For the third game in a row, Oklahoma’s offense headed into the locker room on Saturday disappointed with its performance. The Sooners were held under 20 points for the fifth time in eight games.
But while OU closed Saturday allowing six sacks on its final 11 plays from scrimmage and rushing for 0.9 yards per carry in the fourth quarter, the mood heading into the locker room for halftime two hours earlier was a sharp contrast.
The version of OU’s offense seen in the first half is what it's looking to build on in the final stretch of the season.
“You guys saw the first half,” freshman running back Taylor Tatum said Monday. “You saw what we can be, and what we plan to be for the rest of the year.
“We’re taking all the positives from that moving on to next week and the rest of the year.”
The Sooners scored all 14 of their points in the first half of their 26-14 loss to Mississippi, and tallied 235 total yards compared to 94 in the second half. It was OU’s rushing attack that served as the most pleasant surprise in the first half, rushing 30 times for 125 yards and 4.2 yards per carry, a vast improvement from the 2.3 and 1.9 they averaged the two weeks prior.
“I wouldn’t say it was a certain thing, we had good energy,” Tatum said of the first half. “We ran the ball well, threw the ball well, we just didn't keep up that energy in the second half.”
At the helm of the success was Joe Jon Finley, who was making his debut as OU’s play caller after Seth Littrell was fired last week. Despite the apparent revival of the offense, Tatum said Finley’s play calling wasn’t much different from that of Littrell.
“Just doing what we’re good at,” Tatum said of Finley’s play calling. “Running the ball, doing stuff that we need to do to move the ball. It’s not really as much of a difference as you all think.”
Saturday also marked sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold’s first start since committing three turnovers in the first half of OU’s 25-15 loss to Tennessee on Sept. 21. Though he spent most of the second half lying on the turf of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, his first half consisted of 110 pass yards and two pass touchdowns.
“Jackson definitely has his swagger back,” redshirt senior wide receiver J.J. Hester said of Arnold. “I’m glad to see him ballin. You can see it on the field, what do the kids say, ‘aura?’ He’s got a lot of aura going around.”
To Hester, it was Arnold’s touchdown pass to freshman Jacob Jordan moments before halftime, and his ensuing celebration, that certified his return.
“He was doing some type of celebration and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Jackson Arnold right there,’” Hester said. “I’m happy he’s getting that feeling back, and we’re just going to build off of it.”
