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No. 5 Oklahoma rolls past Kent State 44-0 as QB Hawkins produces 4 TDs while filling in for Mateer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma backup Michael Hawkins Jr. passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, and the No. 5 Sooners rolled past Kent State 44-0 on Saturday.

Hawkins passed for 162 yards and ran for 33 as a fill-in for John Mateer, who sat out with an injured right hand.

Isaiah Sategna caught two touchdown passes and Tory Blaylock had 78 yards on 15 carries for the Sooners (5-0).

Oklahoma held the Golden Flashes (1-4) to 135 total yards and registered its first shutout since a 73-0 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 2, 2023. The Sooners had five sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

Oklahoma receiver Keontez Lewis was carted off in the first quarter after going headfirst into a brick wall. An update from OU Sports Medicine during the game said Lewis was sent offsite for additional testing and the outlook was promising.

Hawkins completed 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to help the Sooners take a 23-0 lead.

The Sooners finally forced their first turnover of the season and made the most of it. R Mason Thomas forced a fumble on a sack and Gracen Halton recovered and ran the ball back four yards for the touchdown to give the Sooners a 30-0 lead in the third quarter.

The takeaway

Kent State: The game went about as well as could be expected for a team that lost 62-14 to Texas Tech and 66-10 to Florida State.

Oklahoma: The Sooners entered the day averaging just 125.3 yards rushing per game. They gained 185 on 41 carries against Kent State — an improvement, but likely not quite what they were looking for against a squad that allowed 498 yards rushing against Florida State.

Up next

Kent State: Hosts Massachusetts on Saturday.

Oklahoma: Plays No. 9 Texas in Dallas on Saturday.

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