Is Jason Witten the answer for Oklahoma? Win over No. 19 Ole Miss provides proof-of-concept for NFL legend

A run-heavy blueprint and nearly 37 minutes of possession against Ole Miss showed how the interim playcaller is masking roster flaws to protect an elite defense Nov 15, 2026 at 5:16 pm ET • 3 min read Coming out of halftime with a small lead, Oklahoma interim offensive coordinator Jason Witten decided it was time to drown No. 19 Ole Miss. The Sooners' first six play calls of the half were runs, broken only by a 3-yard screen pass. On second-and-9, quarterback John Mateer threw another screen to running back Lloyd Avant, who broke it for 20 yards -- Mateer's longest completion of the day. Oklahoma kept grinding and grinding and grinding, swinging a third-down conversion and a fourth-down conversion. There was nothing pretty about the drive, but the Sooners just kept coming, setting up a 12-play touchdown drive that bled nearly half of the third quarter away. Sooners coach Brent Venables made a surprising decision by elevating the future Hall of Famer Witten to playcaller. Prior to this season, his only coaching experience came at the private high school level. But in a 24-17 win over the Rebels -- the second of Oklahoma's first consecutive wins of the season -- Witten made another strong case for the full-time job. Witten's group didn't put up flashy numbers or otherworldly efficiency. The Sooners didn't even crack 300 yards of offense, and seven of their 24 points came on a punt return touchdown from Isaiah Sategna III. But in a season where the defense has been left out to dry, Oklahoma's offense consistently put them in great spots. For the second straight week, Oklahoma leaned on the running game to dominate time of possession. The Sooners held the ball for nearly 37 minutes in each of the past two weeks against explosive offenses, giving their defense an opportunity to rest. And ultimately, it's Witten's commitment to the running game leading the way. Witten spread the wealth around, handing the ball to three different rushers at least nine times. Oklahoma threw only 19 times in 68 plays, and most were short passes. On Oklahoma's 5-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Hatton to start the third quarter, the Sooners ran out three tight ends and an extra offensive lineman. When Hatton ran into traffic, more linemen came to the rescue, pushing him into the end zone. It's the kind of big-boy running game football that's rarely been seen since the peak of the Lincoln Riley era. In former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Venables tried to build an offense around a roster he didn't assemble. The Sooners have middling talent at wide receiver and poor offensive linemen, making downfield passing a nonstarter. Then, of course, quarterback John Mateer has struggled mightily with decision-making. Witten's plan is simple: Take away the decisions. Mateer had only five pass attempts in the first half, and most were within a few yards of the line of scrimmage. Even when the running game was inefficient, he stuck with it, recording 49 carries for 188 yards and two touchdowns as a team. It was a photocopy of the game plan from when the Sooners suffocated Florida one week earlier. Oklahoma averaged only 4.46 yards per play 00 a bottom-tier number. They were also in the 55th percentile for success rate. Witten is willing to trade production for consistency, and it's exactly what Oklahoma needed to complement its elite defense. Ironically, the best comparison to Oklahoma's performance against Ole Miss was from the other sideline. Eight years ago, Kyler Murray's Sooners were dragged to overtime by Army. They scored nearly at will and averaged 8.9 yards per play. The problem was, Army only allowed them 40 plays. Ole Miss managed to run 59 plays, but 17 of them came in the waning moments of the game as the Rebels tried to pull off a furious comeback. They had only three total possessions in the first 27 minutes of the second half. Now let's be clear, Oklahoma is playing much better football, but it's still not a championship-level unit. General manager Jim Nagy had several big whiffs in the transfer portal; the Sooners have to dramatically increase their offensive talent to get back into national title contention. But after staring down the barrel of 4-4 -- and a potential missed bowl game -- the possibility of eight wins is exciting.Witten is only scratching the surface of what he can do as a college football playcaller. Venables will have a tough decision this offseason about whether he should go to the market for a new offensive coordinator. Regardless of what happens next, Witten proved he must be part of the plan.