Kent State will serve as the Oklahoma Sooners' tune-up game before the Red River Rivalry next week, and even though the outcome seems to be known already, the unknown is how many points the Sooners can actually put on the board with backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. leading the offense.
The undefeated and No. 5 Sooners will host 1-3 Kent State at 3 p.m. CT Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Little has actually been said about OU's opponent, though, with quarterback John Mateer's injury taking over all the headlines.
Score prediction for Oklahoma vs. Kent State
Mateer injured his throwing hand in the first quarter against Auburn on Sept. 20 and needed surgery last week. It was immediately known Mateer would miss this meeting against Kent State, but Sooner Nation was really only concerned about Mateer's status against Texas, which is still unknown.
It was perfect timing, if there is such a thing for an injury. Mateer got a bye week and this week to heal, while Hawkins got that extra time to prepare to take over as QB1 while Mateer is sidelined. Making his fifth career start as a sophomore, Hawkins can also use the matchup against Kent State as extra practice in Ben Arbuckle's system if he's needed for the Red River Rivalry.
Saturday will also be the Sooners' final chance to get their run game going before a daunting SEC slate the rest of the way that won't provide any more opportunities to figure things out.
Even with the Sooners using this game as a chance to improve with their backup QB, Kent State is so bad this one will still get out of hand quickly no matter who OU put behind center. The Golden Flashes' biggest challenge will be gaining even a yard against the Sooners' elite defense, so it really won't matter what OU does on offense.
Sooner Nation missed out on getting to watch a spring game this year. Well, this will be pretty close to that, but against a team wearing different colors and with less talent than OU's scout team.
Prediction: Oklahoma 59, Kent State 0
Read more about OU football