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Oklahoma’s Offensive Line Answered the Call After Red River Reckoning

Originally posted on Oklahoma Sooners on SI
By Brady Trantham | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 7:00 AM ET

As Oklahoma players trudged off the Cotton Bowl turf following a harrowing 23-6 defeat to Texas, the questions began to spill past the rim, crimson hopes devastated by another bitter sip of the Red River under Brent Venables.

The concerns came in multitudes: Is this the John Mateer to expect as Oklahoma faces their late-October and November schedule gauntlet? Does Venables have a Texas problem?

Both questions were fair. But the pressing concern Oklahoma needed to answer quickly lay with its offensive line — specifically, its inability to open holes in the running game. If there was any hope that OU could establish a traditional ground attack, the Longhorns dashed it.

Then Venables, Ben Arbuckle, Mateer and the entire team challenged the offense. Not from a negative place of shame — where they, the offensive line, are the reason the team has been unable to reach its ceiling. But because the Sooners knew not only could they handle it, but that they would respond.

"I think the biggest thing for us, challenge-wise as an offensive line group, was running the ball," Derek Simmons said on Monday. "Things seemed to be a little issue on the run. But taking it day by day, doing what Coach (Bill Bedenbaugh) tells us to do during the week, attacking practice differently, it just showed casual improvement as the weeks have gone on."

The group answered the call to the tune of 171 yards and two touchdowns against the 17th-best defense per ESPN's SP+ in South Carolina. Now the Sooners have hope that this can be replicated with ranked opponents ahead on the horizon.

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This wasn't the case of Sooner linemen blowing assignments or making mental mistakes that led to swarming defenders stopping Tory Blaylock in his tracks.

"I think for us it was a little more on the physical side," Simmons said. "But now we're attacking practice differently, and everything's improving. So, just continue on that path."

Differently how? Mateer revealed that the week of practice for the Gamecocks was dedicated to performing longer within the entirety of a play. Arbuckle withheld blowing the whistle as plays ended to allow for lineman to continue blocking their opponents.

That muscle memory and desire to find a more physical edge paid dividends in Oklahoma's best rushing performance of the season, considering the opponent.

"It was constant throughout the week," Arbuckle said on Tuesday. "It was constant in walkthroughs, us demanding it, the leaders of that group demanding it. It carried over into practice and they took it to the game too, so all the credit to them. They accepted the challenge, they worked their butt off and they played well on Saturday."

Now the question is whether this new mentality — and proof that it can work — will build real momentum.

Xavier Robinson seems to have taken over as the No. 2 to Blaylock in the Sooner backfield. Both backs possess unique abilities that lend themselves well to a 1-2 punch. Both were the major beneficiaries of the offensive line's internal challenge.

"It's good to see during the game when we're all on the same page," Simmons said. "They'll make plays for us sometimes and we'll open up things for them sometimes so they can run. We're working together now and it's definitely getting stronger."

"The cohesiveness of the group is so big," said guard Heath Ozaeta, "especially like in this day and age of college football, where you've got guys, new guys coming all the time. I think building that team, that chemistry is kind of one of the biggest parts of college football right now."

From Arbuckle to Mateer, from the running backs to the big men up front, the message has never wavered: do your job, and the rest will follow. If the offensive line keeps its newfound rhythm, that harmony could echo through the offense — from the trenches to the backfield, from Mateer to Arbuckle.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma Sooners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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