Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle Lays Out Reasons for OU's Passing Game Troubles

John Mateer missed 17 days before returning from surgery required for his fractured thumb. Going into his return, the Oklahoma passing attack was fairly good.

In the Sooners' first four games with a healthy Mateer, OU's passing attack boasted over 300 yards a game and 68 percent completion rate. More importantly, Mateer's passing attempts were typically thrown towards the sticks — 8.6 yards per attempt.

While many teams pack their Septembers with cupcakes, Oklahoma faced off against Michigan (10th in ESPN's SP+ on defense) and Auburn (17th), validating Mateer's passing prowess.

While Mateer returned in body against Texas, the spirit of the once-respectable Sooner passing attack has remained in absentia. Ben Arbuckle, tasked with trying to figure out how to bring the offense back to life, doesn't think there's one person or concept to blame.

"Every aspect of an offense is important," Arbuckle said during his Tuesday press conference. "At the end of the day, throwing the ball down the field it can be a few things. Maybe I need to call better plays, John's gotta hit it, or we need to make catches."

In five games since Mateer's return, OU's passing attack has fallen hard. Mateer's throws barely eclipse five yards an attempt. The humble sum of 200 yards passing has become infrequent. While QB1 is relentless in his assertions that his hand is not bothering him anymore, the evidence suggests that something is.

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Perhaps it is a little bit of everything. Arbuckle feels that way.

"It's not all one singular aspect, but in terms of the offense, in terms of being efficient, (the vertical passing game) has its role in generating explosive plays," Arbuckle said.

Another factor could be from Mateer himself. Following OU's mid-October win over South Carolina, Mateer revealed that his abysmal Texas performance humbled him in a way that made him realize he was a bit of a control freak to his detriment. It forced him to have to understand that he can't do everything on his own.

"I think when something like that happens and you have a game like that you have to re-visit where you come from," Mateer said on October 19. "But I think I just realized that I can trust these guys around me. It’s not that I didn’t, but they obviously showed it (against South Carolina).

"I have kind of a control problem. It’s probably my personality, not because I don’t believe in anyone, but it’s me just trusting it and letting the game come to me is a big thing that I knew when I was younger but I kind of got away from," Mateer added.

That humbling has certainly made Mateer look visibly different on the field, hampering the vertical passing attack. But Arbuckle doensn't think his quarterback has lost his mojo.

"He hasn’t changed the way he’s approaching (playing in games)," Arbuckle said. "He is a special kid, a talented kid. On every single play, he’s trying to put the team in the best position to be successful. But nothing has changed about his process."

The other factor potentially at play: this five-game stretch where OU's passing attack has vanished included games against Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama. All are playoff-caliber teams with capable defenses that many teams have struggled against.

But if Oklahoma wants to punch its ticket to the playoff, the offense will need to find what they lost.

"We have to continue to find the best ways to put our kids into positions to be successful," Arbuckle said. "We have to practice it, rep it and demand it in order to generate explosive plays."