Oklahoma got the kind of road performance it had been chasing, and for a long stretch in Starkville, it looked like the Sooners might bury Mississippi State before the Bulldogs could ever settle in.
Brent Venables’ team built a 17-0 lead at Davis Wade Stadium and spent most of the afternoon controlling the game on both sides of the ball before hanging on for a 23-15 win. Oklahoma did not put the game away cleanly, but it did enough to leave with a result that matched the edge it showed early.
The Sooners finished with a season-high 467 yards, topping the 401 they produced in the opener against UTEP. They improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, while Mississippi State dropped to 4-3 and 2-3.
John Mateer turned in his sharpest game of the season and maybe the most complete outing of his two years in Norman. He went 22 of 29 for 283 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers, and he also authored the best drive of his career there: 15 plays, 95 yards, capped by a 36-yard touchdown to Isaiah Sategna.
That march came just before halftime and changed the feel of the game. Oklahoma had only a 3-0 lead as the break neared, then Mateer made the biggest play of the afternoon, escaping pressure, stiff-arming a defender, rolling left and throwing a jump pass under heavy contact to Sategna, who turned the play into a 36-yard score with 39 seconds left in the half. On the snap before that, Mateer converted a fourth-and-1 with a hard run.
He kept it going after the break. Oklahoma’s first possession of the third quarter ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Rocky Beers, who was wide open over the middle for a 17-0 lead. Mateer also connected later with Sategna on a 54-yard throw that helped set up a field goal drive and pushed the Sooners to a 20-7 advantage.
Sategna finished with 164 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Beers added another big strike from Mateer and had a 47-yard reception later in the game.
The Sooners’ first turnover came on a Beers fumble while he was trying to hurdle a defender after a 21-yard catch. That mistake led directly to Mississippi State’s first score, an 18-yard touchdown on a double-pass trick play that trimmed the margin to 17-7.
Mississippi State never looked comfortable on offense for most of the day. The Bulldogs were coming off a 31-0 shutout at LSU, and quarterback Kamario Taylor tried to return from injury but left after he was hit by Owen Heinecke on a first-quarter scramble. Backup Parker Puckett struggled to do much against the Oklahoma defense.
The Sooners’ defense did its part until the fourth quarter, when the Bulldogs finally found some life. Peyton Bowen delivered one of the day’s biggest defensive sequences, stopping a drive with tackles on third down and fourth down, then later intercepting a pass in the end zone with 8:07 to play and returning it 24 yards. Bowen had seven tackles overall, though he left the game after the return “in quite a bit of pain,” according to ESPN sideline reporter Tori Petry.
Mississippi State still managed to tighten things late because Oklahoma’s coverage broke down on a pair of deep balls in the fourth quarter. Trystan Haynes was flagged for pass interference when he never turned to find the ball, and Michael Boganowski later gave up a 42-yard touchdown to Sanfrisco Magee with 2:10 left. A 2-point pass to Magee cut the Sooners’ lead to 23-15.
The margin could have been even more comfortable if not for a rough day from Oklahoma’s kicker. He missed three field goals - from 45 yards in the second quarter, then 45 and 41 in the fourth - and made kicks from 42 in the first quarter and 30 in the third. He did hit a 38-yard field goal with 4:26 remaining to restore a two-score lead at 23-15.
That kicker had made his first four attempts of the season, then missed from 41 against New Mexico and 54 at Georgia before missing from 53 against Texas. He drilled a 53-yarder against the Longhorns and then won the game in Dallas with a 47-yarder, but after six misses in seven games, Brent Venables and special teams coordinator Doug Deakin will have to sort out the trust level there.
There were also clear growing pains up front. Oklahoma was working with its sixth different offensive line combination, and the penalties showed it.
False starts by Michael Fasusi, Peyton Joseph and tight end Hayden Hansen hurt drives, along with two illegal formation penalties. Joseph also drew a personal foul on offense, and Taylor Wein was flagged for a personal foul on punt return.
On defense, Wein was also called offsides on a fourth-and-1 stop, Trystan Haynes had the pass interference penalty, and David Stone was hit with a delay of game for “clapping” when it appeared he was trying to communicate with the sideline.
Still, Oklahoma had some useful answers in spots. True freshman Xavier Blaylock, who entered Saturday with just 45 yards on 17 carries after leading the Sooners in rushing last season with 480 yards, broke free on the first play of the third quarter and raced untouched up the middle before sprinting down the left sideline for a 47-yard gain. Two plays later, Mateer hit Beers for the 17-0 lead.
And Michael Fasusi, back in the starting lineup after missing nearly all of the season because of a shoulder injury, was part of the surge too. He looked rusty at times, but he was clearly important to Oklahoma’s offensive success, including a key block on Lloyd Avant’s 19-yard run early in the fourth quarter. He didn’t allow a sack, though he did commit a false start after Bowen’s interception.
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