Rapid Reaction: Oklahoma defense steps up without John Mateer, blanks Kent State
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In its first game since losing starting quarterback John Mateer, it didn’t matter what Oklahoma’s offense did. Kent State’s offense was never given a chance against the fifth-ranked Sooners. In fact, Oklahoma’s defense outscored the Golden Flashes all on its own.
In a 44-0 win over Kent State that moved them to 5-0 on the season, the Sooners got a scoop-and-score touchdown in the third quarter to help pull away from their opponent. It was 1 of 3 touchdowns in a third quarter that put the game to bed.
The shutout victory was OU’s first since Sept. 2, 2023. It was also the seventh time under coach Brent Venables that Oklahoma’s defense held an opponent without a touchdown for an entire game.
Oklahoma had a 23-0 lead at halftime. Michael Hawkins Jr., filling in at quarterback for Mateer, threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter and then threw another in the second. But the offense slowed down across the game’s final 30 minutes.
The Sooners gained 141 yards from 35 offensive plays in the second half. They averaged 4 yards per play and went 4-for-7 on third down. They gained just 88 yards in the third, as Hawkins completed just 3 of his 9 passes.
That offensive performance might matter to Venables as he prepares for next week’s Red River Rivalry clash with Texas, but it certainly didn’t matter on Saturday.
Kent State ran 13 third-quarter plays and lost 8 yards. Kent State completed more passes to Oklahoma defenders (1) in the third quarter than it did to its own players. They ran the ball 10 times and OU stopped 6 of those runs at or behind the line of scrimmage.
The Golden Flashes ended the day with 135 yards of total offense. OU recorded 5 sacks. Even factoring out sack yardage, Kent State still averaged only 1.7 yards per play.
Oklahoma will turn its attention next to Dallas and the Cotton Bowl. OU faces Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC) next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Oklahoma 44, Kent State 0
Here’s the Oklahoma-Kent State box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Michael Hawkins vs Devin Kargman
A statistical breakdown of how Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. played compared to Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
