Oklahoma has a pair of quality wins over ranked teams and a couple more over teams that, candidly, didn't deserve to be on the same field with OU. You can add a third opponent to that latter pair when the Sooners host lowly Kent State on Saturday.
According to ESPN analytics, there is a 1% chance that Oklahoma will lose to Kent State. With the Red River Rivalry game against Texas dead ahead on the schedule a week from Saturday, it wouldn't be unusual for the Sooners to be looking ahead to that classic confrontation. Even more so while taking on an opponent far inferior to any SEC team, let alone Oklahoma.
The Golden Flashes come to Norman with a 1-3 record this season, but they have won just two of their last 28 games and were projected to finish last in the Mid-American Conference Head Coaches Preseason Poll.
So in a game against a highly overmatched opponent like Kent State -- the last of OU's four 2025 nonconference opponents -- what are the fans and college experts alike looking for from an Oklahoma team that ranks No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and beginning next weekend heads into arguably the most brutal stretch of games anywhere in the country to finish out the season?
Here are five things fans will be looking for in this game:
A solid, all-around performance from backup QB Michael Hawkins Jr.
The obvious first answer from every Sooner fan, of course, should be a win to go 5-0. Beyond that, however, the primary focus will be on quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who gets the start this week in place of the injured John Mateer. Hawkins made four starts last season and was a primary factor in OU's road win at Auburn, one of just two conference wins for the Sooners in 2024. Hawkins' growth and development will be on display on Saturday.
The word from inside the Switzer Center is that the sophomore quarterback has been working hard as QB2 and is in a much different place both physically and mentally than he was a year ago. Suffice to say, he has a better offensive line and more weapons around him, as well. He should have a good day against a Kent State defense that is among the worst in the country. Should he get the call again next Saturday against Texas, he needs a good showing against Kent State to boost his confidence and comfort in Ben Arbuckle's reignited Sooner offense.
If OU's rushing attack is ever going to get going, this is the week
Plenty has been said and written about Oklahoma's absence of a productive run game this season. The Sooners are averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game and 3.6 per carry, which ranks 104th in the nation. Against Auburn, Oklahoma managed just 32 yards on the ground.
Mateer leads the Sooners in rushing through four games. Freshman Tory Blaylock looks like the real deal and has emerged as RB1 on the Sooner depth chart, and Jovantae Barnes is a clear No. 2, but actually has been more effective as a pass blocker than a runner.
Nine running backs at the FBS level have more rushing yards so far this season than Oklahoma has as a team. And most surprising of all, OU went out and got what was believed to be the best running back in the Transfer Portal this offseason in California transfer Jayden Ott. So far this season, Ott has produced a grand total of 17 rushing yards in little opportunity.
The Sooners need to open up the running game against a leaky Kent State run defense that allows 256 yards a game and ranks 132nd out of 134 FBS teams. If Oklahoma can't get 200-plus yards on the ground against this defense, the Sooners are going to be in real trouble facing the outstanding SEC defenses that lie ahead on the schedule. And this could be the final audition for Ott insofar as his chances of seeing the field for any appreciable time the rest of the season.
OU needs to keep pedal down defensively and avoid complacency
Kent State's offense is hardly a match for a defense as stellar as OU's has been this season. One of the prime reasons the Sooners have been as successful on defense has been their ability to get off the field on third down. There is no reason this shouldn't continue against Kent State.
The primary goal of any defense is to get the ball to the offense. Oklahoma leads the country in three-and-outs on defense. OU opponents this seasons have had 46 offensive possessions. Twenty of those have ended after just three plays, a conversion rate of just 43%.
A takeaway or two would be peachy
For a defense that ranks as the second-best in the country through four games, it is somewhat remarkable that Oklahoma is the only team at the FBS level without a takeaway this season. The Sooners' minus-six turnover margin is 130th out of 134 teams.
It isn't as if the Sooners haven't had any takeaway opportunities, they just haven't executed or taken advantage of the chances they've had. So far, it hasn't mattered that much, but it sure will in the weeks ahead when the level of competition ramps up considerably and forced turnovers could be the difference in winning or losing a game.
It would be shocking, and frankly disappointing, if Oklahoma doesn't get one or more takeaways against lowly Kent State.
Javonnie Gibson's debut as a Sooner
Wide receiver transfer Javonnie Gibson had one of the most impressive springs of any Sooner on the roster, but then he suffered a broken leg. He is expected to make his first start in an Oklahoma uniform on Saturday against Kent State.
The 6-foot-2 wide receiver had 70 catches for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns at Arkansas-Pine Bluff last season. He has good size and speed, and provides another deep threat to the Oklahoma offense. It will be exciting to see him in action for the first time and see what he can do. Some say Gibson has the potential to be the best player on the team.
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