No. 11 Oklahoma's 9 sacks and Mateer's late TD sink No. 22 Auburn and ex-Sooners QB Arnold
NORMAN, Okla. -- — John Mateer passed for 271 yards and a touchdown, and No. 11 Oklahoma beat No. 22 Auburn and former Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold 24-17 on Saturday.Mateer, who transferred from Washington State to replace Arnold, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run with 4:54 remaining. The score closed out a six-play, 75-yard drive that came right after Auburn took the lead for the first time.
“As a quarterback, to be able to do that drill — two-minute drill or game-winning drive — that’s what you dream about," Mateer said. "And doing it in the first SEC game is pretty cool.”
The Sooners (4-0, 1-0 SEC) now head into their bye week unbeaten.
“Proud of our players: the determination, the resolve, the grit, the ability to overcome, keep fighting back, keep striking," Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said.
Arnold led Oklahoma during last year's upset of Alabama before transferring. He couldn't replicate that magic against the Sooners, in part because they tied a school record by sacking him nine times. He passed for 220 yards and a touchdown but rushed for minus-11 yards on 20 carries.
“It obviously sucks losing the game and I know we wanted to win. But it was good to see them after the game," Arnold said of his former teammates. "People that I haven’t seen in around nine or 10 months.”
Oklahoma pass rusher R Mason Thomas missed the first half after being called for targeting last Saturday against Temple. He got a sack on his second play back in the third quarter, then later sacked Arnold for a safety with 1:06 remaining to close the scoring.
With Venables calling the defense, Oklahoma held the Tigers to 287 yards. Defensive linemen accounted for 8 1/2 of Oklahoma's sacks.
“We talked about going into the game, the only nonnegotiable that has to happen for us to win this game is when the storyline has to say y’all (defensive linemen) played your butt off,” Venables said.
Isaiah Sategna had career highs of nine catches and 127 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown grab, and Tate Sandell made three field goals for the Sooners.
Eric Singleton had 60 yards on nine catches for the Tigers (3-1, 0-1).
Malcolm Simmons' 4-yard touchdown run tied the game, and Alex McPherson's extra point put the Tigers up 17-16 with 7:08 to play. Mateer came right back and led the Sooners down the field for the go-ahead score.
“We lost a tough one on the road in a very good conference against a highly ranked team," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "And we didn’t play our best and had a chance to win it.”
The Sooners have six turnovers this season, but their opponents have scored only nine points off them. In this game, Mateer fumbled in the second quarter, but Auburn gained only 14 yards and one first down before punting.
Oklahoma's defense has not forced a turnover this season, despite being in the top five nationally in several major categories.
“I guarantee you — well, I’d better be quiet," Freeze said. “Said they didn’t hear us trying to call timeout. Yeah, we’ll see. We were instructed all offseason about deception plays and things. So we’ll see what’s said.”
The Sooners also had three quarterback hurries and finished with 13 tackles for loss.
Oklahoma: The Sooners got even less out of their running game — 32 yards on 26 carries — but Mateer made plays when needed. The Sooners could creep into the Top 10 now that they have wins over Michigan and Auburn.
Oklahoma: Hosts Kent State on Oct. 4.
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This story has been corrected to show that Oklahoma sacked ex-Sooners QB Jackson Arnold nine times, not 10, after a scoring change.
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