Oklahoma Went Away From the Run Early and Never Found Rhythm on the Ground in Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Oklahoma rushed for eight yards on the first play of the game, and that was about all offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle allowed his offense to do on the ground.

The Sooners called four pass plays after that before having to punt, which was the story of the first half.

OU dug itself a 10-0 hole on Saturday at The Big House, and though No. 11 Oklahoma rallied to tie the game in the second half, Arbuckle relied too heavily on quarterback John Mateer.

“We got to come out, and we got to set the tone early,” Arbuckle said after the 17-10 loss. “That’s everybody doing their job. That’s having great pad level. That’s being violent as a runner. That’s getting under their chinstrap and pushing them off the line.

“… At the end of the day, I got to continue to be patient during the game and keep on handing that bad boy off and doing a great job of formationally and personnel-wise putting our guys in a position to be successful if they have leverage in the run game.”

Arbuckle was anything but patient.

Lloyd Avant carried the ball just nine times (35 yards, 3.9 yards per carry), and OU’s running backs only totaled 13 carries.

Oklahoma’s offensive line struggled at times.

Ryan Fodje returned to play left tackle in place of Michael Fasusi, and Jake Maikkula started at center, but Michigan held the Sooners to 3.4 yards per carry.

“Not good enough in any way,” head coach Brent Venables said. “So we got to be able to sustain drives. We got to knock people backwards, and they got good players as well. And so do we. And we got to execute better. We got to be a little more physical, and we got to stay away from the negative plays.”

Thirty-one of OU’s 63 rushing yards in the first half came on the first two drives, but afterward, Arbuckle kept calling Mateer’s number.

The early success on the ground should have opened things up downfield for the Oklahoma offense, as it did last week against lesser competition in UTEP, but Mateer was unable to make Michigan’s defense pay.

“We need to do a better job of slowing down, not being hurried to make some of the throws,” Venables said. “And we were high consistently throwing the ball today, so we've got to settle down and make several of those balls. Got to be, you know, more catchable.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Lloyd Avant — Oklahoma running back Lloyd Avant rushes against Michigan. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

Late in the game, OU had a chance to slow back down.

Kicker Tate Sandell tied the game 10-10 with 11:49 left in the game.

Oklahoma’s defense forced a three-and-out, but Michigan was able to pin the Sooners on their own 15-yard line thanks to a 51-yard punt by Cam Brown.

Arbuckle dialed up a handoff for receiver Isaiah Sategna that went one yard.

Behind the chains, he called a pass on second down, which was incomplete.

The next play was the game’s decider — an interception off the right arm of Mateer by Michigan’s Jyaire Hill.

“There was a couple times today we had some deep fields, but at the end of the day, that’s football,” Arbuckle said. “We’re going to be put in situations like that, and it’s our job to move the ball downfield; it’s our job to flip the field; it’s our job to go score points right there.”

The offensive line needs to get healthier, but time isn’t on Oklahoma’s side.

OU travels to No. 2 Georgia in two weeks, and if the Sooners can’t find a way to run the ball, they’ll have to rely on Mateer’s right arm again — for better or worse.

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