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Oklahoma’s offensive line has been among the worst in college football in 2024. No matter who’s behind center, whether it’s Jackson Arnold or Michael Hawkins, neither has had the benefit of a strong front 5.
That was the case one more on Saturday against Ole Miss in a 26-14 loss. Arnold was sacked an unbelievable 10 times against the Rebels: Suntarine Perkins had 4.0, JJ Pegues and Princely Umanmielen had 2.0 each, and Akelo Stone and Jared Ivey each pitched in 1.0.
According to 247Sports and CBS Sports’ Tom Green, the 10 sacks is a new program record:
UPDATE: Official stats have been updated. Oklahoma has now been credited with allowing 10 sacks today against Ole Miss — a new program record.
After review, the double-pass to Bauer Sharp that was blown up is deemed a sack.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) October 26, 2024
The Sooners gave up 9 sacks a week prior at South Carolina, which tied the mark. They did themselves one better (or one worse) in Week 9.
All told, the Sooners have yielded 39 sacks, the most of any team at the FBS level.
Needless to say, in the 2024 offseason, Brent Venables will have a great deal to work on to not only get his team at a level where they can compete in the SEC, but on a national basis. Offensive line play will need to be a massive priority for the program, considering the level of play across the conference.
Oklahoma returns home for a non-conference game against FCS Maine in Week 10.
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.
