Oklahoma has announced it hired Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on Monday to serve in the same capacity for the Sooners.
Arbuckle, just 29, has been the play-caller at Washington State the past two years. The 8-4 Cougars rank 12th nationally with 36.8 points per game this season.
Arbuckle steps in for an Oklahoma offense that struggled to move the ball and couldn’t help an exceptional defense in the school’s first season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners rank 15th out of 16 SEC teams in scoring offense and yards per game. The Sooners fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell in October after a humbling loss to South Carolina. Joe Jon Finley stepped in, and the Sooners improved some as they focused on a more run-based attack. The Sooners finished 6-6 in the regular season.
Arbuckle knows how to get something out of a quarterback — he coached Cam Ward in 2023, and they teamed up to help the Cougars rank fourth nationally in passing offense. Ward is now a Heisman contender at Miami.
Before his stint at Washington State, Arbuckle was co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Kentucky in 2022. He was the primary play-caller his first year as a full-time coach, and he helped the Hilltoppers finish second nationally in yards passing per game and seventh in total offense.