Weekend Open Post | September 26th – 28th
Posted on: September 26, 2025
Position Group Progress Report | Game Four: Auburn
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 22, 2025
Checking out how the position groups performed in the Sooners’ 24-17 win over Auburn in the Sooners SEC opener!
Oklahoma was a 6.5-point favorite, and they covered the spread in style with a safety!
This will be the fourth progress report of the season. I will include the previous week’s ranking (preseason ranking in this case) at the top of each position group’s report in all subsequent progress reports!
Let’s see how things shook out Auburn.
QB: 4* (Last week: 4*)
Sooners QB John Mateer had a rather pedestrian day until OU needed him the most. Without that last drive, Mateer would have recorded a 3* day.
The most impressive part about Mateers day, in my opinion, was how it felt like old times with Baker/Kyler and even Jalen Hurts…you almost KNEW he would lead the team to a score on the last drive after Auburn had taken the lead.
Overall, he looked a bit disjointed through the first 3.5 quarters even though he had a tremendous completion percentage in the second half. Just felt a step off and not as decisive, but he put the team on his shoulders when it mattered most.
RB: 1* (Last week: Low 4*)
Tory Blaylock was the featured back and he really had no path to succeed on the day, as not only was the OU OL struggling in the run game, but the play calling pretty much took him out of the picture, as OU didn’t even attempt to really commit to the running game.
There were a couple of times where Blaylock got what he could, and a couple times when he missed opportunities, but overall, it’s hard to fight both the play calling and a banged up offensive line that could not generate much of a push.
WR: High 3* (Last week: High 3*)
I know it seems like a weird grade for a unit that had a 100 yard pass catcher (Sategna) and another guy who had six catches (Burks), but man, they just really made very few plays and Sategna was a circus every time he had his hands on the ball.
At the end of the day, they did enough to warrant a passing grade, but OU desperately needs to find a difference maker either by scheme or by healthy players returning. I’m really kind of down on the personnel decisions more than anything at this point as OU needs a bigger threat to stretch the field and with all the talk on Zion Kearney and Elijah Thomas out of fall camp…its starting to feel like Emmett Jones puts things out there in the universe that he wants folks to believe.
I will get deeper into the weeds on the WR room in the coming days, but when close to 90% of your meaningful snaps are to three guys and they aren’t exactly killing it out there, maybe it is time to try something else once in a while.
TE: 3* (Last week: 5*)
Jaren Kanak was good once again, and there were a couple of times throughout the game where Mateer missed him, which would have resulted in Kanak having a monster day.
Still, he hauled in four more passes for 62 yards and still leads the country in receiving yards from the TE spot.
Carson Kent was in the game as a blocker, but man, I would rather see Ryan Fodje or Eddy Pierre-Louis take those reps as a 6th OL to help get the run game headed in a positive direction.
OL: 3* (Last week: 3*)
Have too tip my cap to Maikkula and Nwaiwu for just being out there first of all, but it was evident from the beginning of the game that the OL was not going to be able to get much push in the running game as they were playing on 8 healthy ankles among the five linemen.
Maikkula and Febechi were very good in pass pro, as was Derek Simmons. Logan Howland was better than folks think, and, in my opinion, some of his issues were due to Heath Ozaeta not being on top of his game when it came to recognition and finding work.
Overall, the pass pro was very good. You simply do not attempt 35 plus pass attempts in the SEC and only allow one sack and have a ‘bad’ day in pass pro.
As far as run blocking goes…they are struggling. I cannot blame the complete lack of an OU run game solely on their shoulders, but their lack of a push is certainly among the reasons for the struggles. Hopefully, the Sooners get healthy over these next 3 weeks and come out ready to face a very good Texas front.
DL: 5* (Last week: 5*)
Best interior defensive line in college football doing best interior defensive line in college football sort of things. Everybody in that room ate.
While Jayden Jackson statistically stole the show with his 2.5 sacks, the continued emergence of David Stone was on center stage as he was an absolute wrecking crew.
Damonic Williams is playing the best ball of his career and Gracen Halton looks to be back in gear as they all picked up sacks and were basically abusing a good Auburn OL while limiting the run game to 67 yards, 44 of which came on one play.
EDGE: 4* (Last week: 4*)
This group would have gotten a 5* grade from me if two things went differently.
1* Taylor Wein has GOT to light Jackson Arnold up on the sideline there. Instead, Wein bought the subtle fake from Arnold that he was going out of bounds and he wound up allowing another 10 yards and a first down by not taking Arnold out.
2* Marvin Jones had no reason to come even remotely close to having to use a horse collar tackle to bring Arnold down on what would have been the 10th Sooner sack.
Those two plays could have had huge ramifications in the game. Luckily for the Sooners, they got away with them.
I loved the effort this group played with, articularly without having R Mason Thomas available in the first half.
Speaking of RMT…maybe it would be a good plan to sit him out the first half of every game cause when he came out for the second half, he was basically playing like a man on fire.
LB: 4* (Last week:4*)
This was the Kip and Kobie show for the majority of the day and they did not disappoint. Kip was the motor of the Sooners’ defensive engine and Kobie played a very solid game. Lewis led the Sooners with 10 tackles, which included .5 sacks.
Owen Heinecke and Sammy Omosigho made the most of their opportunities when they got in the game and I believe Heinecke suffered a pretty significant thumb injury on his sack play and simply taped it up and played the rest of the game. Sammy was second on the team in tackles with 6.
Going into the game, I thought Kendal Daniels would have a bigger impact, but outside of the first couple of series, he was pretty quiet. He was solid with 5 tackles, but I thought we may have seen spectacular from him.
CB: 3* (Last week: Low 4*)
I know there was a lot of talk about the play of Courtland Guillory…but…Cam Coleman only had 3 catches on the day, so the corners did do something right.
Yes there were too many penalties and a couple of instances where the Auburn receivers were behind the defense, but the amount of trust BV put in his corners, even when they were running out the backups, was really quite stunning.
I have to land at a 3* for the corners based on the plays they gave up, but we may actually look back on this game as a major developmental moment for those guys as they simply will not face a better pair of receivers over the course of the season. Don’t get it twisted, they will face some very good receivers, but no team left on the schedule has a pair like Coleman and Singleton.
I’m not as broke up about their performance as some are; maybe this is just me being the glass is half full guy right now. Yes, Devon Jordan got lucky to not give up a touchdown, which looked particularly bad, but with Eli coming back and Dolby getting healthier, this game very well may be the floor for this group.
S: 4* (Last week: High 4*)
What could have been for this room.
Peyton Bowen played a very good game. He easily could have played an incredible game if he had closed on a couple of turnover opportunities.
Bowen was credited with 5 tackles and 2 PBU’s, but man, it felt like he had a lot more tackles than that as he was constantly around the ball carrier.
I thought Robert Spears Jennings was steady, and Michael Boganowski really put the hurt on some Tigers when he was out there. Solid day for this group.
ST: 5* (Last week: 4*)
How about it!
Tate Sandell hit all his kicks to keep the Sooners out front. Even though I didn’t like the call to kick on 4th and 2 to make it 16-10, Sandell did what was asked of him and really didn’t make anyone sweat while doing it.
Grayson Miller, the punter, is an absolute weapon for OU right now. Dude simply bombs the ball when asked and effectively flips the field.
If Ya Ain’t Cheatin…
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 23, 2025
“If ya ain’t cheatin, ya ain’t tryin.”
Thats one of the oldest sayings in all of sports.
Ricky Bobby said the same thing in a slightly different manner…
Obviously I am talking about the storm that was created when Ben Arbuckle, Isaiah Sategna, Deion Burks and John Mateer pulled a fast one on Auburn which resulted in an uncontested six points for OU.
You all know the details of the play. We all know it was not illegal as the Sooners gave the refs multiple advanced heads up that it was coming.
The play was certainly intentionally deceitful and born of trickeration…and I am here to tell you…there is more to be proud about them pulling it off then there is to be ashamed about it!
The objective is to win the game. There is no ‘code of honor’ to be adhered to, and for decades, coaches have been trying to scheme up anything they can to get any advantage they can.
Here’s the thing…the fan bases that are crying the loudest are crying because THEY DIDN’T THINK OF IT FIRST!
At one time, the forward pass was a gimmick. You had the wishbone, which was basically a numbers game and sleight of hand. The advent of the wildcat was another prominent practice of deception when it came out. Currently, there is the tush push. The Philly Special. The hook and lateral. The fumblerooski. Dan Marino’s fake spike. The Statue of Liberty (F Boise State forever).
Anyway…here’s the thing…in my opinion of course…THIS should be CELEBRATED by the OU fan base. Not something to apologize about.
Watching all the OU media and many fans on Twitter try to justify something that doesn’t need justifying on social media for the last two days has been nauseating. I mean…what are we even doing? OU pulled one over on Auburn and if they also got one over on the refs at the end of the day, even better!
OU WON the game. The folks showering in the faux outrage are doing so because OU WON the game and either their team LOST the game or their not confident that their team can WIN a game against OU.
They wanna paint OU as the villain? AWESOME. If they wanna make OU the villain, all that means is they are scared of the Sooners and wish they had a staff that could pull that off.
The most frustrating thing for opposing fan bases would be for the OU fan base to embrace being the villain and to laugh at their anger and unhinged ramblings.
Grab that black hat Sooner Nation. Don’t be an apologist, be ruthless and be the villain. Thats one thing that makes college football so great, the passion.
There is nothing to apologize for or to defend. The refs can’t take the game from OU. The SEC isn’t taking a game from OU. The other fan bases can cry till they pass out, nothing changes. Laugh at them but for goodness sake I wish the apologists and people fighting the good fight in the name of having a morally sound football program would sit down, it’s kinda embarrassing.
Barry Switzer would be the first person to laugh in the faces of the critics out there. He would be telling the Auburn folks they must have failed out of elementary school cause counting to 11 is basic stuff!
Be like Barry. Laugh as you point to the scoreboard and the win loss column.
Looking Into the Wide Receiver Room
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 23, 2025
The Sooners have been improved this year in the wide receiver room when it comes to production; that much is certain.
Last season, JJ Hester had the most yards in the room with a total of 315 and no other wide receiver had more than 245.
This year, through 4 games, Isaiah Sategna leads the room with 284, while Deion Burks has 265, and Keontez Lewis has 210. Each of them will likely double Hester’s numbers at the very least.
All well and good, nice to see some development and production.
With that said…let’s take a look at some startling (at least to me) numbers…
295 total offensive snaps
WR Snaps
Deion Burks – 259 = 88 percent
Keontez Lewis – 233 = 79 percent
Isaiah Sategna – 217 = 74 percent
.
.
.
Ivan Carreon – 37 = 13 percent
Jer’Michael Carter – 30 = 10 percent
Elijah Thomas – 19 = 6 percent
Zion Kearney -19 = 6 percent
Josiah Martin – 11 = 4 percent
Zion Ragins – 9 = 3 percent
Jacob Jordan – 3 = 1 percent
That my friends…is both eye-opening and a bit concerning in my opinion.
I can understand getting your front-line guys ready. I have acknowledged that I could see the rationale ahead of the Michigan game to focus on getting your ones up to speed. However, since the Michigan game came and went, OU played two other games and nothing has changed. It’s still the same three guys taking more than 85% of the meaningful snaps.
Anyone who has played football, or taken on any athletic endeavor, or heck, anyone who has walked up multiple flights of stares…man, legs get tired and rest and recovery are vital aspects of being at the top of your game.
With the Sooners’ struggles in the run game, it is not out of the question that OU may end up trending more toward a full-on Air Raid scheme in the meat of their schedule and at THAT point, one may look back with some regret that they didn’t get wide receivers 4-5-6-7 some more game reps.
I’m not here to bash on anyone at this point; I am just pointing out what I believe to be valid questions and concerns.
With Javonnie Gibson coming back, and Kent State on the horizon, I would hope to see guys like Elijah Thomas (who was the talk of spring and fall), Manny Choice, and Zion Kearney get some meaningful reps.
You can’t be ready until you get the opportunity to work to get to the point where you are ready.
Why Wasn’t Brent…
– Super K – Posted on: September 23, 2025
The DC all along???
I know it wouldn’t have made as much of a difference because they needed time to get the right players and develop the right mindset, IQ and culture. But, man it feels like Brent should’ve taken full reign of the defense from jump.
If the Sooners continue to have success this season, there may be a temptation for Brent to hire a DC.
I say, no. Absolutely not.
Unless Nick Saban is going to be the DC then I think Brent needs to hold the reins for at least another two or three years.
New ’26 Offer | OL Daniel McMorris
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 23, 2025
The Sooners have extended an offer to local 2026 offensive lineman Daniel McMorris (6’5 255) out of Norman, Oklahoma.
McMorris has been on the Sooners radar for quite some time as you know. He visited for the Michigan game and we were monitoring him as a potential commit should he pick up an offer.
The offer never came during that visit weekend, but now, a couple weeks later, it has materialized.
McMorris was previously committed to Minnesota. He has visited TTU officially, and is scheduled to take official visits to Tulsa, Cal, and Northwestern.
I would not be surprised to see this one wrap up relatively quickly in favor of OU. I will do some checking around to see if that is still the case.
Mateer Injury | Return Timeline | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: September 23, 2025
Per sources on the OU side, we can confirm what Pete Thamel has reported – that the return timeline for a surgery like this is typically about a month.
That could get Mateer back by the Ole Miss game. Under that timeline, in SEC play, he’d miss Texas and South Carolina.
However, source on the OU side said that the one month timeline is considered conservative. As in, they seem to be under the impression that a return before the one month timeline is possible.
One source did say, while not necessarily likely, it is possible to return from these surgeries at such a pace that Mateer could return for the Texas game.
Again, they are more optimistic about him returning by South Carolina or Ole Miss but they haven’t ruled out a return by the Texas game.
Sooners Conference Scheduling Through 2029
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 23, 2025
Oklahoma has found out their complete slate of conference foes for the next four seasons:
2026:
Home: Texas (N), Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Away: Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State
2027:
Home: Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee
Away: Texas (N), Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU, Vanderbilt
2028:
Home: Texas (N), Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State
Away: Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas A&M
2029:
Home: Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU, Vandy
Away: Texas (N), Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee
Goal Scenarios in Light of the Injury News
– Super K – Posted on: September 24, 2025
Obviously, the Sooners are hoping for a playoff berth, this season. So, I know the Mateer news was hard for some folks to handle.
I did speak to a source on the OU side and while this isn’t ideal, I’m told the staff is still optimistic about Mateer’s chances of returning soon (as we reported) and handling things in his absence.
Charlie and I discussed this last night and let’s assume worst case scenario is Mateer doesn’t come back until the Ole Miss game. That would put him out of the Texas and South Carolina game (I’m not counting Kent State).
Let’s assume they split those games and go 1-1. By the time Mateer returns, they’d still be 6-1 with the most difficult part of their schedule remaining. Not only is it the most difficult, though, it’s the part that can yield the most reward.
If they were to go 4-1 to end the season and finish 10-2, the playoff spot is all but a lock.
But, I think given Mateer’s absence and given the difficulty of the schedule which the media has noted over and over, if they were to go even 3-2 to end the season and finish 9-3, I could certainly see them still slipping in.
This is probably more true given the Michigan win (keep rooting for Michigan).
Texas and South Carolina are going to be tough. All the teams OU plays are tough. So, I’m not assuming a 1-1 or 2-0 is going to happen. But, I think it’s reasonable to expect OU in it’s fourth year under BV to have a competent enough back up QB to split those games given neither of those teams is remotely perfect, this year.
So, is it ideal to not have Mateer for a bit? Certainly not. But it’s not by any means a death knell for the 2025 season.
Not for nothing…
– Ryan Lewis – Posted on: September 24, 2025
The run game has been a challenge all season (and longer) in many ways. One of questions raised by those challenges has been “hmm, Mateer sure is running a lot in an offense that relies heavily on its passing game.” At the risk of piling on the misery, below is a look at how the QB run game has shaped up over the first four games.
The stats below will look at the first four games of the year for each season since 2014.
Passing… a lot
As a starting point, through four games, the 2025 offense is second (to the 2020 offense) in passing yards as a share of offensive yards. This offense is earning 71% of its yards on passing. The OU offense ranks 21st in the country in passing yards as a share of offensive yards.
Furthermore, this offense is second (again to 2020) in share of plays that are passes. 51% of this offense’s snaps are passes.
What does that mean for a team? Well first, it either means the passing game is otherworldly or, as is the case here, the run game is lacking. Secondly, it perhaps means that you really cannot afford to lose your quarterback.
Running the quarterback
As we’ve all seen, this offense has not been afraid to run Mateer. Mateer is, of course, talented running the ball and an asset to the offense in that way. However, given the lack of threat of the running backs, defenses are tuned into Mateer and he’s taken his share of licks.
The following table shows quarterback running stats through the first four games of the season. Quarterbacks’ share of OU’s carries are shown (both total and excluding sacks) along with QB share of total rushing yards.
The 2025 offense is second in QB total carries and carries excluding sacks. When OU runs, it’s been Mateer a third of the time.
This offense is first in QB yards as a share of rushing yards. That includes the 2019 offense with Jalen Hurts, which was infamous among OU fans for focusing on the QB run game at the expense of the running backs. This year’s mark of 43% is double the average (21%).
So what?
Alright, so what’s my point. My main point is… well darn it.
My second point is this; OU has, HAS, to figure out the run game with running backs. I’m not suggesting that Mateer got injured due to running the ball (it appears to have been on a pass); rather, it’s just important to note that there has been far too have asked of Mateer thus far. No team can go through a season with virtually no threat of the running backs being a factor. I’m not here to point fingers at the backs, the offensive line, the staff, nothing like that. There’s blame to go around and I honestly don’t think it’s just one single factor. But if this teams wants to have sustained success (both this season and beyond), they need to figure out the run game. And they need to do so quickly.
Sourced Recruiting Notes
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 24, 2025
Spoke to a couple sources following the Auburn game about how the recruiting weekend went for the official visitors and a couple 2027 kids…
***Source said OU really knocked it out of the park with 2026 linebacker Jacob Curry. Curry, a former Northwestern commit, has blown up on the trail of late and the Sooners put their best foot forward. Source noted that Curry appeared to really be soaking it all in and enjoyed the personal attention from Nate Dreiling and Brent Venables. Source believes the Sooners are currently in the top spot, but a visit with Ohio State remians on the schedule and at this time, it looks like that visit will come off.
***As for 2026 wide receiver Brayden Allen, who is currently committed to Tulane, source was a little less optimistic there. I was told by the source that Allen loved the visit and OU made a big impression on him and his family, but the Louisiana roots are strong (as they are with every Louisiana kid). Also, I am not totally clear on how hard the Sooners are pushing here, but source indicated OU will remain in communication and continue to work on Allen. All in all, it was a great visit, source just didn’t get the feel good vibes they got with Curry. Will continue to monitor both as OU continues to look to close out the 2026 class.
***As for the 2027 class, you’ve seen the buzz on the social media and such and yes, OU continues to position themselves well with in-state elite OL Cooper Hackett who was back on campus again despite having recently committed to Texas Tech. OU is playing the long game with Hackett and source believes he wants to be a Sooner at the end of the day. I agree and think as long as OU continues to pursue him and when the time comes they pony up a nice NIL package, they have a very good chance there.
***I know there have been predictions put in for Colorado 2027 OL Jackson Roper as well and source said they like where that one is trending. We will dive fully into the 2027 class once the 2026 class is in the books, but the Sooners have absolutely made nice impressions on a bunch of priority targets in the 2027 class over the course of the Michigan and Auburn games.
Sourced Take on Mateer Injury
– Super K – Posted on: September 25, 2025
Earlier today, I spoke with a friend on another P4 staff. We got to talking about Mateer (this particular person is a big fan of Mateer).
Friend said that he asked their medical staff about Mateer’s injury. They said the timeline on those kinds of injuries as long as they have a good surgeon is 3-4 weeks.
They said he might be able to give it a go for Texas but opined that they didn’t think OU would risk re-injuring him, even for Texas since there will be still be a lot of football left to play.
Obviously, this is coming from another medical staff and they didn’t evaluate Mateer but I thought it was worth noting because it corroborates what we are hearing on the OU side.
