PHILADELPHIA — No. 13 Oklahoma took care of business in its first road trip of the season, handling Temple 42-3 Saturday afternoon at the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field.
Quarterback John Mateer completed 20-of-34 passes (59%) for 282 yards and one touchdown with one interception. He also ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Mateer has now scored a passing and rushing touchdown in his last nine games.
Isaiah Sategna and Jaren Kanak featured as Mateer’s top receivers Saturday. Sategna totaled seven catches for 97 yards and Kanak put up four catches for 86 yards.
Now, OU turns its eyes to Southeastern Conference play. The Sooners open their SEC slate against Auburn at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 20 (ABC). The matchup features former OU and now-Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold’s return to Norman.
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Here’s the Tulsa World breakdown of OU’s win over Temple:
Offensive MVP: Tory Blaylock
Tory Blaylock further stated his case to be Oklahoma’s top rushing option moving forward.
The freshman running back from the Houston area carried 14 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns against the Owls on Saturday.
Blaylock first found the end zone from six yards out with 12:11 left in the first quarter, and trucked a Temple defender in the process. He scored again on an 18-yard run at the 10:05 mark of the second quarter.
Jovantae Barnes started in the backfield but garnered just five carries for 12 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Robinson caught a 6-yard touchdown pass and ran five times for 26 yards.
Meanwhile, Jaydn Ott continues to be a surprising nonfactor in OU’s rushing attack. The prized spring transfer portal addition from Cal only played in garbage time, running just four times for 11 yards.
Defensive MVP: The OU rush
Oklahoma’s defense swarmed to the football all day long.
That started with David Stone and Gracen Halton combining on a third down tackle for loss in the mid first quarter. Later in the period, safety Reggie Powers blitzed for a third down sack of Owls quarterback Evan Simon.
In the early second quarter, Temple misplayed a punt and was backed up in its own end zone. OU linebacker Sammy Omosigho rushed free and batted Simon’s pass high into the air. Defensive tackle Gracen Halton dove for the ball but couldn’t haul it in. So close to an incredible play, yet so far away.
Oklahoma’s other first half sack came when safety Michael Boganowski got home on the blitz and leveled Simon late in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, OU defensive end Wyatt Gilmore sacked Simon on third down. Then Gilmore and linebacker Taylor Heim later shared a sack of Temple backup QB Gevani McCoy.
In total, the Sooners finished with 11 tackles for loss, four sacks and three quarterback hurries.
Questionable call: R Mason Thomas disqualified
Oklahoma’s headhunting defense avoided a bad bounce in the first half, when safety Jaydan Hardy was not called for targeting on a Temple player, following a lengthy video review.
The Sooners weren’t so lucky in the second half, as star defensive end R Mason Thomas was flagged for roughing the passer and, upon review, called for targeting as well.
Thomas, who led the OU roster with nine sacks last year, was disqualified for the rest of the game, and he will miss the first half of the Auburn game next week, unless the Sooners win an appeal to the NCAA National Coordinator of Officials.
Play to remember: How about some trickery?
A 3-yard touchdown run by Barnes capped the Sooner offense’s first drive Saturday, but OU decided not to settle for the extra point.
Oklahoma faked the point after touchdown and Kanak completed a no-look two-point jump pass to punter/holder Jacob Ulrich, giving OU an 8-0 lead.
No-look jump pass for the two-point conversion 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ozkBMYtYB7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 13, 2025
That was after Kanak had moved the chains with a catch on a crossing route on 3rd-and-19 to extend the drive. And, the special teams fun continued at the end of OU’s second possession, as kicker Tate Sandell drilled a 52-yard field goal to make it an 11-0 first quarter advantage.
Play to forget: A painful interception
Mateer threw a pick in each of OU’s first two games. Both times, the football sailed high out of his unique three-quarter arm slot.
Against Temple, Mateer threw his third interception in as many games. Only this time, it was a bad decision to pull the trigger rather than a lapse in control.
Mateer targeted Keontez Lewis on a crossing route, but Lewis was on a collision course with a Temple defender, who flattened him and took the ball away.
Lewis was down on the field for several minutes before finally walking off. The OU training staff took his helmet and he was done for the day.
The pick gave Temple the ball on OU’s 13-yard line, and the Owls went on to make a 34-yard field goal for their first points of the day.
Injury updates: Michael Fasusi out; Kendel Dolby returns
Starting freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi was not available on Saturday after injuring his ankle in the win over Michigan. He had a walking boot on his left foot.
OU may have held Fasusi out precautionarily to make sure he’s ready for Auburn. The same goes for cornerback Gentry Williams, who warmed up but didn’t play. Defensive end Danny Okoye was also present but unavailable.
On a positive note, Kendel Dolby made his season debut versus Temple, starting at cornerback opposite freshman Courtland Guillory. Dolby had been out since dislocating his ankle against Tennessee in the fourth game of last season. Fellow cornerback Jacobe Johnson also made his 2025 debut after missing the first two games due to injury.
Injured receiver Javonnie Gibson and cornerback Eli Bowen still weren’t available but looked ever closer to returning. Gibson was suited up and went through some warmups, while Bowen no longer sported a boot on his foot.
Offensive linemen Jacob Sexton and Troy Everett and cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe apparently did not travel with the team to Philadelphia. Sexton injured his knee in the season opener versus Illinois State. It’s unclear what Everett and Newcombe’s injuries are. Everett, a team captain, was supplanted last week as starting center by Jake Maikkula.
Weirdest thing that happened: New band, who’s this?
OU’s marching band, the Pride of Oklahoma, announced Friday that it was not traveling to Philadelphia due to budget constraints.
The pep band from St. Joseph’s University filled in for the Pride, playing Boomer Sooner and other OU songs on Saturday.
The Pride of Oklahoma said it will still travel to the OU-Texas game and all three of the Sooners’ other true road games — South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama — this season.
Also worth noting: Saturday’s reported attendance was 24,927 as many Sooner fans invaded Philly. Temple’s average attendance last season was 13,919.
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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