One Big Thing: Is Oklahoma Physical Enough, Tough Enough to Keep This Thing Going?

South Carolina and Oklahoma bring some eerily similar characteristics to Saturday’s game in Norman.

But in one area there is a disparity of distinct separation.

South Carolina can run the football. Oklahoma can’t.

At least, the Sooners couldn’t run the ball before unleashing a season-high 184 yards on the ground last week at Mississippi State.

Oklahoma hadn’t been over the century mark in a game since returning home from Michigan (where the Sooners rushed for exactly 100 yards). That’s four consecutive games — 61 yards against New Mexico, 65 against Georgia, 83 against Texas and 76 against Kentucky — that the OU offense was summarily whipped at the line of scrimmage.

But that seemed to change last week in Starkville.

Credit the return of left tackle Michael Fasusi back to the starting lineup for his first action since the season opener nearly two months ago. Credit the continued growth of freshman guard Noah Best, and a more focused performance from Arkansas transfer E’Marion Harris, and the readiness of backup center Caleb Nitta, who replaced injured captain Jake Maikkula and performed well, and a solid game from Georgia Tech transfer Peyton Joseph, the Sooners’ fourth starting right guard this season.

Against the Bulldogs, Oklahoma got a season-high 71 yards on 12 carries from sophomore Tory Blaylock and another 55 on 13 carries from Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant.

Quarterback John Mateer was needed only nine times as a runner, which almost seemed to empower him as a passer.

That’s the ideal formula for this Sooner offense.

Now, rewind to 2025.

A year after being embarrassed at home by South Carolina, OU went into Columbia and took the fight to the Gamecocks with a 26-7 victory fueled by 171 yards rushing — the Sooners’ second-highest output against a Power 4 team last season.

That OU team also had been struggling to run the football and came into that game ranked 105th in the nation in rushing yards per game with 122.3.

So far this year, Oklahoma ranks 128th in rushing offense, 105.6 yards per game.

Can the Sooners turn the tables again this year — this time at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Shane Beamer’s run defense in 2026 ranks 35th nationally at 115 yards per game. The Sooners are going to need more than that to control enough of this game and come away with a victory.

Where the Gamecocks have a decided advantage is when they hand the football off (or don’t, actually).

USC is averaging 218.3 yards per game on the ground, which ranks No. 13 in the nation — and No. 1 in the SEC.

Brent Venables said this week that South Carolina is “as hot a team in our conference right now as there is,” and has “one of the best rosters in our conference and in the country.”

Venables is laying on the coachspeak pretty thick there. Beamer is 37-33 as a head coach, he entered this season on the hottest of hot seats, and his Gamecocks are 4-3 this season.

They lost to average Mississippi State, were blown out by a rather middling and No. 8-ranked Alabama, gave up a late score to lose to Kentucky, then shocked increasingly uneven but No. 16 Florida before taking down No. 11 Tennessee on a walk-off field goal.

But credit Beamer and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, who installed his version of his dad’s Baylor offense and has consistently moved the football on the ground: 278 yards against Kent State, 405 against Towson, 149 against Mississippi State, 216 against Bama, 232 against Kentucky, 114 against Florida and 134 against the Vols.

Ben Arbuckle might kill for those numbers out of his bunch.

Matthew Fuller leads South Carolina with 513 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. He’s produced two 100-yard games this season — but got only 28 yards last week at Tennessee.

Even more dangerous is quarterback LaNorris Sellers. He’s been an effective runner — and not just a scrambler. While Fuller has 90 rushing attempts, Sellers has 85 — for 509 yards and four touchdowns.

Briles’ scheme has also allowed Jabree Coleman (220 yards), Isaiah Augusta (114) and Jawarn Howell (104) to surpass 100 yards on the ground in 2026. Together, they have 15 rushing TDs this season.

Oklahoma has just three such runners (Avant at 322, and Mateer and Blaylock at 116), and the Sooners have just three rushing touchdowns all year. Their top single-game performances were Avant (79 yards against UTEP, 72 against Texas) and Blaylock (71 at Mississippi State).

So, there it is: Trench warfare. Dirt life. Low man wins. The Oklahoma drill.

Like most of these routinely unpredictable showdowns in the Southeastern Conference, Saturday’s game between the Garnet and Black and Crimson and Cream will come down to who wins the line of scrimmage.

Assuming neither Mateer nor Sellers turn the football over, the more physical team will prevail.

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