NORMAN, Okla. — Ben Arbuckle isn’t even bothering to pretend he doesn’t hear the naysayers.
Oklahoma’s 31-year-old offensive coordinator is incredibly unpopular with the Sooners’ rabid fanbase. His unit has been stuck in quicksand for the past three games, scoring a combined 37 points as the Sooners have gone 1-2 in the run-up to the annual showdown against rival Texas.
He understands why the fans are frustrated and sees Saturday’s game in Dallas against the Associated Press’ No. 1 team as an opportunity to get things right.
“You don’t like what people are saying, do something about it, right?” Arbuckle said. “And ultimately, we get to go do that between the lines. Tough teams win. Tough players win. And that’s been our message throughout the entire building is just, toughness wins.”
This situation requires Arbuckle to demonstrate a new kind of toughness. His success in his 20s as an offensive coordinator at Washington State earned him the opportunity at Oklahoma. His offense struggled at times last season, but that was somewhat hidden by the fact that the Sooners still reached the College Football Playoff.
This is the first time he’s dealt with the combination of poor production, losing and angry fans at the same time.
“Do something about it:” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle says the team is aware of the criticism they are facing ahead of the Red River Rivalry. https://t.co/ub8CNC4hi3
— KOKH FOX 25 (@OKCFOX) October 6, 2026
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Arbuckle can take the heat and has the tools to turn things around.
“It becomes a story when you make it a story,” he said. “He’s not naive. He’s a young guy from an age standpoint, but a guy that — he’s a tough guy. He’s got great awareness, incredibly bright, and takes great pride. And he knows when maybe his unit’s not meeting the expectations and standards, and so he gets knee-deep in all the work and the things that it takes to improve and get better and figure out where we fall short, what we need to do, what the remedies are, and things of that nature.”
Just how unpopular is Arbuckle? Well, in two completely unscientific polls I ran on X in the past two weeks, I asked Sooners fans if former OU coach Lincoln Riley somehow became available to run the offense, would fans want him back.
Such a question was unthinkable as recently as a month ago. Yet, nearly half the fans answered yes.
Some background is required to fully grasp how truly astounding that is.
Riley led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff three times in five years and coached Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Sooners fans were all in on him, and he was celebrated as a worthy successor to Bob Stoops.
Then, almost immediately after a crushing loss at Oklahoma State in 2021, Riley packed up and left for USC. He eventually took promising quarterback Caleb Williams with him, leaving Oklahoma in disarray and Riley with unflattering nicknames.
Riley has been about as hated as former Thunder star Kevin Durant in these parts, yet, desperate times call for desperate measures from a fanbase with Oklahoma’s lofty standards. In my first poll, 53% of 204 respondents said they’d take Riley back. In the second poll, about a week later, 41% of 152 respondents said they’d take Riley back.
Sure, not a massive sample size. But for more than zero percent to say they’d welcome Riley is a pretty strong indicator. If Arbuckle could be voted out in the November mid-terms, he’d be in big trouble.
Arbuckle believes the solution is in the process.
“We’re talking about doing the hard things better,” he said. “Doing the little things better. That’s toughness to me. And ultimately, the players said it, coach Venables said it — you don’t like what people are saying, then do something about it. Change it. There’s no point in wallowing in anything. And all you can do is get back to work, be better, be better at the basics and go execute at a high level.”
MORE: Why writing off Oklahoma coach Brent Venables might be a bad idea
Venables made it clear it’s not all on Arbuckle. He spent much of Tuesday’s availability talking about the offensive line’s struggles.
“We all work together,” Venables said. “It’s not just him, it’s all of us together trying to figure that out. But I think that as much as anything, it’s just getting busy with the doing, the work, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
