The Oklahoma Sooners face South Carolina this week, and the stakes are clear. Oklahoma is 4-3. If the Sooners win this game and every game left on their schedule, they might have a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Getting there will depend on an offensive line that has gone through hell with injuries, and head coach Brent Venables is starting to see signs of growth from the depth pieces forced into action.

The injury list up front has been brutal. A true freshman has had to play. Jake Maikkula started the season injured and then went out again last week. Michael Fasusi played his first game since Week 1 last week. That is a lot for any team to absorb, and it has hit OU’s offense harder than anything else.

It all comes back to the offensive line

When you look at why Oklahoma’s offense has struggled, the offensive line is the root of it. The protection issues have left quarterback John Mateer running for his life. That has turned into a confidence problem: even when the line holds up and gives him enough time, Mateer hasn’t trusted it, and he hasn’t trusted himself enough to work through his reads and progressions.

The run game has suffered for the same reason. To be fair, the running backs haven’t helped much, and the tight ends have struggled as blockers too. But the biggest issue with this offense is the line.

Last week, though, the unit played much better despite the circumstances. Caleb Nitta came in for Maikkula, and Venables rated him very highly.

“He’s a tough guy, he’s always prepared, plays bigger than he is. He’s figured out what he’s good at and how he needs to play. He’s a guy with a chip on his shoulder. He’s been a really good teammate,” Venables said.

Nitta’s debut didn’t start smoothly. On his first snap, a defensive lineman threw him to the ground, and it was ugly. After that, he played well. He didn’t cause any disastrous plays or turnovers, which is about all you can ask of a backup thrown into the fire. Peyton Joseph is another depth piece who has stepped in and held his own. He’s still raw on the interior, but he’s had his moments and keeps improving. Venables noticed that too.

“He’s made a tremendous amount of improvement, not polished yet. He’s done a really good job of keeping his head down and getting better,” Venables said.

Building depth the hard way

Nobody wants to hear it, but there’s nothing the Sooners can do about this rough stretch now. They can’t replay those games, and the losses are already on the record. The only thing left is to look for the positive, and if there is one, it’s that this should help Oklahoma’s depth for the rest of the season.

Coming into the year, nobody knew much about the depth on this line. The expected starting unit had a chance to be really good, but we have barely seen that group on the field together. That has pushed backup after backup into the lineup. It has been ugly at times, but those players are getting reps and improving every week.

The results are starting to show. Against Kentucky last week, Oklahoma probably had its best offensive showing of the season despite the loss. A lot of that came from better line play, at least until the fourth quarter, when the unit collapsed completely.

Against Mississippi State, the line played much better, and the Sooners won. It wasn’t amazing in a vacuum, but it was amazing by the standards OU has set this season.

South Carolina will show where this line stands

This week brings an even bigger test. South Carolina has a really good defensive line that gets after the quarterback and stops the run. The Gamecocks also just beat a really good Tennessee team, so they’re not a pushover, even with the same record as Oklahoma. In some ways, these two teams are in similar situations.

Either way, this game will tell us a lot about where Oklahoma’s offensive line truly stands. The depth is improving, and Venables is noticing it. Now, the Sooners need that progress to hold up against a defensive front built to expose it.