OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI — There was a lot of information for Joe Jon Finley to absorb last Sunday.

Seth Littrell was dismissed as offensive coordinator. Finley was elevated as the new play caller. Kevin Johns was elevated to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

And as play caller, Finley was tasked with overseeing the game plan for the Sooners’ road trip to No. 18 Ole Miss on Saturday.

“It was very tough,” Finley said of last week. “Seth’s one of my very best friends. Anytime that happens it’s hard. And then you don’t have time to really process it. You have to go straight to game planning and trying to figure out a way because these kids, they deserve that.”

The result of Saturday’s game was a 26-14 loss — marking the Sooners’ third straight loss by double digits — but Finley’s impact on the offense was immediately noticeable.

The first half marked the Sooners’ best half in conference play, by far. The Sooners’ opening drive was a 10-play, 74-yard opening march inside the two-yard line, and they followed it with an eight-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown from Jackson Arnold to Bauer Sharp.

Finley’s game plan centered around Arnold booting outside the pocket for easy throws and opportunities to pick chunk yards with his legs, but the biggest change and impact was in the running game. The Sooners ran the ball for 125 times while averaging 4.2 yards per carry, and it was Arnold and Jovantae Barnes doing the damage. They leaned heavily on the running game, attempting 30 runs on their 43 first-half plays. It was completely unexpected given the Sooners had averaged 1.9 yards per carry and 77 yards per game in conference play.

It wasn’t all perfect. The Sooners failed to pick up a fourth-and-1 from inside the two-yard line on the opening drive, which proved pivotal. But the Sooners finished the first half with 235 total yards — they hadn’t surpassed 291 yards in an SEC game — while averaging 5.5 yards per play. They picked 16 first downs and converted seven of nine third-down attempts.

Oh, and they led 14-10 at halftime.

“I think (we were) just getting into a rhythm,” Finley said. “We ran the ball really good. I thought Barnes did a great job running the ball. Jackson made a bunch of really big plays. Got to finish in the red zone on that first drive, put it in the end zone, but I just thought we got into a rhythm, put ourselves in third down and manageable and then did a good job converting it.”

Unfortunately for Finley, things fell apart for the offense in the second half. The Sooners went three and out on their first two drives, but the opportunities were there — both drives included a third-and-3 that they couldn’t convert. On the third drive, the Sooners picked up a first down but a holding call on Heath Ozaeta caused the drive to stall.

“I thought in the second half we got ourselves in third down and manageable and we couldn’t convert,” Finley said. “That starts with me and I’ve got to put them in a better situation.”

As a result, it was a disaster. The Sooners were shutout in the second half and totaled just 94 yards as a lot of the issues from the first seven games crept back in. The offensive line gave up seven sacks in the fourth quarter alone.

But it’s hard to deny that, overall, the offense was better. The Sooners finished with 325 total yards, their most in a conference game this season. They ran the ball for 147 yards, and that number jumps to 207 yards on five yards per carry without the -60 yards from sacks. And they had 10 plays of 10 yards of more, showing an explosiveness that has been missing for much of this season.

“Joe Jon was really good,” Venables said. “He was in a good rhythm. Had answers for the guys. Put them in position to be successful. The staff did a fantastic job. Said that on Tuesday, we had a really good response. Last few weeks we’ve actually been good. We’ve been futile on offense, when it came to game day. There has been some real improvement. You want it to equal victory… I thought staff did a nice job of coming out swinging right away on Monday with the players.

“In a very delicate situation like that, it can go two ways quickly. I thought the staff did a great job of getting the guys ready early in the week and putting their head down and going to work.”

But now the question is, what does that improvement mean for Finley and the Sooners moving forward? The Sooners are now 4-4 (1-4 SEC) on the season and they need wins now, and their remaining schedules includes at Missouri, Alabama and at LSU. Plus, there will still be rumblings about the ongoing search for the next offensive coordinator.

But the Sooners at least showed flashes on Saturday. And while Finley stopped short of calling the final four games an audition for his chance to be the permanent play caller, he recognized that there’s an opportunity ahead.

“It’s always an opportunity,” Finley said. “I look at everything as an opportunity. This is my home school, so there’s nothing more that I want than for these guys to feel success. At the end of the day, that’s all I’m concerned with — our guys and helping them have success so they can hold their heads high and finish out the year strong.”