The No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners cruised past Kent State 44-0 on Saturday in Norman in their final tune-up game of the season to improve to 5-0. Even in nonconference blowouts, though, there are still lessons to be learned about the Sooners before they play Texas next in the Red River Rivalry.
There's a clear difference between John Mateer and Michael Hawkins Jr.
Up front, Michael Hawkins Jr. is a tremendous talent and he should be the guy OU fans want to be the quarterback of the future in Norman. However, after Saturday, it's clear John Mateer is the QB1 the Sooners need now.
Hawkins was solid while filling in for the injured Mateer, completing 14 of 24 passes for 162 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 33 yards and a score on nine carries. It was against Kent State, though, so numbers should be inflated, and that 162-yard pass total was the lowest of the season so far for OU.
Mateer led the SEC in passing yards and was a Heisman Trophy frontrunner before his injury. With his status for the Red River Rivalry unknown and a daunting slate ahead after that, even with Texas' struggles in a loss to Florida, the Sooners need Mateer behind center to continue their success and help make up for the problems in the run game that will be magnified against SEC defenses.
Issues in OU's running game might be here to stay
Speaking of OU's running game, the problems might not ever get fixed this season.
Kent State entered Week 6 with the third-worst rushing defense in all of the FBS. Yet, the Sooners still didn't run at will against the Golden Flashes. OU averaged 4.5 yards a carry, which looks acceptable up front, but shouldn't be considering the opponent and that the Sooners had a chance to run Kent State into the ground.
Freshman Tory Blaylock led the Sooners with 78 rushing yards on 15 attempts, so OU didn't have a 100-yard rusher against the worst rush defense it will face this season. However, Jaydn Ott did cut into Blaylock's opportunity to put up more yards with 11 carries of his own for 49 yards. Mateer has also been OU's go-to in the run game this season.
Regardless, Mateer as an added boost shouldn't be needed against the likes of Kent State. The Sooners also had just one carry that broke for more than 20 yards.
With this being the Sooners' last chance to really get the run game going, the plan of operating around a lackluster ground game will have to continue, which has worked so far.
There's hope for Jaydn Ott in crimson after all
After head-scratching usage in the first four games, Jaydn Ott, who came to OU this offseason as the top running back in the Transfer Portal, got a season-high 11 carries that he took for 49 yards and averaged 4.5 an attempt. Ott also caught two passes for 10 yards.
It still wasn't the type of breakout game OU fans hoped for when Ott signed with the Sooners, but it was a sign of life in OU's offense for the first time from Ott. It was something to build off, showing the coaching staff has gained trust in Ott and that there's a role for him with the Sooners that could transform him into a weapon down the stretch.
The brick wall needs padding
Thankfully, it looks like OU wide receiver Keontez Lewis will be OK after a scary scene at Memorial Stadium when he dove into the brick wall behind the end zone, but it seems to be a situation that could be avoided altogether.
On just the second play of the game, Hawkins threw a pass deep that sailed over the end zone, but Lewis continued in stride before crashing into the brick barrier headfirst. He was down for over 10 minutes before medical staff carted Lewis off the field. Lewis is reportedly OK and was sent off sight for more testing, per the SEC Network broadcast.
As soon as it happened, though, OU fans and college football fans in general who witnessed the incident questioned why there's even a brick structure so close to the field without any padding. It's known Memorial Stadium has tight walls, and it's too late to restructure that, but it would be an easy fix to add padding there to help with player safety and avoid another scary situation like Lewis had.
OU head coach Brent Venables was even asked about padding after the game and said, "We're evaluating all options when it comes to the safety of our players."
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