How Oklahoma's Offense Matches Up With South Carolina's 'Stout' Defensive Front

With Dylan Stewart and Bryan Thomas Jr. on the edges, the Gamecocks will pose a major challenge to the Sooners' offense.

South Carolina edge rusher Bryan Thomas Jr. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

NORMAN — After a disastrous display of offense against Texas, the Sooners must strive for the rhythm that they had in their first five games.

That won’t be easy to accomplish this week against South Carolina.

Oklahoma hits the road to battle the Gamecocks — who have forced nine turnovers in their first six games — in Columbia on Saturday. Oklahoma is looking to rebound after scoring only six points and compiling only 258 yards of offense in its 23-6 loss to the Longhorns.

“Going down there isn’t easy,” running back Tory Blaylock said. “They have great fans, a great defense, so we just gotta go down there with a great mentality.”

South Carolina’s defense is particularly strong up front.

Gamecock defensive end Dylan Stewart is tied for first in the SEC — with Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell — and 10th nationally with nine tackles for loss. On the other edge of South Carolina’s defensive line, Bryan Thomas Jr. has registered five tackles for loss. Each also has seven quarterback hurries to their name this year.

As strong as OU’s defensive end room is with R Mason Thomas, Taylor Wein, Marvin Jones Jr., Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye, Sooners coach Brent Venables acknowledged that South Carolina’s group is equally stout.

“Really explosive, really powerful,” Venables said. “They are longer versions of R Mason Thomas — longer, bigger. Just really strong, physical, put a lot of pressure on the edges. Nothing more complicated than that.”

South Carolina’s strength up front poses a major challenge for Oklahoma’s run game.

The Sooners rushed for only 48 yards in their loss to Texas, averaging 1.6 yards per carry. OU is 13th in the SEC in rushing, averaging 122.3 yards per contest.

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Freshman offensive tackle Michael Fasusi believes that the offensive line and running backs can perform better this week against the Gamecocks.

“You've gotta keep your eyes up, head up, hands ready to strike everybody and feet moving the ground,” Fasusi said. “So details, physicality, that's what it's gonna come down to."

South Carolina has also intercepted eight passes so far in 2025, which puts them tied for first place in the SEC with Mississippi State and Texas. While the Gamecocks’ secondary has shown its ball-hawking prowess in its first six games, much of their ability to force turnovers comes from their prolific pass rush.

A year ago when Oklahoma battled South Carolina, the Gamecocks forced three takeaways in the first quarter of a 35-9 win in Norman. They scored touchdowns on two of the turnovers and set up their offense with a short field on the other.

Venables knows that Oklahoma’s offense must be much better in this year’s meeting for the Sooners to bounce back.

“We gotta take care of the football,” Venables said. “We gotta get better. We gotta play more efficiently offensively and for four quarters.”

Ultimately, much of Oklahoma’s offensive success will fall on how quarterback John Mateer plays. And much of his performance is reliant on OU’s offensive line giving him time to assess matchups and make decisions.

Even after Mateer went 20-of-38 on pass attempts and threw three interceptions against Texas, the quarterback is confident that he — and all of his offensive counterparts — can get back on track against a stingy South Carolina defensive front.

“They're good, they're real stout,” Mateer said. “They do a lot of good things and have a lot of good players so I'm excited."