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Oklahoma survives New Mexico, but offense remains a problem heading to Georgia

Oklahoma took care of business Saturday night, handling New Mexico as expected.

There was not much else for Brent Venables’ team to celebrate, though.

Oklahoma, ranked No. 24, came away with a 14-6 win in Norman, moving to 2-1 ahead of their trip to Athens to face No. 2 Georgia on September 26. The Sooners were looking to regain some confidence after a 17-10 loss at Michigan, but the offense remained inconsistent and it took a fourth-down stop with just over three minutes left to finally put New Mexico away.

The good news for Oklahoma remains its defense. That unit was the foundation of last season’s 10-3 team, which went 6-2 in the SEC and reached the College Football Playoff. The Sooners entered the New Mexico game ranked third nationally in passing defense, 13th in scoring defense and 20th in total defense. That group again did its part Saturday, holding a New Mexico team that had averaged 54 points through its first two games to six.

The offense, though, continues to raise the most questions.

Quarterback John Mateer threw two touchdown passes, including a 53-yarder to Isaiah Sategna III in the third quarter, which turned out to be Oklahoma’s last points of the night. Mateer also had two interceptions, and the Sooners managed only 42 rushing yards in the first half. They led 7-3 at halftime and scored their final touchdown with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter. After that, it was mostly about making sure the game did not get away from them.

That marks two straight games in which Oklahoma has struggled to sustain an offense against teams that can push back. Against Michigan, the Sooners finished with 289 total yards, managed just 100 on the ground, and converted only three of 13 third downs. Mateer went 17-for-33 for 189 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. That late interception set Michigan up at the Oklahoma 6-yard line for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

That is a far cry from the opener, when Oklahoma rolled past UTEP 51-0. Three games in, the Sooners have faced three very different types of opponents, and the last two have made it clear that Venables can trust his defense more than his offense right now.

That sets up a compelling matchup with Georgia. The Bulldogs moved on to Oklahoma after beating Arkansas 45-17 Saturday, piling up 254 rushing yards while holding the Razorbacks to 17 on the ground. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton added 97 rushing yards to his 147 passing yards as the Bulldogs improved to 3-0. Oklahoma visits Sanford Stadium Saturday at 3:30 PM ET.

Oklahoma has enough pieces to make Georgia work for it. Mateer is capable of creating outside the pocket, Sategna brings a big-play threat, and Venables’ defense is good enough to keep things interesting well into the second half.

The bigger question is whether Oklahoma can score enough to make the most of that defense against Georgia. Based on what we have seen at Michigan and again versus New Mexico, there’s little to suggest the Sooners can consistently run the ball or keep drives alive when the defense takes away the easy options.

That is a fairly substantial problem against Georgia.

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