How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Maine

Oklahoma's final non-conference game of the regular season pits the Sooners against the Maine Black Bears for the first time ever.

Oklahoma Sooners running back Jovantae Barnes reacts towards the Mississippi Rebels student section during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Oklahoma returns home this Saturday looking to snap a three-game losing streak. 

In their last outing, the Sooners (4-4, 1-4 SEC) hung tight with then-No. 18 Ole Miss for a half. 

Interim play caller Joe Jon Finley combined well with new temporary co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns to give quarterback Jackson Arnold a game plan he could execute against a talented Rebels defense. 

Oklahoma led 14-10 at half before the wheels came off in the second half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. 

Now, the Sooners will step out of SEC play for the final time during the regular season. 

OU will host the Maine Black Bears for the first time at 11 a.m. this weekend after a schedule change, and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

It will be key on a few fronts. 

As just the second game with Finley and Johns leading the offense, the contest against Maine will be crucial to continue to get Arnold more comfortable after he completed 22-of-31 passes for 182 yards and two scores. 

If the Sooners take care of business, it could also serve as a chance to work backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. in Finley and Johns’ offense, too, as he didn’t appear against Ole Miss. 

Hosting the Black Bears should also serve as a get-right game for Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line. 

That group was historically bad against Mississippi, allowing a school record 10 sacks one week after they set the previous high by allowing nine sacks to South Carolina’s pass rush. 

Bedenbaugh could be forced to again piece together a new starting combination after right tackle Jake Taylor was a late scratch from Saturday’s trip to Oxford, and left tackle Jacob Sexton left the loss to the Rebels in the second quarter with a lower body injury. 

This weekend could also mark wide receiver Deion Burks’ return to the lineup. 

He hasn’t played since OU’s Week 4 loss to Tennessee, and he started last week as “day-to-day” with a “soft tissue” injury before a setback early in the week held him out of the Mississippi tilt. 

Adding any extra weapons would be huge for Arnold after he had to settle for a bunch of check downs in his last outing.

Battling Maine’s defense could also allow running back Jovantae Barnes to stay in rhythm after he rushed for 67 yards on 16 attempts against the nation’s top-rated rushing defense. 

On the other side of the ball, OU coach Brent Venables needs to get his passing defense back in order. 

Lane Kiffin’s offense hit the Sooners for five passing plays of 20 yards or more in the third quarter, which flipped the momentum in Oxford and put Oklahoma’s offense in a hole it couldn’t play itself out of.

A victory against the Black Bears would also pull the Sooners within one win of bowl eligibility with a matchup against a banged up Missouri team on the horizon. 

How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Maine:

• Location: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
• Date: Nov. 2
• Time: 11 a.m.
• Channel: SEC Network+/ESPN+
• TV Broadcast Crew: Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore and Lauren Sisler
• Radio Broadcast: 107.7 FM The Franchise
• Weather Forecast: A high of 71 degrees with an 80 percent chance of rain