Greg McElroy explains why Oklahoma’s offense could be key to big 2025 season
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Greg McElroy has Oklahoma at No. 15 in his top 25 ahead of the 2025 season.
Despite the Sooners finishing 6-7 in 2024 — a 4-game swing from a 10-3 mark in 2023, McElroy feels things are looking up for the Sooners. That’s thanks in part to what he sees as a promising offense. The Sooners added Washington State QB John Mateer, a 3,100-yard passer who ran for over 800 yards in 2024, through the transfer portal. They also hired Ben Arbuckle, Mateer’s offensive coordinator in Pullman, to the same position in Norman.
“What I love is their offensive firepower,” McElroy said on his “Always College Football” podcast. “It starts with John Mateer, and the production that we saw at Washington State last year was amazing … This guy is electric. and has a great feel for that this offense needs to look like, with Ben Arbuckle also coming with Mateer from Washington State to call the plays there for the Sooners.”
The Sooners also signed Jaydn Ott (Cal) from the portal. And Deion Burks, who McElroy called “one of the top receivers in the slot in all of college football,” returns after missing all but 5 games in 2024.
McElroy also mentioned Isaiah Satenga, who spent 3 seasons at Arkansas before transferring to Oklahoma.
“You get a guy that understands the league and understands the nuance of being successful within the league,” McElroy said.
Oklahoma’s offense struggled in a big way in 2024, averaging 331.0 total yards per game. That was 14th out of 16 SEC teams. It ranked last in passing yards, 11th in rushing yards, and second-from-last in points per game.
No. – @OU_Football
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) August 18, 2025
Great offensive firepower could lead to a breakout season for the Sooners pic.twitter.com/idatywMl9W
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
