How Oklahoma Can Overcome 'Inconsistent Offensive Line' Play

In just about every way, the Sooners’ offense has been dismal over the last two weeks.

Quarterback John Mateer threw three interceptions in OU’s games against Michigan and New Mexico. The Sooners averaged only 1.9 yards per carry in the New Mexico game and scored only 14 points.

The root of these struggles? OU coach Brent Venables sees two primary causes.

“Probably just the inconsistent offensive line and then not taking care of the ball,” Venables said. “Those two things, bad recipe.”

There have been plenty of moving pieces on the offensive line through three weeks of the 2026 season.

Center Jake Maikkula and guard Ryan Fodje both suffered injuries before OU’s season opener against UTEP and had to miss that game. Sophomore tackle Michael Fasusi started against UTEP but suffered an injury in that contest, and he has not played since.

In each of the last two games, the starting offensive line has consisted of Maikkula, Fodje, E’Marion Harris, Noah Best and Eddy Pierre-Louis. Heath Ozaeta didn’t start against New Mexico, but he played 50 snaps at right guard against the Lobos, while Best logged only nine despite starting.

“Some of the inconsistency on the offensive line is just guys being banged up,” Venables said. “That's fair to say that that's a part of what's going on.”

Regardless, Venables knows that the offensive line must perform better as the Sooners enter conference play.

The coach singled out plenty of “fundamental mistakes” that have cost Oklahoma in its last two games. The Wolverines sacked Mateer three times en route to handing the Sooners their first loss of 2026. Mateer got sacked only once in the Sooners’ 14-6 win over New Mexico, but the Lobos penetrated the line and pressured him on multiple other occasions.

“We can't have those kinds of busts and get in any kind of rhythm,” Venables said.

Venables did acknowledge “plenty of positives” from the offensive line over the last few weeks. But he also said that he isn’t focusing on those, due to the unit’s overall poor performance.

“When I've got limited time to visit with the players, they're going to hear what we've got to get better at — not, 'Oh, all the great things,’” Venables said. “There ain't no patting guys on the back. We've got to play better.”

How can the unit improve? Venables believes that further game reps will help the linemen build on-field chemistry.

"Just being together," Venables said. "Being together creates more chemistry, cohesion. There's a continuity that should be good in that regard."

It’s possible — but not confirmed — that Fasusi could return for OU’s SEC opener at No. 2 Georgia on Saturday. The SEC will release the first of its four availability reports on Wednesday, and that will give an indication on how much the sophomore offensive tackle has progressed.

“Mike Fasusi’s an incredible talent, an incredible player and an incredible leader for us, so I mean that would be huge,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.

Arbuckle, however, knows that the line must play significantly better against the Bulldogs, with or without Fasusi.

“Whether Michael’s out there or Michael isn’t, there’s a lot of different things that go into it,” Arbuckle said. “It’s still the same thing I said after the (New Mexico) game: We have to be violent, we have to have great pad level, we have to come off the ball with velocity, our runners have to run the ball violently.”