Oklahoma Sooners' offense, Jackson Arnold find an explosive spark in the QB run game against Tulane
The Oklahoma Sooners' offense has been searching for big plays all season. Coming off of a 16-12 nailbiter against the Houston Cougars, optimism around their offense was at a low. Against Tulane, they might have found something. With little more than six minutes to go and the Sooners up by just five points shortly after […]
The Oklahoma Sooners' offense has been searching for big plays all season. Coming off of a 16-12 nailbiter against the Houston Cougars, optimism around their offense was at a low.
Against Tulane, they might have found something.
With little more than six minutes to go and the Sooners up by just five points shortly after a pick-six of Jackson Arnold, the Sooners faced a third and 11. In their last two possessions, Oklahoma had gone three-and-out and needed a conversion to get some sort of momentum after being gifted an interception.
Arnold takes the snap, scans, and takes off running. A couple of broken tackles later, Arnold scampered into the endzone for a 24-yard touchdown, sealing the win for the Sooners.
After the game, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Seth Littrell said he didn't want to tip his hand about the quarterback run game this early in the season. While it's nice to know that at least some parts of the offense are still being held back, it's a welcome admission on Littrell's part that he knew the offense needed some sort of spark.
They certainly got it on Saturday against Tulane. Arnold rushed 14 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns, with three big runs of 17, 47, and his 24-yard touchdown. Every drive Arnold had one of those big runs were scoring drives.
Arnold currently leads the Sooners in rushing yards with 159. He is one of 18 quarterbacks nationwide with over 150 rushing yards on the year and is one of just two Power 4 quarterbacks who lead their team in rushing (Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia is the other).
A former running back in his early football days, Arnold understands the importance of being able to run the ball and the quarterback run game.
"The QB run game is an advantage for every single team that runs it. You've got plus-one in the box almost always, so you're always going to have an advantage there."
While the Sooners' offense won't resemble one of the service academies anytime soon, think of some of the best quarterbacks in college football over the last few years, and almost all of them were talented dual-threat players.
Last season, Heisman winner Jayden Daniels rushed for over 1,100 yards. In the 2024 NFL Draft, every first-round pick at quarterback except for Michael Penix Jr. rushed for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns. While Arnold most likely won't hit that same tally as Daniels, the principle of that added element in the run game opens up holes for both himself and whichever running back is out there with him.
Arnold is on pace to rush for over 650 yards this season at his current rate. That would be the most of any Sooners quarterback since Jalen Hurts broke over 1,000 in 2019.
His dual-threat ability, combined with the return of star wide receiver Nic Anderson, is what the Sooners are counting on to pull off an upset win over the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend.
