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OU-Ole Miss quick-hitters: Sooners battle, downed by Rebels

Bob Przybyloby: Bob Przybylo14 hours agoBPrzybylo
John Mateer20
OU quarterback John Mateer. (Kevin Jairaj - Imagn Images)

This was going to be the test for the OU defense, right? Facing a high-powered Ole Miss offense. And flip it, time to see if the OU offense could score and win a game that way.

Learned a lot. Good battle, but OU ends up on the wrong end of it. It was the Rebels who were too much down the stretch, scoring the final nine points to earn a 34-26 victory in Norman on Saturday afternoon.

Your quick-hit takeaways.

Rough end for Sooners

OU had the momentum. Had battled back from a double-digit deficit. But it’s something head coach Brent Venables has preached.

The lack of forced turnovers for OU and too many giveaways.

This giveaway hurt, big time. With OU trailing 31-26 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Isaiah Sategna was on his way to a nice punt return. However, he fumbled before he went down, and the Rebels took over.

The OU defense was able to force the field goal, but it changed the whole dynamic of the game. And OU never did force a turnover.

Mateer’s final throw did not make the end zone, ballgame.

Just a little off

Some throws not accurate for John Mateer. Some defensive fits just a little off. That’s all it takes in games like this.

Mateer had a 76-yard touchdown pass to Sategna in the first half. But before and after? Could never really get the passing game going.

The defense, lights out the majority of the season, allowed 431 yards to Ole Miss. That included 315 passing yards.

Just a little off is all it takes.

Robinson wakes up running game

Something had to change for OU in the running game. It was getting bad in a hurry. A mere 12 yards on 13 carries. And then Xavier Robinson happened.

The sophomore woke up everybody in Norman and reintroduced himself to the nation with a 65-yard touchdown run.

It was the longest of his career and the longest for OU since 2021. Robinson followed that with a 9-yard touchdown on the next drive.

If it’s Tory Blaylock or Robinson, it doesn’t matter. Just keep feeding those two and see what happens. Robinson rushed for 109 yards.

Up next

This is that gauntlet we’ve been talking about. No breaks rest of the way. Now it’s time to head to Knoxville and take on Josh Heupel and Tennessee. The Vols took care of OU in Norman last season. This will be OU’s first trip to Knoxville since the epic double-overtime victory in 2015. Tennessee is at Kentucky this evening.

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