Scouting Oklahoma: What to Expect When the Gators Take on the Sooners

The Florida Gators host the Oklahoma Sooners Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. EST, looking to bounce back and start November off strong.

The Sooners have dealt with their fair share of adversity this season, coming off a blowout loss to South Carolina and now sit at 4-4 (2-3 SEC) after making the college football playoff in 2025. The Sooners meet the Gators for the first time since the 2009 national championship game and the third time ever.

A new play caller could spark new life in the Sooner offense

Oklahoma's offense has not been as effective as it was last year, ranking second-to-last in the conference in yards per game (336.9) and points per game at 22.0.

The Sooners fired their offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, at the beginning of the week and have named former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten as their new play-caller. John Mateer is also expected to start again for the Sooners, even after the offensive changes.

“I mean, he's a really, really good football player”, Florida defensive coordinator Brad White said about Mateer. “Go to the tape. Everybody has moments of struggle or whatnot, but he is a really good football player that knows where to go with the football. Can extend plays with his legs. He's tough as nails. There's a reason that he was sought after when he came out of Washington State. We got our hands full. (Isaiah) Sategna III, (Rocky) Beers. He's got two playmakers that he can get the ball to.”

Wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III and tight end Rocky Beers are two key players to watch on the Sooner offense. They are both dynamic playmakers who create explosive plays in the pass game and are Mateer's favorite targets. They both lead the Sooners in receiving yards, receptions, and receiving touchdowns this year.

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The ground game has been a struggle for the Sooner offense this year, averaging just over 100 rush yards per game, which ranks in the bottom half of the SEC. Led by Lloyd Avant and Tory Blaylock, neither has rushed for over 80 yards in a game this season.

Another stout defense is in line for the Gator offense

Oklahoma's defense has been its calling card this year, as it always has been under head coach Brent Venables.

"I see an extremely well-coached team,” Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner said about the Oklahoma defense. “Plays extremely hard, bunch of different fronts, coverages, different looks every week. We’ve got to do a great job this week protecting. One of the reasons he's the head coach at Oklahoma is because he's always played good defense. So, we’ve got a challenge this week. We’ve got to answer the bell."

The Sooner defense is seventh in points per game allowed in the SEC this year at 20.8 and sixth in sacks with 22 on the year. They have allowed only one individual 100-yard rushing performance this year.

The Sooner defense is led up front by a talented group of pass rushers headlined by David Stone and Adepoju Adebawore, who are forces on the defensive front with a combined six sacks this season. Adebawore’s older brother, Adetomiwa, just got a big contract extension with the Indianapolis Colts.

The secondary and linebackers are just as talented, headlined by linebacker Kip Lewis and safety Peyton Bowen, who had a game-changing pick-six against Texas earlier this year and has the highest PFF grade on the defense.

“Yeah, it gets easier, got Oklahoma this week and their defense (laughter)”, head coach Jon Sumrall said. “That’s this league, though. They are really good. I think what’s most impressive about them, they have really good individual players.

"The pieces they play with are really talented, but I think the sum is greater than what you would think the individual parts are. They play really well together. You can tell the time they spent in the system with Brent, and the cohesion defensively, it bleeds through the film.”

It will be another fun challenge this week for newly announced starting quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. The Gators' offense needs to get going after a turnover-riddled game against Georgia. The Sooners' defense will be hard to beat, and with the potential newfound life in the Sooner offense, it will be a good test for the Gators in the Swamp.

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