John Mateer and Jackson Arnold traded blows against big-boy defenses in OU's 24-17 win over Auburn. Here's how we graded the QBs and more.
NORMAN — John Mateer and Jackson Arnold traded blows against big-boy defenses. Neither team had any room to run. Both were heavily penalized. Both were lucky and unlucky. It wasn’t clean, but no one claimed it would be.
OU won the SEC smackdown, beating Auburn 24-17 on what was a record day for the Sooner defense.
Let’s get to the grades.
John Mateer: B+
Off early, Mateer was clutch late.
The Sooner quarterback stretched the ball over the goal line, capping a six-play, 75-yard game-winning drive.
Down 17-16, Mateer and the OU offense took over at their own 25-yard line with a little more than seven minutes to play.
Mateer was flawless on the drive, completing all four of his passes, including a 31-yard completion down the sideline to Isaiah Sategna which set up Mateer’s touchdown run.
“There was zero flinch,” offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.
“That’s what you get excited for,” Mateer added. “You can only write that story so many times.”
Mateer missed some throws in the first half. He fumbled on an exchange with his running back. Arnold was outplaying him.
But Mateer completed 16 of his last 17 passes.
“He led us to a win,” coach Brent Venables said.
Mateer’s final line: 24 of 36, 271 yards, one touchdown. And one rushing touchdown on a team-high 29 rushing yards.
It was Mateer’s 10th consecutive game with both a passing and rushing touchdown.
Jackson Arnold: B+
Arnold could’ve crumbled in a tough environment against his former team. We saw him crumble in less-pressurized spots as a Sooner.
Arnold deserves a ton of respect not only for how he played, but also how he stayed composed and commanded the Auburn offense.
“He’s got amazing courage and toughness,” Venables said. “He’s still just a baby. All his best days are still in front of him.”
Arnold completed 66% of his passes for 220 yards. Only three times as a Sooner did he throw for more than 200 yards, and one of those games was against Maine.
Arnold was under pressure all night. He was sacked 10 times. And he still gave Auburn a chance.
Twice the Tigers converted on fourth down in their go-ahead drive midway through the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-and-11, Arnold weaved through the teeth of the OU defense for a 15-yard first-down run to keep the drive alive.
OU run game: F
The Sooners had 32 rushing yards. They averaged 1.2 yards per rush.
True freshman Tory Blaylock was OU’s lead back with 11 carries for 13 yards. Jovantae Barnes had one carry for zero yards. No other running back toted the rock.
A win’s a win, right? That’s all OU can say with numbers like that.
Tate Sandell, Grayson Miller combo: A+
Sandell was 3 for 3, making field goals of 28, 32 and 49 yards.
Miller punted five times, averaging 54 yards per boot. His 66-yard punt in the second quarter was OU’s longest since 2022. Not bad for a UCO transfer who was playing college soccer at Lubbock Christian three years ago.
Conversely, Auburn’s Connor Gibbs missed a 50-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter which would’ve tied the game 13-13. And Auburn punter Hudson Kaak, the OSU transfer, averaged 46 yards on his five punts.
OU’s edge at kicker and punter mattered Saturday.
Non-related special teams note: Not often do you see an onside punt like the one Auburn attempted after the Sooners forced a safety.
Penalties: F
F for flags. Lots and lots and lots of flags.
The officiating crew was sloppy. Some breaks went OU’s way. Others rewarded Auburn. There were no winners. We were all losers for enduring a combined 22 penalties and 184 yards of penalties
Auburn certainly has the biggest gripe for the legally gray Isaiah Sategna III touchdown. The Sooners claimed “tempo.” Auburn said it was “deception.” And regardless, Hugh Freeze said he called a timeout before the play.
We’ll see if the league office has anything to say about it.
Auburn was also on the wrong side of a review that took a would-be Tigers scoop-and-score off the board.
Pass rush: A++++++++++
One plus for every Sooner sack. A program-record 10 of them, seven of which came in the first half … before R Mason Thomas was unleashed.
Thomas joined the sack party by sprawling onto Arnold’s back on Auburn’s first drive of the second half. His second sack resulted in the safety that sealed the game — a fitting ending.
Sophomore defensive tackle Jayden Jackson had 2.5 sacks, doubling his career total. He’s a stud.
OU’s defensive line is the best unit on the team. It might be the best D-Line in the country.
Forcing turnovers: F
Peyton Bowen had a would-be pick-six sail through his hands.
Kendal Daniels dropped what would’ve been an even easier interception.
While the Sooner defense was dominant, it’s still searching for its first takeaway. Chalk it up to a statistical oddity. OU’s defense is doing everything else right.
Isaiah Sategna III: A-
“Just a consistent kid who brings it every day,” Arbuckle said of Sategna after the game.
All due respect, Sategna is anything but consistent.
His high highs outweighed his low lows Saturday.
Sategna had one of the timeliest drops you’ll ever see. Sategna’s bobble on OU’s first drive of the game was originally ruled a fumble, which led to an Auburn scoop and score. After review, it was ruled that Sategna never had control, and the call was changed to an incompletion. OU retained the ball and finished the drive with a field goal — a 10-point swing to start the game.
The Sooner staff seems steadfast in its trust of Sategna. It paid off.
He hauled in a 29-yard strike in the second quarter despite him and everyone else in the stadium knowing he was going to get whalloped as he rose for the reception. Somehow Sategna came down with it.
(He then proceeded to misplay a punt later in the second quarter. A not-so-bold prediction: Sategna will not be OU’s punt returner by season’s end).
Sategna hauled in the catch of the game late in the fourth quarter, setting up OU’s go-ahead touchdown.
Sategna led OU with nine catches for 127 yards and a score.
The Isaiah Sategna experience is somethin’ else.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football grades vs Auburn: How John Mateer, Jackson Arnold fared
Category: General Sports
