We all know just how bad the Oklahoma offense has been in 2024. The Sooners haven't just regressed from 2023, they are historically bad. The offense scored just three points on Texas last week despite having opportunities to score more. 

The coaching staff has pointed to a lack of execution on plays as part of their issues on offense, and to an extent, they are right. There have been busts on plays and they need to be better at it. 

However, that feels like it excuses the coaching on that side of the ball just a bit too much. The biggest issue facing this Sooners' offense is that they have no cohesive identity. Making it worse? They've run completely different offenses each week. 

Offensive miscues, poor play calling doom Oklahoma Sooners in Red River against Texas Longhorns

The 2024 Red River Rivalry was one of the worst in recent memory for Oklahoma Sooners fans.  The offense completely doomed any chance they had in this one, despite the defense's best efforts to keep the game close.  Where to even begin in this one? Turnovers The offense kept it relatively close in the first […]

To start the season, the offense was RPO-driven under Jackson Arnold. Then, they got to SEC play, and the offense busted repeatedly and Arnold got benched. They put Michael Hawkins in to start against Auburn, and the offense changed to a screen-heavy offense. 

Last weekend against Texas, the concepts shifted into focusing on deeper, low-percentage plays and overly complicated plays that did nothing. Nothing epitomizes this more than one play late in the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

Oklahoma converts on a third down with a three-yard pass to tight end Bauer Sharp. On first and 10, they commit a holding penalty, setting them back to where the drive started. The Sooners come out in empty on a first and 20 and the ball is snapped with all of the players running downfield. 

Naturally, Texas's defense pinned their ears back and rushes the passer, Hawkins gets sacked, and Oklahoma punts just two plays later. 

What was even more incredulous about this was that Hawkins would often bail and throw the ball away or underneath. Yet here come the Sooners, calling deep shot plays that require him to stand in the pocket and deliver downfield. 

Nobody can be expected to execute when week-to-week the scheme and identity of the offense changes. This isn't CFB25 where you can change playbooks game-to-game. 

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What's the problem here? Are there too many cooks in the kitchen with Seth Littrell and co-OC Joe Jon Finley? Is it them trying to figure out what works with the players they have? Or is it that these two are just poor at planning and are now panicking into doing something?

That would back up what we've seen of the Sooners scheme, the play-calling, and the play designs this season. 

Regardless, if Oklahoma doesn't solve their recent identity crisis, and soon, a long season is going to be that much longer. I wouldn't be shocked to see someone be fired if the offense struggles again when they play South Carolina.