There was enough encouraging stuff mixed into Oklahoma’s 21-13 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to make the defeat sting even more.
The Sooners got a steadier offensive night than they had been getting, Manny Choice broke through as a real answer at receiver, and freshman defensive end Jake Kreul kept flashing like a player whose role is only going to grow. But the game still turned on the kind of mistakes that can erase everything else in a hurry, and Oklahoma never managed to fully ride the momentum it carried in from last week’s win over Texas.
John Mateer’s night told that story as well as anything. For long stretches, the Oklahoma offense looked functional, and the fifth-year senior seemed to have cleaned up some of the issues that had dogged him earlier in the season.
Then the second half arrived, and so did the old version of Mateer. He threw three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown that put Kentucky up by eight with just over a minute left and another that shut the door on any Oklahoma hope of overtime.
Mateer finished 24 of 40 for 270 yards, his highest total of the season, with one touchdown and those three costly picks.
The Sooners still couldn’t crack 100 rushing yards, though this time that wasn’t the whole story. Oklahoma was having more success through the air until the interceptions flipped the game.
Lloyd Avant ran eight times for 31 yards, Tory Blaylock had seven carries for 23 yards, and Jonathan Hatton Jr. added three carries for 13 yards. None of the backs broke a run longer than seven yards.
Choice was the biggest bright spot of the night. The sophomore wideout caught five passes for 98 yards after entering the game with only three receptions for 24 yards in his career. Isaiah Sategna added eight catches for 83 yards, and Jacob Jordan and Jer’Michael Carter also got involved as Oklahoma spread the ball to nine different players.
Rocky Beers hauled in a 20-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to send the Sooners into halftime with the lead. He was part of a receiving group that mostly held up in blocking, though there was a notable miss when Beers failed on a block that cost Oklahoma yardage late.
Up front, the Sooners were patching things together again. Heath Ozaeta was out along with Michael Fasusi and Eddy Pierre-Louis, forcing another shuffle on the line.
Georgia Tech transfer Peyton Joseph started at right guard, freshman Noah Best opened on the left side, and when left tackle Ryan Fodje left briefly in the third quarter with an injury, Joseph slid over to fill the spot. Fodje returned soon after, but he clearly couldn’t keep going and was pulled.
Kentucky got to Mateer five times, and the pressure was constant enough to alter throws throughout the night, including on Ty Bryant’s first interception. It was another rough outing for Bill Bedenbaugh’s group.
On the other side of the ball, Kreul kept piling up evidence that he’s becoming something special. Late in the first quarter, he and linebacker Kip Lewis combined to stop Kenny Darby for a 1-yard loss on a pass play, and on the next snap Kreul recorded his first career solo sack. He added another sack late in the third quarter, then delivered one of the game’s biggest plays with a sack on fourth down from the Oklahoma 5, giving the Sooners the ball back with 6:04 left while trailing by a point.
Danny Saili saw plenty of action and didn’t log a tackle, but he still made his presence felt. The interior defensive line didn’t have a major impact, though Kentucky also had trouble running between the tackles.
Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke led Oklahoma with eight tackles apiece, and each added two quarterback hurries. They continued to look like the backbone of the defense. Trystan Hayes also kept building on a solid stretch since Eli Bowen’s injury, helping Oklahoma show some depth on the back end.
The Sooners held Kenny Minchey to 158 passing yards, though some of that came on Nic Anderson’s strong 17-yard catch over the middle late. The defender was in good position, but Anderson came down with it after a couple of deflections.
The fake field goal sequence was a tough one to pin fully on Oklahoma. If Jacob Ulrich had simply thrown the ball right away instead of moving toward the line of scrimmage and trying a jump throw that was intercepted, the Sooners had a real chance to score a touchdown there.
In the end, the early special teams mistake mattered, but the late turnovers were the real backbreakers. Oklahoma had stayed close until Kentucky’s pick-six, and that early interception changed the feel of the game long before the final swing.
Ulrich averaged 45 yards on three punts, and Isaiah Sategna finished with 16 punt-return yards.
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Oklahomas Kentucky Loss Left One Brutal Question Fans Cant Ignore
Kentuckys 21-13 win in Norman left Oklahoma searching for answers after another frustrating SEC setback at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. John Mateers three interceptions and five sacks told much of the story, as the Sooners repeatedly put themselves in difficult spots and let Kentucky take control with the sort of timely plays that have defined the Wildcats five-game run.
For Oklahoma, the loss dropped the team to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in SEC play, a mark that makes every remaining conference game feel heavier. Kentucky, meanwhile, kept rolling to 6-1 and 4-1 in the league, while the Sooners are left with the kind of brutal question fans cant ignore: how much longer can this offense keep wasting chances like this before the season starts slipping away? [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Still Has One Big Problem After Beating Texas
Oklahomas win over Texas gave the Sooners a much-needed jolt, but it also did not erase the larger concern hanging over the program as it turns to No. 15 Kentucky. The victory showed the group can still find enough to get through a rivalry game, yet the bigger issue remains on the offensive side, where consistency has been too hard to count on. Ben Arbuckle, Lloyd Avant, Tate Sandell and John Mateer all sit at the center of that effort as Oklahoma tries to turn one good result into something more stable.
The next stretch will be about whether the Sooners can carry that energy into practice and then into actual execution on game day. Momentum in October can disappear quickly if the offense does not clean up its rhythm, and Oklahoma cannot afford to waste the confidence it gained against Texas. Kentucky offers the kind of test that will show whether the Sooners are building something dependable or still relying on flashes to get by. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Offense Still Has One Big Problem After Texas
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Ben Arbuckle has kept the approach flexible, saying the goal is to score on every drive while also leaning into complementary football and taking care of the ball. That balance matters more now, because Oklahoma has shown enough promise to suggest the pieces are there, but the next step is proving the execution can hold up once the emotion of a rivalry win fades and the grind of the schedule picks back up. [Read more 🡒]