NORMAN — There are plenty of questions swirling around Oklahoma during its bye week.

The Sooners are 2-2 through four weeks, most recently losing 41-13 to No. 2 Georgia on Saturday. OU ranks dead last in the SEC in both scoring offense (22 points per game) and total offense (321.3 yards per game). And quarterback John Mateer has turned the ball over six times already.

Some of the questions for coach Brent Venables include whether or not he’ll consider making a quarterback change, how the Sooners can get the run game going and which offensive line combination gives OU the best chance to win.

Venables, though, is solely focused on putting together a winning game plan during the bye week.

“We're just focused on getting ready for Texas right now, handling the bye week in a really efficient way,” Venables said. “Improving, making the improvement that we need to. Taking a great hard look at us from a self-analysis standpoint, what our tendencies are.”

Just 14 days after taking on the nation’s No. 2 squad, OU will go up against No. 1 Texas, which also has the week off before the Red River Rivalry.

Considering how the Sooners have played over the last few weeks, a bye week is certainly welcomed. The extra practice days give them a chance to “self scout” and further mend their weaknesses.

“Formations, motions, stances, all the little things — just situational football,” Venables said. “That's what our focus is.”

The bye week may also benefit the Sooners from a health perspective.

Players who missed the Georgia game include defensive back Michael Boganowski, linebacker Cole Sullivan and offensive lineman Michael Fasusi. OU also saw linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive back Jacobe Johnson and wide receiver Mackenzie Alleyne suffer injuries against the Bulldogs, though it’s uncertain how severe those injuries are.

Venables said he’d defer to next week’s SEC availability report when asked about injuries on Wednesday, but he did underscore how valuable the bye week is in that regard.

“The bye weeks always come at the right time. Isn't that what the coaches say?” Venables said. “And it is, it's a good time.”

Even after the Sooners’ rough start to 2026, their players remain confident that they can take down an elite squad like Texas.

Tight end Rocky Beers and linebacker Kip Lewis both believe that they can be competitive against the Longhorns — and their other seven opponents — if they approach the bye week in the correct way.

“Every week is its own battle, every week is its own season,” Beers said. “We’ve just gotta take it one practice, one game at a time.”

Lewis said, “Just another week to prepare. Use it to its advantage and just handle it as best as we can, just recovery-wise, game planning, and just anything that we can do to get it managed.”

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