The Oklahoma Sooners offense looked significantly better in their season opener against UTEP than it did at any point last season.

Take everything with a grain of salt. This was an inferior opponent, and everyone knew Oklahoma would win. Still, you love to see what they did on the field. The Sooners already accomplished things in one game that last year’s team hardly did at all.

John Mateer looked healthy, and the run game showed life

Mateer looked healthy and looked good. He was comfortable in the pocket. His hand didn’t seem to be an issue, and he showed a much better throwing mechanic in motion. He layered throws well, threw on the run well, had good arm angles, and hit guys in stride, which got him three touchdown passes in the game. The run game was also a significant upgrade. Lloyd Avant had over five yards per carry. Jonathan Hatton, the freshman running back, had some big plays. The running game was strong overall, considering last year’s ground attack was one of the worst in the country.

But nothing stood out more than the amount of 12-personnel usage Oklahoma deployed. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle spoke about that after the game.

“I think it’s a culmination of a lot of things. We thought it would be good against that defense, but also the Titans have earned that. They did a lot of really good things, threw a bunch of things at them, and I thought they did a good job,” Arbuckle told reporters after the game.

Here’s where the numbers tell the story. Last year, Oklahoma only ran 12 personnel on 78 plays for the entire season. In this one game, the Sooners ran 50 of their 59 offensive plays out of 12 personnel.

For those unfamiliar, 12 personnel means two tight ends and one running back on the field. In this game, particularly in the first half, tight ends Hayden Hansen and Rocky Beers were the primary grouping. That personnel look is how Beers hauled in a touchdown from Mateer and nearly had a second one, but offensive pass interference was called back.

Why this translates for the rest of the season

This is what Arbuckle wants to do in his offense, because it also helps set up the run game. When you have tight ends who can block well on the edges, you don’t have to worry about the ground game, and it sets up the passing attack. When you have pass-catching tight ends who can catch and run block at a high level, your offense isn’t one-dimensional and isn’t predictable.

Last year it was predictable. When Jaren Kanak was in the game, it was pretty much not going to be a run because he couldn’t run block. His presence signaled a pass. When Hansen and Beers are in the game, you simply don’t know if it’s going to be a run or a pass because they can both run block and catch the ball. Oklahoma showed that on Friday.

That’s the biggest difference in this offense already, and it’s going to carry over throughout the rest of the season. The Sooners’ 12-personnel commitment is the most obvious schematic shift from a year ago, and it changes how defenses have to prepare for Arbuckle’s attack.