With four games left in the 2026 season, head coach Brent Venables made the decision to fire former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and promote tight ends coach Jason Witten ahead of a road matchup against Florida.
That decision paid dividends. OU walked into ‘The Swamp’ and displayed arguably its best offensive showing of the season in a dominant 23-7 victory. Now, with three games left, Sooner players are rallying around Witten as he makes his case to stay in his new role long term.
“At the end of the day, there's no special schemes,” sophomore offensive lineman Michael Fasusi said. “I just (have to) give a lot of credit to coach (Witten) with just his knowledge of the game, the mindset that he has and the mindset that he's just continuing to instill in us to literally go out there and just play ball.”
Witten’s offense was able to do something no OU team has done since 1972. With time dwindling late in the game, a 20-play, near 13-minute drive, capped by an Isaiah Sategna touchdown put the game away. Sooner defenders were happy to stay off the field after a slew of games where they were put in difficult situations.
“Coach Witten said we had time to eat a hot dog,” fifth-year linebacker Owen Heinecke said. “The offense did a really good job, allowing the defense to get a breather and just kind of recuperate.”
Junior defensive back Eli Bowen soaked in not having to take the field for nearly a quarter.
“We were on the sideline talking about how fast the game was going by, but it’s because we weren’t on the field that much,” Bowen said. ”It’s great seeing the offense move the ball and bring the energy we can feed off of.”
Sophomore running back Tory Blaylock credited Witten’s mindset for the team's success.
“(Witten is) somebody that you always want to be around,” Blaylock said. “You can always pick up some game, pick up some knowledge from him. …That’s why I like being around him.”
Witten helped lead the offense to over 350 yards and a staggering 37 minutes of possession time in the win. OU will look to build momentum and clinch a bowl game at 3:15 p.m. this Saturday against Mississippi on SEC Network.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
