Report Card: Grading the Sooners' win over South Carolina

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Oklahoma beat South Carolina, 26-7, to snag an impressive and much-needed road win on Saturday.
And the Sooners were largely dominant on both sides of the ball.
Here are OUInsider’s grades for every position group in the Sooners’ win:
Quarterback: C+
John Mateer’s statline wasn’t flashy: 18/26 passing, 150 yards, one touchdown, 14 rushing yards.
The Sooners didn’t need him to be flashy. With the running game actually producing good offense — and South Carolina’s secondary playing soft coverage — Mateer was largely content to take what the Gamecocks gave him. He didn’t look downfield much, except on his 21-yard touchdown to Isaiah Sategna late in the third quarter.
But with the game went, the Sooners just needed Mateer to take care of the ball and run the offense. He did that, outside of a couple of questionable throws.
Running backs: A
So that’s what OU’s backfield looks like when the offensive line is generating momentum and the rotation makes sense.
Tory Blaylock (19 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD) saw the bulk of the work and set the tone early with two 18-yard runs on the first drive. Xavier Robinson (11 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD) was fantastic as the change-of-pace back. Those were the only two running backs that saw work until garbage time.
The Sooners found their one-two punch at running back. That’s arguably the most important development of the game.
Wide receivers/Tight ends: B
With Mateer not throwing downfield much, there weren’t a ton of opportunities. Sategna (7 catches, 73 yards) was again very solid outside of a dropped third-down pass, which he made up for with his touchdown grab. Javonnie Gibson (5 catches, 24 yards) made his first start and caught a few passes.
The tight ends combined for two catches and 21 yards. It wasn’t a super productive day, but the tight ends were noticeably better in run blocking, and the Sooners will take that.
Offensive line: B+
The offensive line didn’t just cover guys up. They actually generated push in the running game, and kept John Mateer mostly clean in pass protection.
It was the exact performance the Sooners needed. The offense finished with 171 rushing yards on 4.3 yards per carry. The offensive line was genuinely disruptive in the first half, as the Sooners went into halftime with 136 rushing yards on 7.2 yards per carry. They created running lanes and gave the running backs room to operate.
It wasn’t a perfect day. The running game slowed a bit after halftime. South Carolina generated four quarterback hurries and one sack. But the offensive line played with tenacity in the running game, and that’s something that had been missing all season.
Defensive line: A
What else is there to say about the defensive line? The defensive line was responsible for 3.5 of the team’s six sacks and five of the team’s 10 tackles for loss. R Mason Thomas (1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss) was dominant again, and Markus Strong came up with the team’s second safety of the year.
South Carolina was insistent on running the ball up the middle, and the defensive line didn’t let it happen. The Gamecocks finished with 54 rushing yards on 34 carries.
Linebackers
Kendal Daniels (1 sack, 2 TFLs) was again really disruptive, and he came up with a pivotal TFL on third-and-goal early in the game. Kobie McKinzie chipped in a sack and a TFL.
Secondary: C+
The Sooners deserve credit for holding LaNorris Sellers to 124 passing yards, but the secondary was again leaky on a few plays. The secondary was whistled for three pass interference penalties — though one was questionable — and two of them helped setup the Gamecocks’ only touchdown late in the first half.
Special Teams: C
There were some unusual struggles from special teams. Grayson Miller shanked an 18-yard punt in the second quarter that gave the Gamecocks good field position on their only scoring drive. The Sooners also committed two special teams penalties, and they came on back-to-back plays.
But Tate Sandell was once again stellar, tying his career-best with a 55-yard field goal in the third quarter. He’s now made 12 consecutive field goals.
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