There was plenty for Oklahoma to chew on after Saturday night, and not all of it was bad. The Sooners got a more workable offense for stretches, Manny Choice flashed as a real answer at receiver, and freshman defensive end Jake Kreul kept making himself impossible to ignore. But the night still ended the same way too many others have lately: with Oklahoma undone by mistakes and leaving Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with a 21-13 loss to Kentucky.
The turning point came on special teams, and it came early. Kentucky’s fake field goal should have been a chance for Oklahoma to get off the field, but Jacob Ulrich’s jump throw was intercepted after he moved toward the line of scrimmage.
If he had thrown it straight away instead of trying to make the play on the move, the Sooners might have had a touchdown the other way. That sequence hung over the rest of the game, even before the late turnovers that sealed it.
John Mateer’s night followed a frustrating pattern. For most of the first half, he looked sharper and more in control than he had for much of the season, and Oklahoma’s offense moved well enough to make it seem like the fifth-year senior had finally settled in.
He finished 24 of 40 for 270 yards, his highest total of the season, with one touchdown. But the second half brought the old problems back in a hurry.
Mateer threw three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown that pushed Kentucky ahead by eight with just over a minute left, and another that shut down Oklahoma’s last chance to force overtime.
The Sooners still couldn’t get their ground game over the 100-yard mark, but this time the numbers tell only part of the story. Oklahoma was having more success throwing the ball before the interceptions wrecked the rhythm.
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. No Oklahoma running back broke off anything longer than seven yards.
The passing game had a different shape to it than usual, with the Sooners spreading the ball around to nine different players and leaning heavily on their receivers. Manny Choice was the biggest surprise, finishing with five catches for 98 yards after coming into the game with only three receptions for 24 yards in his career.
Isaiah Sategna added eight catches for 83 yards, while Jacob Jordan and Jer’Michael Carter also found the stat sheet. Rocky Beers caught a 20-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to give Oklahoma a halftime lead, though he also had a blocking bust later that cost the Sooners yardage.
Up front, the line kept shuffling. Heath Ozaeta, Michael Fasusi and Eddy Pierre-Louis were all out, so Georgia Tech transfer Peyton Joseph started at right guard and freshman Noah Best started on the left side.
Later, Ryan Fodje briefly exited at left tackle because of injury, and Joseph slid over to replace him before Fodje returned and was eventually pulled. Kentucky still got to Mateer five times, and several hits forced throws off target, including the one that led to Ty Bryant’s first interception.
If the offense had a mess of its own, the defense at least had a bright spot in Kreul. The freshman end was everywhere.
Late in the first quarter, he teamed with Kip Lewis to stop Kenny Darby for a 1-yard loss on a pass, then followed it on the next snap with his first career solo sack. He added another sack late in the third quarter, then came through with a huge fourth-down sack at the OU 5 with 6:04 left and Oklahoma trailing by a point.
Danny Saili saw plenty of action as well, even though he didn’t record a tackle. The interior linemen didn’t do much to stand out, though Kentucky also didn’t do much running between the tackles.
Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke led Oklahoma with eight tackles apiece, and both added two quarterback hurries. They continued to look like the backbone of the defense. Trystan Hayes also kept building on his steady run since Eli Bowen’s injury, helping a back end that did enough to hold Kenny Minchey to 158 passing yards.
That total included a notable catch from former OU receiver Nic Anderson late in the game, when he pulled in a tough 17-yarder over the middle after a couple of deflections. It was one of the few big Kentucky plays the Sooners allowed through the air.
Ulrich’s punting line was solid, averaging 45 yards on three kicks, while Isaiah Sategna managed 16 punt-return yards. But the day still came back to the mistakes: the early special teams blunder, then the late interceptions that turned a close game into a loss.
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