Against Midshipmen, poor play, poor decisions crush Sooners' good vibes
Armed Forces Bowl loss hands Venables' led Sooners second losing season in three years
Oklahoma has hope.
In the space between falling hard at LSU and kicking off against Navy Friday morning in Forth Worth, the Sooners got their next offensive coordinator and quarterback, Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer, both from Washington State.
Given their shared history, though the rest of the Sooner offense may have to catch up to them, they won’t have to catch up to each other, a luxury in the midst of transition.
Also, OU could not pick up fourth-and-1 two different times in the second quarter and that, and everything that followed, led to an embarrassing 21-20 Armed Forces Bowl defeat inside Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Sooner head coach Brent Venables said he’d do it again, referencing the choice to go for two points following OU’s final touchdown, the one that came almost 51 minutes of clock time after the last one, with 6 ticks remaining.
But all that really meant was he’d rather roll the dice on one play from 3 yards, at the height of his squad’s momentum, than trust quarterback Michael Hawkins in an overtime dual against Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, which was entirely the right decision, but doesn’t say much for the Sooners’ presumed backup quarterback next season, nor their chances should Mateer fall to injury.
Perhaps that’s too hard on Hawkins, a true freshman who suffered multiple drops from his receivers, but it was still his fourth start and, my goodness, how did OU’s margins ever become so small?
Which, I suppose, is just another way of asking how two of Venables’ seasons have been losing seasons, or that for the second time in three years, OU has won just three of its last 10 games.
Too bad.
The vibes were more good than bad upon entry.
The Sooners shocked the world by suffocating Alabama and, bonus, got to take credit for knocking the Crimson Tide out of the playoff. Losing at LSU was unfortunate, but still they earned their bowl trip and the extra practices it afforded. Then came Arbuckle and Mateer and who was Navy, anyway, with its 9-3 record coming out of the American Athletic Conference.
The Midshipmen fell by five touchdowns to Notre Dame, by two touchdowns to Rice and were shut out 35-0 by Tulane, a team the Sooners toppled 34-19.
But OU went splat.
The only way to the end of this Sooner football mess is through it, but can’t the program help itself to make that a shorter distance?
Not Friday.
Nor would it have been any game at all had Horvath thrown accurately.
Navy’s first possession, facing third-and-8 from its 38, and the first time the Midshipmen feigned their option in favor of a pass, Horvath found Nathan Kent all alone for a gain of 38, yet it should have been for 62 and six points.
The throw forced Kent to make such an acrobatic catch that staying on his feet proved impossible and Navy, gaining no more yards, wound up punting rather than attempt a 58-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Navy taking over first-and-10 from the OU 26 following a Hawkins fumble, Horvath had Brandon Chatman wide open in the end zone but couldn’t hit him and the short-field drive ended when Nathan Kirkwood missed wide right from 38 yards.
Horvath made at least one play though, setting a Midshipmen program record with a 95-yard run up the middle from his own 5.
Not the fastest guy on the field, he reached the end zone on the strength of a huge head start, finding nothing but daylight after breaking through the line, an utterly curious thing given down and distance was second-and-9.
No, Danny Stutsman nor Billy Bowman played, each having chosen to prepare for the NFL draft, but 95 yards to the Navy quarterback?
Are you serious?
Venables, for whom communication remains a strength, fell on his spike.
“Everything falls on me,” he said. “If we’re dropping it or not, converting fourth down [or not], missing field goals or we’re giving up explosive runs, everything falls at my feet.”
He followed that with a forecast that could use some editing, but covers the bases.
“Just got to get a lot better,” he began. “We know the reasons. We had a lot of guys that had an opportunity this year that happened because of guys not being available. I think we gained valuable experience that will pay off. My expectation is that it will pay off.
“But we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a great group of guys coming back. We have a great foundation coming back and we’ve recruited well.”
That’s Sooner football laid bare. There’s still hope. There are real reasons to have real confidence.
Yet, past is often prologue and it’s been a rotten season, right down to the end when the offense couldn’t pick up a yard, the defense let down and for some recurring reason OU still couldn’t identify its best running back, clearly Xavier Robinson, instead giving the ball to Gavin Sawchuk 13 times to Robinson’s six.
Sometimes it’s the smallest things this team still can’t get right.
Try again next year.
The number is two. Two final, don’t want to rehash or waste any additional time on takes from lowering the casket on a dismal 2024 season. The discovery and emergence of Xavier Robinson, a young man I describe as “having the juice, a home run hitter,” only getting 6 carries. And secondly, watching that team play 45 minutes of joyless football. I saw effort, I saw futility and I say the redundancy of the type of play that contributed to our final record. But after the the 1st Qtr., I witnessed a football team that wasn’t having any fun, joy or passion. What my eyes witnessed was a team carrying the burden of failed expectations and inevitable defeat. Thanks for letting me vent. Boomer!
If anyone needs further proof that venables has done lasting damage to the OU program, just look at the Division II recruits who are the only ones willing to come to OU. Even with the arrival of John Mateer, where are the top shelf WRs who should be lining up to receive his passes. Also, here's hoping that not all of the outstanding D-line migrates. Plus we need DBs in the worst kind of way. O-line is a given as needing new blood. And RBs? Who is even in charge of that quagmire! Most of us expected to tune in and see the one bright spot in Robinson. What did we get? Way too much of sawchuck. It's all just such a frustrating mess, trying to comprehend what this rag-tag assortment of assistants is doing/thinking. There's still some time left with the portal, and I'm here to tell you that we need all the help we can get!