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Oklahoma-Maine: LIVE In-Game Observations

John Hoover and Ryan Chapman offer their real-time observations from Memorial Stadium as the Sooners host Maine for the first time ever.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman
Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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NORMAN — Sooners on SI offers real-time observations from Memorial Stadium throughout Saturday's Week 10 matchup between Oklahoma and the Maine Black Bears. Newest posts are at the top. Just keep your browser open and refresh often.

2:20 p.m.

The Sooners end their three-game losing streak with a 59-14 win over Maine. OU is back over .500 again at 5-4 with three top-25 opponents in a row next. The Sooners will travel to Missouri next week, followed by Alabama and at LSU. 

-DG

1:58 p.m.

And Robinson gets to cap off the drive with a touchdown. 

Puts the Sooners up 59-14 with 6:17 left. 

— RC 

1:55 p.m.

Love the Xavier Robinson stiff arm. 

Helped turn a check down into a 46-yard chunk play. 

Liking the energy from the freshman offense late against the Maine backups. 

— RC 

1:47 p.m.

Maine gets one touchdown back. 

Carter Peevy hit Joe Gillette for 47 yards on a really nice deep ball, and then Nick Laughlin carried the ball the remaining five yards to cut the lead down to 52-14 with 9:38 left. 

— RC 

1:35 p.m.

Smooth as you like there from Sam Franklin. 

A slick one-handed catch to set OU up at third-and-goal from the 6-yard line. 

Michael Hawkins Jr. didn’t have enough time to hit anyone for the touchdown, but Zach Schmit nailed the 24-yard field goal to push the advantage to 52-7 with 12:37 left in the game. 

— RC

1:19 p.m.

Good for Kaden Helms!

He’s battled injuries for two years, but he hauls in a tipped pass for his first career touchdown catch. 

The 9-yard score extends OU’s lead to 49-7 with 6:20 left in the third quarter. 

— RC

1:00 p.m.

Barnes’ excellent day continues. 

He bounces it outside for a 19-yard touchdown rush, his third of the day. 

Now up to 186 yards on 13 carries for the day, and OU leads 42-7 with 12:40 remaining in the third quarter. 

— RC 

12:55 p.m.

Oklahoma’s defense got the takeaway it wanted. 

Robert Spears-Jennings force and recovered the fumble on Maine’s opening drive to set the Sooners up with great field position on the 38-yard line. 

— RC 

12:31 p.m.

Halftime stats:

Oklahoma Sooners
OU stats / OU stats
Oklahoma Sooners
OU Stats / OU Stats

12:28 p.m.

As far as Jovantae Barnes building confidence from a strong showing against Ole Miss — mission accomplished. 

He caps off the first half with am 8-yard score to put OU up 35-7 with 34 seconds left. 

Barnes now has 158 yards and two scores on 11 carries, and is averaging 14.4 yards per carry (obviously aided by his 74-yard rush). The good stuff.

— RC 

12:22 p.m.

Danny Stutsman hits home for a sack just before the two-minute timeout. 

Maine will punt on the other side. Would love to see OU run the two-minute drill with all three timeouts. 

— RC 

12:16 p.m.

How’s that for a little improvisation from Jackson Arnold?

He got flushed out of the pocket to his right and just chucked the ball as far as he could to J.J. Hester. 

Hester broke on the ball correctly, and it ended as a 90-yard touchdown connection. 

Sooners gonna get their 100-yard rusher (Barnes) and receiver (Hester) today.

All OU in the second quarter. The hosts are now up 28-7 with 3:16 left until the break.

— RC 

12:04 p.m.

Yeah, Jovantae Barnes is just fine. He showed amazing patience to let some blocking develop, and then exploded through the hole for a 21-yard run. Great burst.

Two plays later, Jackson Arnolx keeps it around the left edge and the Sooners lead 21-7.

— JH 

12:02 p.m.

David Stone is getting some run on this drive. He’s got the cast on his right wrist, so not much hand fighting he can do there, and he still beat his man with pure speed despite not being able to strike. 

I know it’s Maine, but still pretty impressive. 

Sooners get their punt so the fumble doesn’t hurt OU. 

— RC 

11:58 a.m.

Well, maybe Barnes is not ready to go back in.

Sam Franklin got all the RB carries on that last drive, including the fumble of an option pitchout from Arnold.

Black Bear ball.

This team can’t win big games with unforced errors. Gotta clean that up.

— JH

11:58 a.m.

Jackson Arnold avoided disaster. Troy Everett snapped the ball over the quarterback’s as the offense looked to the sideline. He was able to quickly grab it, get outside the tackle box and throw it away to save the yardage. 

Next play, he stuck in the pocket and hit Jacob Jordan for 24 yards. 

Have really liked Arnold’s patience in the pocket knowing he shouldn’t feel much pressure today from Maine.

And then… Sam Franklin is unable to handle the option pitch from Arnold and he fumbles. 

The Black Bears take over at their own 16-yard line. 

— RC 

11:51 a.m.

Oklahoma got very close to blocking that Maine punt. 

Instead, OU will take over at its own 40 after a modest Peyton Bowen return. 

Feels like the Sooners are asserting themselves now against the far inferior competition. A shaky first drive from Oklahoma’s offensive line on the first drive leveled out. It is the eighth different starting combination of the season, after all. 

— RC

11:50 a.m.

After Taylor Tatum finished that last drive with a touchdown to put OU up 14-7, Jovantae Barnes is back in the huddle and ready to go back into the game.

— JH

11:43 a.m.

Easy as you like for the Sooners to start the second quarter. 

Joe Jon Finley feeds Taylor Tatum, who punched it in from the 1-yard line to finish off the drive and put OU on top 14-7 with 13:44 until halftime. 

— RC 

11:39 a.m.

First quarter stats:

oklahoma sooners
OU stats / OU football
Oklahoma Sooners
OU stats / OU stats

11:37 a.m.

Fourth-and-3 from the Maine 40 and Brent Venables goes for it. It works fine as Jackson Arnold throws a quick slant to Jacob Jordan.

Makes you wonder why the offense doesn’t run quick-timing pass plays like that more often. He had one read and he delivered on time in a clean pocket. Not that hard.

— JH

11:22 a.m.

Jovantae Barnes’ celebration had to get delayed for two plays after it was ruled that he was down at the 1-yard line, but he powered in a 2-yard touchdown run to level the contest at 7-7 with 7:07 left in the first quarter.

Much more like it. 

— RC 

11:20 a.m.

Review confirms, no TD. First and goal from the 1.

OU’s longest offensive play of the year, and Barnes’ career-long for 74 yards.

— JH

11:19 a.m.

And Jovantae Barnes sets the world back on its axis with a 75-yard touchdown run on the next play. Looks like he was down at the 1 yard line but we go to replay…

— JH

11:16 a.m.

Oklahoma’s defense got hit with a delay of game on fourth-and-1 for clapping, likely because the play call still hadn’t come in yet from the sideline. 

Maine converted on third-and-7.

Dasan McCullough had to sub on late on the touchdown. 

Attention to detail, not a strength on the first drive for Oklahoma. 

— RC 

11:13 a.m.

Maine QB Carter Peevy just hit the OU defense for a 40-yard run on a very well-blocked keeper down the right sideline. On the next play, Peevy throws 3 yards to Cooper Heisey for a touchdown and the Oklahoma Sooners trail an FCS team for the first time in school history.

This is almost unbelievable. Only, it’s not.

— JH

11:09 a.m.

Maine lines up to go for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 41, but the Sooner defense does them a favor with a delay of game penalty -- “using the clapping signal” on a defender (Kip Lewis?) who was just trying to get his coaches to send in the defensive call.

That’s bad.

And that's followed by a third-down conversion pass.

— JH

11:07 a.m.

Oklahoma’s starters on defense:

Woullard - Williams - Jackson - Thomas 

Washington - Stutsman - Lewis

E. Bowen - Bowman - Spears-Jennings - Johnson 

— RC 

11:05 a.m.

And the Sooner offense is off to a … start. After a quick first down, Jackson Arnold can’t find anyone downfield on back-to-back pass attempts and Luke Elzinga comes in to punt.

Remember, these early drives are generally scripted.

Wow.

— JH

11:03 a.m.

Oklahoma’s starters on offense:

Howland - Ozaeta - Everett - Nwaiwu - Brown 

Thompson - Sharp - Roberts - Hester

Arnold - Barnes 

— RC 

11:01 a.m.

10:26 a.m.

It’s very hard to make all of the jersey numbers out from the press box on these “Unity” alternates, but I have yet to see Deion Burks in warmups. 

— RC 

10:24 a.m.

OU’s starting offensive line per pregame warmups:

Howland - Ozaeta - Everett - Nwaiwu - Brown 

— RC 

10:22 a.m.

With more new faces on the offensive line, it might be a big day for Maine defensive end Xavier Holmes, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior from Maryland who leads the Black Bears with 5.5 quarterback sacks.

— JH

10:18 a.m.

Jake Taylor is in street clothes, so OU will be without both Jakes (as Jacob Sexton will miss significant time) along the offensive line today. 

Michael Tarquin is also out, he’s got a boot on his right foot. Isaiah Autry-Dent time?

— RC 

10:11 a.m.

Here we go. Been waiting on this Maine game. I'm serious.

— JH

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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