Oklahoma football is sitting at 13th overall in the Southeastern Conference standings, following the Sooners' embarrassing 35-9 loss to South Carolina Saturday. Brent Venables wound up cycling through three different quarterbacks that afternoon.

Which raises the question ahead of the road trip to Oxford: Who becomes the starter for Oklahoma football against No. 18 Ole Miss?

Looks like Venables has his QB1. He's opted for Jackson Arnold to re-claim the reins per Oklahoma 247Sports reporter Tom Green on Monday.

Arnold wound up taking the bulk of the snaps in the 26-point trouncing in Norman. He finished 18-of-36 for 225 yards and threw the only touchdown pass for OU. Michael Hawkins Jr. and Luke Elzinga also saw time behind center. Of the two, Hawkins got intercepted twice while Elzinga finished with -5 passing yards.

Has Oklahoma football QB Jackson Arnold struggled in SEC debut? 

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) throws a pass during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma football is not only stranded at 13th in a now 16-team SEC due to conference realignment. The Sooners quarterback is among the 2024 struggles for this team.

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Arnold has seen action in just five games. His '24 campaign got off to a promising debut by tossing four touchdowns against Temple on Aug. 30 in the 51-3 rout.

He's struggled to maintain that level of consistency since then. Arnold got benched in favor of Hawkins during Oklahoma's second SEC game against Tennessee. Arnold dealt with fumbling issues in the 25-15 loss by losing the ball twice. Venables rolled with the decision to play the freshman Hawkins that afternoon.

But even before getting yanked against the Volunteers, Arnold had trouble igniting the offense in games against Houston and Tulane. He finished with a 59.4 completion percentage against the Cougars while settling for only 169 yards against the Green Wave. Oklahoma, though, managed to beat both teams.

Arnold has managed to raise his touchdown total to eight through five games. He's additionally racked up 763 passing yards. But again, Venables and Oklahoma have thrown Hawkins into the offensive fire once Arnold was off his game. Regardless of who's behind center, Oklahoma has delivered dismal aerial production. The Sooners rank a lowly 116th in passing offense across the nation. Only Kentucky has the worst production among SEC programs.

Arnold was once a prized five-star find for Venables and Oklahoma out of Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. The 2024 signing Hawkins arrived at the OU campus as a four-star QB prospect from McKinney in the Lone Star state.

With Arnold now inserted back into the starting role, he'll face a Rebels pass defense that ranks No. 78 across the nation, surrendering an average of 222.9 yards per game. However, Ole Miss needs to just beat Oklahoma to immediately become bowl-eligible for the 2024 December games.