Well, it's been a pretty chaotic few days for Oklahoma.

Now, the Sooners head out to Ole Miss as a significant underdog, and with immense pressure to turn things around.

The Rebels are nearly three-touchdown favorites and are facing pressure to win, too. They've dropped two of their three conference games, including a 29-26 overtime loss to LSU in their last outing. The Rebels, who entered the season as an SEC-championship contender and a dark horse favorite to make the College Football Playoff, would be in serious danger of failing both goals with an additional loss.

The Sooners, however, just need a spark. They've dropped back-to-back games by a combined score of 69-12, prompting the dismissal of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell on Saturday. It'll be co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley calling plays, with offensive analyst Kevin Johns taking on a bigger role as interim co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Can the Sooners find something on offense? Can they show improvement after two disastrous showings against a good Ole Miss team that needs a win?

Here's three things to watch this weekend:

1. So, what does OU's offense actually look like?

It's not realistic to expect a complete and total shift in Oklahoma's offense in such a short period of time. But there is a little bit of a variable in trying to predict how the offense will look with Finley calling the plays.

Finley has never served as the primary play caller for an offense at any level. But given his track record, there's a few things to guess about his tendencies. He spent the 2020 season as the passing game coordinator under, coincidentally, Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, then came to Oklahoma to operate in an offense led by Lincoln Riley. He spent the last two seasons operating alongside former OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who also spent time with Ole Miss.

The one common thread? All of those offensive coordinators want to push the tempo in an offense predicated on read-pass option plays. That also happens to be the offense that Jackson Arnold is most comfortable in, and it's the offense he was recruited to Oklahoma to play in.

The Sooners haven't necessarily operated slowly this season, averaging 23.5 seconds per play, which is the 14th-fastest pace in the country. But that number has slowed to 27.7 seconds per game in the Sooners' two contests away from home. Plus, the Sooners shifted their offense a bit in the Texas game as they moved away from some of the Lebby-influenced offense of the first few games.

Either way, the Sooners can't afford to keep the status quo. They've scored 47 offensive points in their four SEC games, and they rank 128th in total offense.

The most logical guess? Finley leans into keeping things simple and comfortable for Arnold, whether that means a faster tempo, more RPOs or more deep shots down the field.

2. The Sooners' rotation at wide receiver and running back

Fans got some discouraging news on Thursday, when Deion Burks was downgraded to "doubtful" on the SEC Availability Report. There had been some optimism that Burks would return from a soft-tissue injury, but instead appears on track to miss his fourth consecutive game.

So, a question that seemed inconceivable before the season is now a very important one — will the Sooners lean on Jacob Jordan?

The true freshman preferred walk-on played his first offensive snaps last week, and immediately provided a spark. He caught six passes for 86 yards and consistently created separation, something that has been severely lacking this season. In addition, he flashed a real chemistry with Arnold. He played 47 snaps against South Carolina, per Pro Football Focus, and it's difficult to imagine him not seeing opportunities against the Rebels.

Outside of Jordan, it'll be interesting to see how much the Sooners lean on the youth. Guys like Zion Ragins and Zion Kearney have played a lot this season, but it hasn't necessarily turned into production. Could the Sooners lean more heavily on them, and Ivan Carreon? Arnold also connected with Brenen Thompson on a 54-yard touchdown, while JJ Hester struggled to catch anything cleanly.

Also, with Gavin Sawchuk likely out, it'll be interesting to see if there will be snaps for Kalib Hicks. The second-year running back played 18 snaps and turned two carries into 11 yards after not playing all year. However, Sam Franklin missed last week and is expected to be back.

3. Can the Sooners limit Ole Miss' explosive passing attack?

The Rebels have been defined by their downfield passing. They lead the country in passes of 30 yards or more (23) and rank second in passes of at least 20 yards (41). They rank fourth in yards per completion (15.66).

They've had to lean more on that because of their inconsistencies running the ball. In conference play, they're averaging 137.7 yards per game and 3.67 yards per carry as they haven't been able to consistently find production there.

The Sooners' rush defense has been elite all year. They rank 25th in rushing defense (111 yards per game), and they gave up just 74 yards on 41 carries against South Carolina.

If the Sooners limit Ole Miss' running game, that'll put focus on OU's secondary. They've given up 24 plays of 20 yards or more, which ranks 91st. But Ole Miss' offensive line has struggled, too, and they gave up six sacks against LSU. The Sooners' pass rush has been the best part of the defense this season, ranking fourth nationally in sacks per game (3.57).

The Sooners are going to have to generate pressure on Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, and likely force some turnovers.

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