The Oklahoma Sooners are heading down to Gainesville, Fla., for the first time ever to take on the Florida Gators. The Sooners need to win two of their final four to earn bowl eligibility. With a new voice leading the offense, the Sooners are hoping for a turnaround to end the 2026 season.
Jason Witten takes over an offense that has underachieved this season, given the number of returning starters along the offensive line and the weapons at returning quarterback John Mateer. How much better can Oklahoma be in a week is the question on everyone’s minds. It’s unlikely the Sooners will suddenly erupt on offense, but if they find more consistency, they’ll have a chance to finish the season on a high note.
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So how will the Sooners perform in “The Swamp?” Our staff here at Sooners Wire picked this week’s showdown between the Sooners and the Gators.
There are just too many moving parts for Oklahoma to reliably believe the Sooners could win a road game in the swamp. The Sooners have made a change at offensive coordinator and the availability of a bunch of notable players on both sides of the ball are still in question. There’s also the question of how Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer will play without Ben Arbuckle on the sideline for the first time in years. Even though Florida has a few issues to worry about as well, they’re certainly not as dire as Oklahoma’s at the moment.
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Florida 21, Oklahoma 10
James D. Jackson, Contributor
Touchdowns? Touchdowns. Oklahoma made a huge move this week by letting go of Ben Arbuckle and having Jason Witten call plays. Witten called plays as a high school head coach and had a ton of success doing it. I think the offense will play with a fire we haven’t seen this year, and the defense will return to its dominant ways. Because of that, I’ve got OU winning and the offense scoring three touchdowns. OU 27, Florida 17
Oklahoma 27, Florida 17
Jaron Spor, Contributor
Last week’s disaster set in motion a sequence of events that should end with Brent Venables’ team having a new offensive coaching staff, a new starting QB, and new faces up and down the offensive depth chart. For now, though, the only change is the absence of OC Ben Arbuckle, so all of Oklahoma’s other offensive problems remain. Expect OU’s defense to bounce back against Florida, but expect the offense to continue faltering for the remainder of this season.
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Florida 16, Oklahoma 7
Aaron Gelvin, Contributor
As much as I’d like to believe that things are going to magically turn around, it’s hard to create that expectation. Jason Witten may be the answer to what ails John Mateer and the Oklahoma Sooners offense. However, until we see it, there’s no telling what you’ll get from Witten’s crew. Expect the defense to bounce back and play well against Jaden Baugh and the Gators’ rushing attack, but with injury concerns in the secondary, the Sooners may have a hard time slowing down Tramell Jones.
Florida 20, Oklahoma 17
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John Williams, Lead Writer
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions for Oklahoma vs. Florida
