Episode Details

Sooner Smiths Live #54 It’s BAD for Oklahoma’s Offense | Georgia Game Preview Hosts: Chad Smith & Tierani Smith OklahomaVOCFB | Monday, ~7 p.m. CT

Intro & Housekeeping (0:01–4:00)

• Chad and Tierani (“the Center Smiths”) welcome regulars (Sigo, Stacy, Mr. Dilligap, Drew, Trojan Fight, Brandon, Caden) and newcomers.
• Show airs every Monday on the Voice of College Football Oklahoma channel. Presented by Vandal.
• Plug: like, subscribe, jump to YouTube chat, members ($2.99), Drake’s college fund via Super Chats.
• Light banter on spelling “Tierney,” late start, and merging OU/USC offenses and defenses.

Record & Immediate Context (4:00–6:30)

• Oklahoma is 2-1 after beating New Mexico. “Nothing really to worry about… except you got arguably the best defense in the country.”
• Next up: Georgia (Kirby Smart, two of last five natties, offense 2nd nationally in yards/points/yards per play). Georgia was Chad’s preseason natty pick.
• The surprise is not Georgia being good — it’s Oklahoma’s offense looking this bad.

Core Problem: The Offense Cannot Run (6:30–10:00)

• “We can’t run a foot. We can’t run the football.”
• John Mateer is being asked to hide everything (“quarterbacks are deodorant”). Ole Miss’s run game is also mediocre; Trinidad Chambliss just elevates it.
• Stats pulled from StatBroadcast after New Mexico:
  • Average third-down-to-gain: 3rd-and-7.
  • Third down every 3.9 plays (almost never converting early downs).
  • Longest run of the game: 9 yards. Zero runs of 10+.
  • 66 rushing yards by RBs (61 of them behind the line of scrimmage).
• Offense looks “discombobulated,” like spring ball with freshmen or a brand-new system every week. Cohesion and confidence seen vs. UTEP vanished after Michigan.

Staff Alignment & Play-Calling (10:00–15:30)

• Multiple voices on offense: Ben Arbuckle (OC), Kevin Wilson, Daylon McColl, etc. “It looks like three different things going on at once.”
• Chad’s suggested come-to-Jesus: Arbuckle should tell the room he will call his offense (the one that worked at Washington State) or get fired doing someone else’s. “It’s like having Mike Leach call the Wing-T.”
• Two schematic options floated:
  1. Slow it to a crawl — hold the ball, drain 5–6 minutes per drive, limit Georgia possessions (Army 2020-style clock control).
  2. Go five-wide / spread / one-yard splits and live with the Air Raid. Risk: Mateer is currently struggling with anticipation, accuracy, and processing — the exact traits the Air Raid demands — against elite pass rushes (Colin Simmons next).
• Tempo experiment vs. New Mexico (snaps every ~30 seconds) produced an INT and a punt.

New Mexico Game Film & Field Position (19:30–24:00)

• OU outgained New Mexico 299–185 but New Mexico ran 28 plays in OU territory vs. OU’s 12 (2.3x more).
• Offense and special teams repeatedly put the defense in short fields. That problem explodes against better athletes and coaching.
• Kirby Smart on OU defense: elite talent + near-perfect technique + “want-to” + speed + intelligence. Same traits Georgia has on both sides.

O-Line & Personnel (25:00–32:00)

• Line play is “bad.” Mateer was getting hit as he released a quick throw to Cetania.
• Bill Bedenbaugh’s group has not produced at the expected level the last five years (post-Creed Humphrey era). Constant injuries, position shuffling, freshmen playing.
• Hope: Fasusi returning to his natural right-side spot so other linemen can slide back to comfortable positions. “Brushing your teeth with your left hand” analogy.
• Only four real practice days before Georgia.

Defense, E