Berry Tramel's OU report card: Problems develop long before Sooners reach third down (2025)

OU’s 16-12 victory over Houston was alarming. The Sooner offense was completely ineffective, but that wasn’t the only point of concern. The OU report card is not real forgiving.

Before third down: D. Much has been made of OU’s third-down inefficiency. The Sooners converted four of 14 third downs vs. Houston, after converting just one of 12 vs. Temple. But OU’s third-down problem is not a mystery. It’s not even a third-down question. The Sooners’ third-down problems are rooted in first and second down. OU faced three third downs needing five yards or less; Jackson Arnold completions converted the first two, an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jake Roberts on 3rd-and-2, followed by a 15-yard completion to Deion Burks on 3rd-and-5. The only Sooner failure on 3rd-and-less-than-6 was a kneeldown in the final minute of the game. But when OU needs substantial yardage for a first down, everything changes. The Sooners converted just two of 11 third downs needing at least six yards. One came via a quarterback draw run by Arnold and a late-game completion on 3rd-and-8. OU’s problems are not third down. OU’s problems are first and second downs that put the Sooners in long-yardage situations.

Short-yardage defense: D. Houston is not an overpowering offense. The Cougars totaled just 247 yards a week earlier, against Nevada-Las Vegas. But Houston converted nine of 12 short-yardage situations against OU. Those plays are hard to stop, when an offense needs three yards or fewer. But still, the Sooners’ physical superiority should have helped OU’s defense get off the field more often than it did. Of those nine conversions, Houston converted five by run and four by pass. The Cougars had 18 first downs in all, which allowed Houston to control possession for 35:03 of the game’s 60 minutes.

Punt returns: D. OU punt returns became a vaudeville act. Billy Bowman muffed a punt, then Peyton Bowen muffed a punt. Bowman was summoned back, and while he caught a punt, he did so while falling backwards. “Billy gets out there, looks like a freshman, trying to field some punts,” Brent Venables said. Bowen did have a 20-yard return.

Running game: D. The OU running game was no better than it had been vs. Temple. In 24 true running plays, the Sooners gained 75 yards. But that’s including three quarterback draw plays, on which Arnold totaled 25 yards. Otherwise, OU made 50 yards on 21 designed runs. If you’re looking for a bright spot, Jovantae Barnes looked quite spry in his 12 carries (40 yards). He seems to be winning the starting tailback spot.

Uniforms: B. The Sooners honored the Bud Wilkinson era by wearing 1956 throwback uniforms, which included white helmets with a red stripe down the middle. The uniforms looked fine, but nothing special, which is standard for almost 70 years ago. It’s too bad that OU’s RoughRider throwbacks have been retired. They were a better look.

Deep-passing game: D. Arnold was billed as a quarterback who can deliver the deep ball accurately. So far, that hasn’t been the case. The Sooners had a dearth of deep balls vs. Temple, and that continued vs. Houston. Arnold launched six long balls against the Cougars; only one connected, a 33-yarder to Brenen Thompson on a second-quarter diagonal route. Arnold threw an interception on a post pattern, with a wildly off-target toss. Arnold also overthrew two receivers, threw out of bounds on another and behind a receiver on another.

Containing Donovan Smith: A. Houston quarterback Donovan Smith is not a star, but has a long history of being a run-pass threat. The Sooners did an excellent job of containing Smith. On true running plays, Smith had four carries for four yards. He was sacked twice and twice more was flushed from the pocket; one resulted in a four-yard run and another in a 21-yard pass play. One significant play courtesy of Smith’s feet. OU can live with that.