Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Victory Over Maine

The Sooners shook off a slow start to dominate the Black Bears in their final non-conference bout of the regular season.

Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry brings down Maine Black Bears quarterback Carter Peevy. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — The first two drives on Saturday proved to be a hiccup. 

Oklahoma fell behind 7-0 on a gray morning at Owen Field, but quickly got right to blow out the Maine Black Bears 59-14. 

Jovantae Barnes’ 74-yard almost touchdown sparked the Sooners, and they never looked back. 

It was an important week to build some confidence against FCS competition and for Oklahoma (5-4, 1-4 SEC) to move one game closer to bowl eligibility with a trip to Missouri on deck next weekend. 

Second Quarter Explosion 

Barnes’ massive rush came in the first quarter, but Oklahoma offense truly came alive in the second quarter. 

The Sooners started it off by finishing off a 15-play drive that marched 84 yards for the score. 

Running back Sam Franklin’s fumble off a pitch from Jackson Arnold in the red zone was the only thing that slowed OU down, as the offense turned around to score on the final three drives of the half. 

Backed up near the goal line, Arnold rolled to his right and launched the ball deep down the field for J.J. Hester, who caught it and ran the rest of the way to complete the 90-yard touchdown catch. It was the longest touchdown through the air for the Sooners since the Eric Moore to P.J. Mills connection against Iowa State in 1995, and it’s the longest pass play ever on Owen Field. 

The final drive of the first half was virtually all Barnes, who went into the break with two touchdowns and 158 yards on 11 carries. 

All of that came with an offensive line that was again forced to roll out a unique starting lineup. 

Jacob Sexton’s injury against Ole Miss brought Logan Howland into the starting lineup at left tackle, and Michael Tarquin and Jake Taylor’s offense saw Spencer Brown slot in at right tackle. 

OU ended the first half with 402 yards of offense before the staff even thought about handing the keys over to the younger guys in the two-deep, which is exactly what needed to happen against the Black Bears. 

Barnes added another touchdown on the first drive of the second half, and his final output on the day was 18 rushes for 203 yards and three scores ad well as one catch for 19 yards.

Back on Track

Brent Venables bemoaned Oklahoma’s lack of defensive takeaways the last two weeks on Tuesday, and Robert Spears-Jennings ended the drought.

On Maine’s first drive of the second half, the OU safety forced his fourth fumble of the year and recovered it to set the offense up well into Black Bear territory. 

While the Sooners no doubt would have liked to force a first half turnover or two to pair with Spears-Jennings’ second half effort, Zac Alley’s unit rebounded after a poor first drive. 

Maine moved 68 yards for the opening score, but OU allowed just 47 yards the rest of the half. 

The effort allowed Venables and Alley to rotate plenty of different guys in and crucially avoid any injuries before next week’s trip to Columbia. 

Second Half Party 

With the game well in hand, Oklahoma was able to work plenty of young pieces in across the board.

True freshman guard Eddy Pierre-Louis made his second appearance of the year, taking over for Febechi Nwaiwu, and shortly after his introduction Isaiah Autry-Dent took over at right tackle for the firs time in his career.

Tight end Kaden Helms, who has been unable to get on the field for most of his three years in Norman due to poor injury luck, caught his first touchdown despite Arnold’s pass getting tipped at the line of scrimmage. 

Peyton Bowen almost returned his first punt for a touchdown, though the play was ultimately called back for a hold.

And Michael Hawkins Jr. got into the game at the end of the third quarter for the first time since getting pulled out of the South Carolina game. 

Those were all important reps for OU’s depth, especially Hawkins. He hasn’t played since Joe Jon Finley took over the playcalling duties, and it was crucial for him to get some experience with Finley and Kevin Johns in charge in case he’s called into action in any of the Sooners’ three remaining SEC contests.