon Gabriel and the Offense

I can’t have three boring keys to victory, these are the Oregon Ducks after all. Speed and flair will always be the identity of the Oregon offense, and with Dillon Gabriel leading the way this season, the Ducks should have plenty of flashy plays ahead of them. To get the ball rolling early, I want to see some deep completions and some shifty runs from Gabriel in Saturday’s game.

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No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Temple Owls: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Sooners Wire Staff predicts Oklahoma vs. Temple Owls.

The Oklahoma Sooners kick off the 2024 college football season on Friday night when they welcome the Temple Owls to Norman. The Sooners come into the contest No. 16 in the nation in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.

The Sooners are No. 13 in the final SP+ rankings prior to their opener, while Temple ranks No. 132 out of 134 teams in the FBS.

On paper, it’s a mismatch and the Oklahoma Sooners should be able to do whatever they want on the gridiron. This game won’t tell us everything we need to know about Oklahoma, but if they put on a performance similar to their 2023 outing against Arkansas State, then odds are this team will be pretty good in 2024.

Oklahoma is a heavy favorite. Fan Duel has OU as 42.5-point favorites heading into Friday’s opener.

As we will each week of the season, here are the predictions from our staff here at Sooners Wire.

More: SEC week 1 predictions

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Oklahoma starts fast in week one, showing off their supreme talent on both sides of the ball against Temple.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s debut as OU’s full-time starter at quarterback goes well as he begins the process of getting more comfortable in Seth Littrell’s offense at game speed.

The starters on defense pitch a shutout before the backups give up a fourth-quarter field goal.

As with any first game, there will be things to clean up, but Brent Venables is happy with his team on Saturday morning.

Sooners 59, Owls 3

Contact/Follow Aaron Gelvin

Up Next: More Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

What can we expect from Seth Littrell’s offense in 2024?

Seth Littrell’s background could lend a few clues as to what OU’s offense might look like in 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners begin the 2024 college football season in a matter of days. The Temple Owls will pay them a visit on Friday, August 30 at 6:00 p.m. to kick off the year.

It’s a season of change for OU in Year 3 under head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. The Sooners leave the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] to join the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who started at quarterback for the last two seasons, transferred out of the program, leaving sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] in line to take over under center. [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] won’t be on the team for the first time since 2018.

Venables is also breaking in new coordinators.

[autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] takes over the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach role previously held by [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag], who mutually parted ways with Oklahoma last winter.

Alley has been called a “clone of Venables” and allows the head coach to be a bit more of a CEO-type, not needing to focus on calling defensive plays nearly as much. Alley has gained Venables’ trust. Venables defensive acumen is the main reason he was hired as OU’s next head coach. Passing the defensive coordinator responsibilities over to Alley is a ringing endorsement of the young defensive mind. Experienced defensive assistant coaches and co-coordinators [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] will be able to help the younger Alley out as well.

[autotag]Doug Deakin[/autotag] replaces [autotag]Jay Nunez[/autotag] as the special teams analyst. Deakin will be charged with improving the Sooners in all facets of the special teams portion of the game, as it was a weakness in 2023 for Oklahoma. New NCAA rules removed limits to the number of coaches allowed to be on the field during practice and games. That should help the Sooners have a much better special teams unit. Oklahoma can’t afford to have special teams lose a game for them in the treacherous jungle of the SEC.

Oklahoma saw offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] leave in late November to become the head coach at Mississippi State. Immediately, the search for his replacement started, and Venables landed on co-offensive coordinators already in the building for the role.

[autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] had been the tight ends coach at OU for the past three seasons. Finley is very close with Lebby, as the pair also worked together at Baylor (2015) and Ole Miss (2020) before spending the last two seasons together in Norman.

Some were surprised when Finley didn’t follow Lebby to Starkville, but the internal promotion for the former OU tight end (2004-2007) kept him at Oklahoma. Finley is also close with former Sooners quarterback and offensive coordinator [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag], as the pair coached together at Missouri for two years (2016-2017).

Finley will continue to coach tight ends while serving as OU’s co-offensive coordinator. However, he won’t be calling the plays.

That duty will fall to [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag], who will serve as Oklahoma’s new quarterbacks coach in addition to the co-offensive coordinator role. He’ll be the one talking to Arnold in the helmet communication system that comes new to college football in 2024.

So what will Oklahoma’s offense look like in 2024, as Littrell replaces Lebby with Finley more heavily involved in the offensive game plan than in the past?

Littrell is an experienced playcaller and offensive coordinator, something Lebby wasn’t when he returned to Norman two years ago. Just like Lebby and Finley, Littrell played for Oklahoma during the [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] days. He won a national championship in 2000 as a fullback at OU, serving as a captain on the national title team. It’s the same national title team with Venables as a co-defensive coordinator in Year 2 under Stoops. His father, Jimmy, also played fullback at OU and won two national championships in 1974 and 1975.

The Muskogee, Oklahoma native, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas under former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino in 2002. After three years in Lawrence, he was hired to coach running backs at Texas Tech under Mike Leach, where he spent four seasons. In those seven years, Littrell learned under two of the best offensive minds in college football. He was tutored in the ways of the power running spread offense at KU under Mangino before learning the methods of the Air Raid under Leach in Lubbock.

Littrell coached in a variety of different roles on offense at Arizona during the final three years of Mike Stoops’ time as the head coach of the Wildcats from 2009 to 2011. In his first season in the desert, he learned under another Air Raid expert, Sonny Dykes, who is now the head coach at TCU.

In 2010, he was co-offensive coordinator with none other than current Oklahoma offensive line coach [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag], and the two have a strong relationship. When Bedenbaugh left to coach the o-line at West Virgnia, Littrell was the solo offensive coordinator for the first time in his career in 2011. However, Stoops was fired midway through the season and Littrell was left looking for a new home after the year.

Littrell landed at Indiana, where he was the offensive coordinator for Kevin Wilson, the current head coach at Tulsa who served as OU’s offensive coordinator from 2002-2010. During his time in Norman, Wilson had combined Air Raid concepts with his own spread run game tactics. Oklahoma’s 2008 offense, under Wilson, is still regarded as one of the best in college football history.

After Littrell spent two years under Wilson, he accepted the offensive coordinator job at North Carolina under Larry Fedora, who ran the spread offense. In two seasons coaching for the Tar Heels, Littrell impressed and began to get head coaching consideration.

In 2016, Littrell was hired as the head coach of the North Texas Mean Green. He gave UNT more success than they had seen in years, making two conference title games and twice winning nine games. He was fired following the 2022 regular season despite posting a 7-6 mark and losing the Conference USA title game. His offenses at UNT were a blend of the concepts he learned under Air Raid coaches such as Leach and Dykes and spread coaches like Mangino, Wilson, and Fedora.

Littrell’s offense helped quarterback Mason Fine throw for 12,000 yards over four seasons. He averaged 3,644 yards and 30 total touchdowns per year over his final three seasons with the Mean Green.

Last season, Littrell served as an offensive analyst for the Sooners under another spread disciple in Lebby, before being promoted, along with Finley, for the Alamo Bowl.

As a play caller, he can use his unique path back to Norman to dial up whatever is needed at the time. His time in Denton also gave him a footprint and connections in a massive recruiting area for the Sooners.

In the interest of continuity, the offense will still look at lot like it has the past two seasons. The Sooners ran a variety of the veer-and-shoot spread offense that focuses on wide splits for receivers and getting playmakers the ball in space.

It looks and functions differently than the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] Air Raid offense that Sooner fans saw for seven seasons, but ultimately wants to accomplish a lot of the same things, namely lighting up the scoreboard.

The idea of the spread veer-and-shoot is to make defenses have to cover everything from sideline to sideline, opening up windows for the power running game while making the quarterback’s decision-making as easy as possible.

The primary reason to run the veer-and-shoot offense is that the tempo, aggressiveness, and wide splits help to raise the floor for your offense, regardless of talent level. Lebby learned the offense from pioneers like Wilson, Art Briles, Heupel and Lane Kiffin. Littrell learned under Lebby last season and will now be able to put his own personal spin on it.

Reportedly, more of a focus on the power running game and deep passing attack will be implemented this year, feeding off of this offensive core’s strengths. However, Littrell’s offenses at UNT threw more than they ran, so Arnold will still have plenty on his shoulders. Littrell’s relationship with Bedenbaugh should ensure the offensive line will be a big factor in what the Sooners want to do on offense. Their relationship should create more cohesion in the offensive philosophy.

Running the ball effectively will be critical in the SEC.

Continuity is a big reason why Littrell and Finley were promoted, but the offense won’t be exactly the same.

Littrell will be a different playcaller than Lebby was, just like Arnold is a different quarterback than Gabriel was. The key will be getting the two on the same page. Between the duo of Littrell and Finley (and passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag]), the development of their young quarterback will be at the forefront of their minds. Arnold holds the keys to unlocking the offense and helping the Sooners become an elite college football team.

Furthermore, several assistant coaches from the Riley era still remain on offense: Finley, Bedenbaugh, and running backs coach [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag]. Littrell’s background in the Air Raid may shine through a few times this season, but the offense may look similar to what we’ve seen the last couple of seasons schematically.

At the end of the day, Littrell’s experience as a playcaller trumps his inexperience as a quarterbacks coach. At times last season, particularly in losses against Kansas and Oklahoma State, Lebby caught a fair share of the blame for his playcalling in critical moments.

Littrell has been through that already. He’s a versatile, well-traveled coach who won’t be in over his head, regardless of the situation.

Oklahoma has a good enough defense this year to keep them in games, especially early on, but the offense can’t lag too far behind. Littrell needs to find his sweet spot as a play caller in the spread veer-and-shoot before Tennessee (and veer-and-shoot expert Heupel) comes to town in late September.

Regardless of what Oklahoma’s offense looks like, it’ll be imperative that the Sooners are firing on all cylinder when the Volunteers come to town in week four.

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