Oklahoma-Michigan: OU Report Card

There was plenty to break down in OU’s 24-13 win over Michigan on Saturday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium,

From John Mateer’s arm and legs to a strong defensive performance to some less-than-stellar special teams play, let’s look at the grades for OU by position group:

Quarterback: A

About the only thing keeping John Mateer from earning an A+ here was his early interception.

But Mateer was stellar outside of that, making strong decisions and fitting throws into tight windows.

In addition to his passing success, Mateer was also a big part of the Sooners’ ground game.

He finished with 19 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

One of Mateer’s biggest plays came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when he picked up a first down on the ground on third-and-3.

Running backs: B-

It wasn’t stellar, but it was certainly better than last week.

On the Sooners’ key fourth-quarter drive that helped them put the game away, Jovantae Barnes had a key 9-yard run that kept the drive — that wound up eating 8:27 of clock — alive.

Barnes, last week’s starter, also hauled in Mateer’s screen pass for a first down on third-and-7 earlier in the fourth quarter.

After recording just one carry last week, Cal transfer Jaydn Ott finished with four carries for nine yards while Tory Blaylock had nine carries for 24 yards.

But the Sooners didn’t need big production from their running backs with the job Mateer did on the ground.

Wide receivers/tight ends: B+

Deion Burks called the matchup “personal” last week after not being recruited by Michigan — his home state school — out of high school.

Burks was really good, finishing with seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets.

Tight end Jaren Kanak was strong yet again, finishing with five catches for 69 yards.

The converted linebacker could’ve had an even bigger game, but he just missed hauling in what would’ve been a touchdown catch on a trick play in the second half.

Isaiah Sategna (four catches, 44 yards) and Keontez Lewis (three catches, 36 yards) were the other receivers with catches.

Offensive line: B

The Sooners were much better on the offensive line with a new look group after an uneven performance last week.

Freshman Michael Fasusi headlined a group that also included Derek Simmons at the other tackle spot, Heath Ozaeta at guard and Jake Maikkula at center.

Only Febechi Nwaiwu was in the starting lineup for the second consecutive week.

The group wasn’t perfect but mostly kept John Mateer clean and gave the quarterback time to work his magic in the backfield.

The Sooners need to continue to get better up front, but Saturday appeared to be a step in the right direction.

Defensive line: B+

The Sooners sacked Bryce Underwood just once — on a combo from Sammy Omosigho and Jayden Jackson — but the looks they gave up front kept the freshman guessing.

Damonic Williams and David Stone combining for nine tackles was big as well, as the interior of the line flexed its muscle.

They’ll be more disruptive from the edges later in the year but it wasn’t a bad showing against what could’ve been a challenging matchup.

Linebackers: A-

How about Owen Heinecke?

The walk-on linebacker, who transferred from Ohio State — where he played lacrosse — was the Sooners’ leading tackler with seven.

He also broke up a pass.

Heinecke came up big for a group that needed him.

The Sooners’ linebackers overpursued at times, leading to some open space, but it mostly didn’t hurt as the Sooners held Michigan to 288 yards — 146 of that on the ground.

Secondary: B

Peyton Bowen got caught in a bad position on Justice Haynes’ 75-yard touchdown run early in the second half, and Robert Spears-Jennings was just the victim of a flat-out great catch in the second half as well, but overall, the group was strong. 

The Wolverines tested cornerback Courtland Guillory plenty and the freshman mostly held up well, plus added a quarterback hurry.

Special teams: C

About the toughest piece of the game for the Sooners.

Tate Sandell missed a 42-yard field goal with 12:32 left that could’ve put the Sooners up by 11.

But Sandell made up for it with his 21-yarder to ice the game with 1:44 left.

The Sooners struggled some in ball security on returns.

Isaiah Sategna’s third-quarter fumble on a punt return helped set up a Michigan field goal.

Then on the kickoff after the field goal. Jaydn Ott bobbled the ball, pinning OU inside the 10.

Grayson Miller handled punts for the Sooners after Jacob Ulrich punted in the opener. Miller was solid, averaging 47.8 yards on four punts, twice pinning the Wolverines inside the 20.