Oklahoma-Kent State Observations: AllSooners LIVE In-Game Blog

John Hoover, Ryan Chapman and Josh Callaway offer their real-time observations from the Sooners' game against Kent State.

This live blog will be updated throughout Saturday's contest between Oklahoma and Kent State. Newest posts appear at the top. Simply refresh your browser to see the latest posts.

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9:12 p.m.

(Almost) final stats:

9:12 p.m.

The No. 7-ranked Sooners head to Nebraska 2-0. Final score:

9:00 p.m.

Tonight's attendance: 82,911.

— JH

8:57 p.m.

Kent State trying for a momentum scoring drive, but Justin Harrington finishes things off with a interception. He ran it back 18 yards, and Davis Beville replaces Dillon Gabriel to close it out.

— JH

8:47 p.m.

Jeff Lebby said he wanted to do a better job of rotating bodies in this week, and it’s on full display on this drive. Tawee Walker, Jayden Gibson, LV Bunkley-Shelton, JJ Hester and Savion Byrd are all among the new faces on this drive.

— RC

8:37 p.m.

Center snap sails over Collin Schlee’s head and into the end zone, and after he nonchalantly recovers, he turned and sprinted through a tackle by David Ugwoegbu that should hack been a safety. Instead, Schlee sprints around the defense for a 13-yard gain.

Replay, however, shows that he stepped out of the back of the end zone.

Sooners, up 31-3, add a 2-point safety to the scoreboard, and it's 33-3.

The point spread was 32 to 34, depending on your betting choice.

— JH

8:40 p.m.

What an escape act from Collin Schlee. Looked like a sure safety, but he evades multiple OU defenders to escape the end zone (though it looks like he may have stepped out the back). Thought this would surely mark the end of Brent Venables’ first headset as the head coach of the Sooners, but the equipment survived.

OU absolutely rolling Kent State after the slow first half.

— RC 

8:28 p.m.

Third quarter stats:

8:27 p.m.

Third quarter: Sooners are pulling away.

8:26 p.m.

Marvin Mims has seven catches for 163 yards (both career highs) and two touchdowns so far tonight.

Dillon Gabriel is up to 288 yards passing with three TDs.

— JH

8:22 p.m.

Marvin Mims is still open.

Mims got behind the defense by 10 yards on that play, and Dillon Gabriel dropped a dime to him for a 58-yard touchdown and a 31-3 Oklahoma lead.

— JH

8:20 p.m.

After a couple of tackles on that Kent State drive, including the last one for no gain on fourth-and-1, Danny Stutsman is up to 13 tackles. Billy Bowman has 11, Justin Broiles has 10.

We’re still more than two minutes away from the start of the fourth quarter.

— JH

8:12 p.m.

Eric Gray just popped a 43-yard run down the left sideline. Drake Stoops then sprinted through three tacklers with a short pass up the right sideline.

Seems Oklahoma’s offensive troubles have been fortified.

OU leads 24-3 with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

By the way, Washington led the Golden Flashes 31-13 at halftime last week, for what it’s worth.

— JH

8:07 p.m.

Linebacker Danny Stutsman seems to enjoy the game of football — especially when he sacks the quarterback. He just dropped the fleet-footed Schlee for a loss and then posed and primped for the cameras while David Ugwoegbu helped him celebrate.

Owen Field is rocking as Schlee’s third-down pass goes through his receiver’s hands and the Flashes will punt.

— JH

8:00 p.m.

Offensive tackle Tyler Guyton came back on the field for OU’s field goal attempt, but was favoring his right side as he jogged back off the field. We’ll see if he gives it another go once the offense gets the ball back.

— RC 

7:59 p.m.

Zach Schmit field goal finishes a 7-play, 26-yard drive after Bowman’s fumble recovery with a 26-yard field goal.

Sooners lead 17-3.

— JH

7:57 p.m.

Tyler Guyton is the lineman down, though he walked off the field under his own power. Anton Harrison also was limping after that Marcus Major run. True freshman Jacob Sexton coming into the game at right tackle.

— RC 

7:56 p.m.

Billy Bowman with the takeaway and the Sooners now seem to be rolling with two powerful runs by Marcus Major.

The sun went down at halftime and the lights flashed and this place has really gone crazy.

Funny how they feed each other like that.

— JH

7:49 p.m.

Lebby called five straight pass plays to Marvin Mims spanning the final drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half. Suddenly, the offense appears to have life again.

Also, Marcus Major needs a run at RB1 here in the second half. Really nice juke on that touchdown run.

— RC 

7:47 p.m.

Dillon Gabriel had just 77 yards passing before that drive right before halftime, in which he threw for 81 yards on five completions.

This drive to start the second half is MUCH more efficient and ends with a 16-yard touchdown run by Marcus Major — and a lights and fireworks show from the new LED stadium lights.

They work.

OU leads 14-3.

— JH

7:27 p.m.

Status update on the OU run game: Oklahoma finished the half with seven yards rushing. Billy Bowman, Justin Broiles and Danny Stutsman all finished the half with at least seven tackles.

— RC 

7:23 p.m.

Halftime stats:

7:22 p.m.

Halftime. Sooners take a late lead.

7:20 p.m.

Five plays, 76 yards, 52 seconds.

That’s the scoring drive that puts Oklahoma on the scoreboard and gives the Sooners their first lead of the night.

Dillon Gabriel to Marvin Mims in the deep left corner for a 36-yard touchdown.

There’s 18 seconds left in the first half.

OU gets the ball to start the second half.

— JH

7:20 p.m.

Finally, Gabriel connects.

Mims stays with his route after getting bumped at the line and the Hawaiian delivers a strike to put the Sooners on top. Good end to a bad first half, but Oklahoma will head to the locker room with the lead. Plenty to clean up.

— RC 

7:16 p.m.

Eric Gray doesn’t get set and Venables has to burn the last timeout to prevent the runoff. Time to see how fast this offense can really run.

— RC 

7:15 p.m.

Another good drive by Kent State, but this one ends in a missed field goal.

Sooners dodged a bullet there. Still trail the Flashes 3-0, 1:10 to play.

— JH

7:10 p.m.

Last year, Oklahoma had just seven points at halftime in three games: Nebraska, West Virginia and Baylor.

The Sooners were shut out in the first half at Kansas.

We’re 1:22 til halftime (Kent State leads 3-0 and is threatening) and OU has zero points.

— JH

7:07 p.m.

Collin Schlee is a baller. Slippery. Intuitive. Oklahoma’s defense has had him sacked a handful of times tonight and he’s turned most of those into positive plays.

Kent State is being fearless in its play-calling and its execution.

— JH

7:02 p.m.

Oklahoma’s offensive line woes continue. The Sooners cannot get anything going on the ground, already having tried all of Eric Gray, Marcus Major and Jovantae Barnes. Constantly playing behind the chains and the receivers aren’t getting much separation. Gabriel not finding the guys who do. Everyone feels at fault right now.

— RC 

6:57 p.m.

Two throws to Daniel Parker and two runs to Jovantae Barnes. I get the feeling Jeff Lebby and Dillon Gabriel are trying to inject some life into this offensive drive.

— JH

6:50 p.m.

Kent State executes a 15-play, 72-yard drive that gives the Golden Flashes the first lead of the game with a 37-yard field goal. That drive lasted 7:21 and there's now 8:27 to play in the second quarter.

Time of possession is, once again, not good for OU: The Sooners have had it for 6 minutes and 17 seconds, while Kent State has possessed it for 15:16.

Kent State is 4-of-8 on third downs, while OU is 0-for-4.

— JH

6:45 p.m.

Collin Schlee pulls a great escape from blitzing Justin Harrington, and zips a sidearm dart to Marquez Cooper for 22 yards and a first down.

The upsets we’ve already seen today (and almost seen) make me think Kent State believes they can be next.

— JH

6:42 p.m.

R Mason Thomas was the Sooner down after that play, but he popped back up and walked off under his own power with a slight limp.

— RC

6:38 p.m

Well, dealer’s choice on that first quarter. The defense was solid, working through the Kent State tempo and subbing a few different packages into the game.

The offense? Pretty dreadful. Only put 49 yards up in the quarter with zero net rushing yards. Offensive line doesn’t look good, Eric Gray’s cuts looked indecisive, Gabriel holding onto the ball. Mims’ 32-yard catch really the only bright spot for Lebby’s crew.

— RC 

6:37 p.m.

First quarter stats:

6:36 p.m.

First quarter score. It ain't pretty.

— JH

6:35 p.m.

Another really bad drive from the Oklahoma offense. Gabriel is holding on to the ball too long, offensive line not pickup up delayed rushers. Entire unit looks discombobulated.

— RC

6:34 p.m.

After Major’s dive for the first down, Gabriel gats sacked, misses a deep cross throw and then dips one to J.J. Hester for a completion short of the first down on third-and-17.

The boo birds have landed.

— JH

6:32 p.m.

Marcus Major running behind Daniel Parker.

There will be blood.

After what looked like a bad spot, the Sooners needed a fourth-and-1 smash to keep the drive alive.

— JH

6:27 p.m.

After the second down play, Billy Bowman was immediately signaling over to the sideline to get the play in. A couple of times now the OU defense has looked out of sorts while Kent State is snapping the ball. That was supposed to be the advantage working every day against Lebby’s pacy offense, but it hasn’t necessarily manifested itself here yet against the Flashes. Still got the defense stop, though.

— RC 

6:24 p.m.

Marcus Stripling is headed into the locker room and seems to be limping (right foot/ankle?)

— JH

6:24 p.m.

Marcus Stripling was spotted headed back to the locker room as the Sooners punted the ball away.

— RC

6:22 p.m.

The Sooners are punting again. I missed part of the opening drive and just noticed that Tyler Guyton is starting at right tackle today. Anton Harrison is back on the left side.

— JH

6:21 p.m.

And Gabriel connects with Mims on a 32-yard pickup over the middle. I’d say that’s better than the last drive already.

— JH

6:18 p.m.

A nice drive by Kent State (10 plays, 35 yards, 4:45 off the clock) ends with a punt.

Sooners’ second possession needs to be much better than the first.

— JH 

6:18 p.m.

Tackling Kent State running back Marquez Cooper was an issue on that drive, but the Sooner defense swarmed on the decisive third down play to get the stop. Looked like there was confusion as OU subbed on the previous third down as well. Not the most buttoned up drive, but Oklahoma responded before the Flashes crossed midfield.

— RC 

6:07 p.m.

We said all week that pass protection needs to improve, and the Sooners’ first drive ended with an unceremonious sack on Dillon Gabriel.

Kent State isn’t a good defense, and OU goes three-and-out.

— JH

6:07 p.m.

Oklahoma offensvie starters:

Harrison - Mettauer - Raym - Murray - Guyton

Farooq - Wease - Willis - Stoops

Gabriel - Gray

Interesting to see Guyton and Harrison flip sides at tackle after Harrison got bumped over to the right side against UTEP.

— RC 

6:05 p.m.

As Kent State goes three and out on its first possession, Isaiah Coe and Jeffery Johnson clogged up the Golden Flashes game plan.

Those two were my X-factor today, and both impacted the opening drive.

On third down, Coe pressured Collin Schlee into a sack by Reggie Grimes.

— JH

6:04 p.m.

Oklahoma defensive starters:

Grimes - Kelley - Coe - Downs

Stutsman - Ugwoegbu - White

Washington - Broiles - Bowman - Davis

— RC

6:03 p.m.

Don’t know if you saw it on TV, but R Mason Thomas was the inside cover guy on the Oklahoma kickoff.

He’s a defensive end. Kid can fly.

— JH 

5:36 p.m.

Oklahoma's pregame hype team just played the Malcolm Kelly Rap. Safe to say, the players enjoyed it in a big gathering together right before heading into the locker room.

— JH

5:22 p.m.

Also, from the pregame two-deep, RT Wanya Morris is not here and will apparently miss his second straight game.

We heard last week it was likely a two-game absence coming for Morris. Which means his first game could be next week at Nebraska.

Tyler Guyton is warming up with the first o-line.

— JH

5:12 p.m.

No Key Lawrence today? We interviewed him on Tuesday, but he's currently not warming up with the rest of the team.

— JH

4:40 p.m.

After missing Week 1 with what Brent Venables classified as the "sniffles", tight end Daniel Parker is primed to make his debut tonight for the Sooners. 

Daniel Parker out and getting loose for his Oklahoma debut #Sooners pic.twitter.com/8pvRrZha4e

— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) September 10, 2022

— RC