REPORT: Oklahoma Football Parts Ways with Ben Arbuckle, Jason Witten Named New OC

Oklahoma finally did what the offense has been begging somebody to do for weeks. The Sooners are parting ways with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz was first to report the expected split, and it did not come out of nowhere. Not after Saturday. Not after a homecoming loss to South Carolina that turned into a full referendum on the offense before halftime. Oklahoma had 118 yards through three quarters, punted six times, and still lost 42-25 even after winning the turnover battle.

The crowd got to “Fire Arbuckle” early. Former players got louder. Brent Venables called the night an ass-whooping. At some point, standing still becomes a decision of its own.

The numbers made the move hard to argue against. Oklahoma is averaging 22.0 points per game, which ranks 92nd nationally. The Sooners are at 336.9 yards per game (96th), 5.0 yards per play (106th), and 106.8 rushing yards per game (119th). The passing game sits at 230.1 yards per game, which is more average than alarming, but the turnover margin of minus-0.6 per game still ranks 116th. That is not a top-end SEC offense with a couple of rough nights.

That is a unit that has spent most of the year making life harder on a defense good enough to keep Oklahoma competitive.

Arbuckle was never the only problem. Venables’ influence on the offensive identity has been part of the conversation all season, and John Mateer’s inconsistency has been impossible to ignore. But coordinators still own the finished product, and Oklahoma’s finished product has looked stuck.

The up-tempo juice Arbuckle had with Mateer at Washington State never fully showed up in Norman. Too many series died on early downs. Too many possessions felt constrained. Too many nights left the stadium wondering what the offense was even trying to become. That is why the change makes sense even if it does not guarantee better football tomorrow.

Matt Blackwell reported that Jason Witten will serve as offensive coordinator for the rest of the season, with Kevin Wilson also involved. That is not a long-term vision hire in the middle of November. It is a emergency reshuffle designed to change the voice in the room and see whether this group can function under different direction.

Witten already has relationships in the building. Wilson has the offensive background. Together, they at least give Oklahoma a chance to test whether any version of this offense is salvageable with the current roster.

The South Carolina game was the breaking point because it combined every complaint into one night. The Sooners came out flat. The first half produced almost nothing. Mateer looked unsettled again. Ivan Carreon finally got featured and produced immediately, which only raised more questions about why the staff had waited so long. And the defense, usually the dependable side, had its worst day of the year while the offense still could not answer. When you get outgained 521-359 at home and the crowd is hunting the coordinator by the second quarter, the seat is gone.

There is also a practical reality here. Oklahoma is 4-4 and 2-3 in the SEC with Florida on the road next. The season is pretty much over, but they still have to see what they have for next year. If the Sooners were going to make a change, waiting another two or three weeks would have been the emptiest version of loyalty. They needed a jolt now, if only to find out whether the players respond to a different structure and a different messenger.

Arbuckle may still be a good coach in the right setting. He may even look better somewhere that lets him run the thing he actually wants to run. That is no longer the point in Norman.

Oklahoma’s offense has not met the standard, has not shown clear progress, and has left the program arguing about screens, rhythm, and quarterback confidence in early November. That is not sustainable.

So the Sooners are moving on. Witten takes over. Wilson gets involved. The rest of the season becomes a live evaluation of whether this roster can still function offensively with new direction.

Maybe the product improves. Maybe it does not. At least Oklahoma stopped pretending the current setup deserved more time. After Saturday, that was the bare minimum.