Postgame Thoughts: Oklahoma 44, Kent State 0
With star quarterback John Mateer watching from the sidelines, the Oklahoma Sooners slogged through a 44-0 win Saturday over the Kent State Golden Flashes.
The Sooners clearly didn’t want to show much in advance of their upcoming date with Texas in the Red River Shootout. The game didn’t offer much in the way of intrigue as a result. The idea was clearly to get in and get out.
Here are a few thoughts about OU’s workman-like win, based on a live viewing of the broadcast.
*I admit to having high hopes for backup QB Michael Hawkins after an offseason working with a better group of offensive coaches, but not much of what we saw from him on Saturday looked different from his rookie season.
Hawkins can still pop off big runs, and his arm still looks live when he’s chucking it deep. His erratic mechanics inside and outside of the pocket turn every throwing situation into an adventure. Lots of sidearm passes and curious arm angles.
His passing numbers overall looked fine, completing 14 of his 24 attempts for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He added in another 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while getting sacked twice for a total loss of 21 yards. On the plus side, he didn’t turn the ball over.
Hopefully, the performance will give offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle more data to use to tailor OU’s scheme for future games with Hawkins at the helm. And if he’s behind center in the Cotton Bowl next week, Hawkins will absolutely get more than seven carries.
*The baffling rotation of running backs continued in game five. Freshman Tory Blaylock remains the designated starter, and he netted a solid 78 yards on 15 attempts. The bigger surprise was that little-used Jaydn Ott came off the bench early in the game to tote the ball 11 times for 49 yards.
If Ott truly is rounding into form, it’s coming at a great time for the Sooners offense. Blaylock has earned his spot on the top line of the depth chart, but Ott looks more like an NFL-caliber RB. The Cal transfer raises the ceiling for OU on offense.
(Missing in action: Jovantae Barnes and Xavier Robinson.)
*The play of the offensive line didn’t inspire much confidence in the unit, especially knowing the group had an extra week to heal up. A rewatch will give a better indication, but it appeared as though the running game was significantly smoother working behind left tackle Michael Fasusi and left guard Heath Ozaeta than going the other way.
Of course, everything about the running game would look better if the tight ends could contribute something in the blocking schemes.
*I hesitate to go too overboard about anything the defense did against the Golden Flashes, who have an abjectly horrible offense. As expected, OU’s defensive line feasted in the trenches – even with defensive tackles Jayden Jackson and Damonic Williams held out for precautionary reasons. Sophomore David Stone stood out as a particularly disruptive force when he was in the game.
*Keep an eye on defensive end P.J. Adebawore. Now in his third season, the former five-star recruit is demonstrating rapid development each week.
And speaking of DEs, welcome to the show, Danny Okoye.
*In terms of actual performance, you could make a good case that the real story for the Sooners versus Kent State was special teams.
Kicker Tate Sandell is proving to be worth every penny OU gave him in the transfer market, as the former UTSA Roadrunner drilled field goals from 39, 49 and 55 yards in the game. Punter Grayson Mitchell is still nails every time the Sooners call upon him. Isaiah Sategna added to a stellar day catching the ball by chipping in an average of nearly 20 yards on his five punt returns.
OU didn’t need a superlative game from the special teams units to win on Saturday, but it probably will at some point later this year.
*Get ready for a full week of speculation about Mateer’s status up until kickoff versus the Longhorns.