NORMAN - Nobody is happy with Oklahoma's offense this year.
It's been flat-out bad, unacceptable. An abysmal performance in Ann Arbor, a disaster in Athens and a fourth quarter collapse at home against Kentucky - sprinkled with head-scratching sequences in wins against New Mexico and Texas - have undermined any good the unit has been able to manage.
But hidden in the wreckage that is the Sooner offense is the potential jewel that is Isaiah Sategna'sseason.
Thus far, the senior pass catcher has 41 catches for 578 yards and three touchdowns. At first glance, there's nothing special about those numbers. In fact, they seem pedestrian when you consider Sategna is the first option in the passing game.
But last season, Sategna managed 67 catches for 965 yards and eight scores. His production was no doubt negatively influenced by John Mateer'shand injury. With five games left - even with the offense stuck in the mud - Sategna is on pace to have his best season in Norman.
With Oklahoma hosting South Carolina on Saturday, Mateer and the Sooners will no doubt face individually talented players, but the Gamecock defense is suspect overall. Per ESPN's SP+ metric , they're rated No. 47 in the country - the third-worst defense OU will have faced.
In fact, Oklahoma's next three opponents - the Gamecocks, Florida (No. 50), Ole Miss (No. 48) - have average defenses overall. Two of these games will be in Norman.
It is a great opportunity for Sategna to build off his strong performance last week and remind everyone that he was an All-SEC receiver a year ago.
If Sategna continues on his pace of 5.9 catches per game with 82.6 yards per game, he will finish with more catches than last year and just a hair under the 1,000-yard mark.
Nine Sooners have finished with over 1,000 yards receiving in school history. Oklahoma has celebrated a 1,000-yard pass catcher 13 times ( Ryan Broylesand Hollywood Brownhad back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons).
With OU facing defenses well below the gauntlet they faced in the first six weeks of the season, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Sategna could be Oklahoma's 10th.
It's all the more impressive considering that Sategna is playing in this offense. There's no running game and Mateer has underperformed well below expectations. Despite that, the offense has slowly picked up the pace and produced on a more frequent clip, thanks in part to facing less frightening defenses.
Right now, Sategna's 82.6 reception yards per game is up there with former greats 2018 CeeDee Lamb(82.7), 2014 Sterling Shepard(80.8) and 2004 Mark Clayton(67.4). By those seasons, each player had established themselves as a force in the Sooner offense, with Clayton's 2004 being a sacrifice to the emergence of Adrian Peterson.
OU has a long way to go before they think about gobbling up wins and stacking box scores, however. With the unit struggling to score touchdowns and not settle for field goals , Sategna's big-play ability could play a large role in Oklahoma's desire to salvage their season.
Don't be shocked if you see Sategna's name climb the ranks of pass catchers at OU.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahoma as Despite Offensive Struggles, Isaiah Sategna's 2026 Could Be Up There With Past Greats .
