Oklahoma-Temple: LIVE In-Game Observations

John Hoover and Ryan Chapman offer their real-time observations from the Sooners’ first road trip of the year to take on Temple.

Oklahoma tight end Jaren Kanak (left) | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

PHILADELPHIA — Sooners on SI offers real-time observations from Lincoln Financial Field as the No. 13-ranked Sooners hit the road to battle the Temple Owls.

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Oklahoma beats Temple 42-3. Now on to the SEC, Auburn, and Jackson Arnold.

Here are the final stats:

1:51 p.m.

Oklahoma wanted to give Austin Welch a chance, but he missed the 52-yarder. 

The score remains at 42-3 with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter. 

— Chapman 

1:47 p.m.

New quarterback for the Sooners. Michael Hawkins Jr. has taken over for John Mateer. 

Was pretty curious how Hawkins would be handled. 

Venables said the coaching staff would be mindful of Hawkins’ usage on Tuesday’s press conference. OU would like to redshirt the second-year signal caller, but if needed, it would be good for him to run Arbuckle’s offense in an actual game. 

It appears we have our answer. Hawkins will get some time today, but I doubt he’ll see much more action this year unless Mateer misses time. 

— Chapman 

1:42 p.m.

That touchdown was brought to you by Oklahoma’s rushing attack. 

Tory Blaylock popped a 25-yard run on the first play of the possession, which set a new mark for OU’s longest rush of the season. 

It lasted one play. 

The offensive line opened up a massive hole for John Mateer and he outran Temple to the pylon. His 51-yard rush put OU on top 42-3 with 5:04 left in the third quarter. That’s the stuff you want to see late in this game. 

— Chapman 

1:37 p.m.

Kip Lewis is still playing well, as evidenced by his second down tackle that dropped quarterback Evan Simon for no gain, but he was holding his left elbow after every play on that series. Hopefully for OU, it’s nothing significant. 

— Chapman 

1:32 p.m.

Xavier Robinson gets into the end zone. He catches the ball and runs six yards for the score to put OU on top 35-3 with 7:57 left in the third quarter. 

Jaren Kanak had another great third down play on that drive, and Ivan Carreon almost had a highlight catch. 

It won’t show up in the box score, but Sategna’s 28-yard catch was essentially a rush; it just came via a touch pass. 

The Sooners have had three sizeable gains on the perimeter get funneled into the passing yards category on touch passes. 

— Chapman 

1:29 p.m.

Good to see Kade McIntyre get in the game for the Sooners. 

The tight end has battled injuries throughout his OU career thus far.

— Chapman 

1:23 p.m.

And I’m wrong again. 

The penalty was upgraded to targeting. Wow. Huge miss for the first half next week. Oklahoma will have an opportunity to appeal the decision. Same situation for R Mason Thomas as Michigan was in last week with Jaishawn Barham. 

— Chapman 

1:20 p.m.

Wow. The officiating crew is looking at this roughing the passer on R Mason Thomas to see if there was targeting. 

If it’s overturned to targeting, Thomas will miss the first half against Auburn.

Didn’t think it was targeting, but have been wrong before with this crew. 

— Chapman 

1:19 p.m.

Another punt for the Sooners. 

Mateer was unable to put any touch on a second down pass attempt to Will Huggins after missing Sategna on first down. 

He scrambled to try and pick up the first down, but took a pretty good shot short of the marker. 

Lacking the magic that he showed in the first half when trying to extend plays.

— Chapman

1:14 p.m.

Today’s announced attendance: 24,927.

— Chapman

1:13 p.m.

Not quite the start to the second half OU’s offense wanted, but Grayson Miller did boot a 52-yard punt to pin the Owls inside their own 20. Sooners having two quality punters can’t be a bad thing. 

— Chapman 

12:49 p.m.

Halftime stats:

12:44 p.m.

Sandell tacks on a 29-yard field goal and the Sooners lead 28-3, 27 seconds til halftime.

That was an unconventional route to 28, no?

— Hoover

12:43 p.m.

For the second straight week, Brent Venables, Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer have managed the clock well in a two-minute situation before halftime. 

Last week, the Sooners marched down the field and scored a touchdown against Michigan, leaving basically no time for the Wolverines. 

This week, OU started on its own 35-yard line and the Sooners kicked a field goal to go up 28-3 with 27 seconds left until halftime. 

— Chapman 

12:40 p.m.

These teams are under contract to play again in 2028. I'm guessing Temple desperatedly hopes that Tory Blaylock will be in the NFL by then because those were two grown-man runs for 11 and 9 yards. Wow, what a stud.

So far today: 12 carries, 74 yards, 6.2 yards per carry, two impressive touchdowns.

— Hoover

12:33 p.m.

Chris Plank reports from the OU sideline that Keontez Lewis has emerged from the injury tent but does not have his helmet and is not expected to return.

— Hoover

12:30 p.m.

Backup QB Gevoni McCoy sweep pass to the right, but Gracen Halton chases him down and fires an incomplete pass. Halton then stuffs a handoff sweep to the left for a 3-yard loss, and Temple will kick a 34-yard field goal.

The Owls are on the board, and OU leads 25-3.

— Hoover

12:29 p.m.

Oklahoma’s trainers walked Lewis over to the sideline, but thankfully he was moving mostly by himself. 

Sammy Omosigho went up to Mateer after the interception to give him a fist bump. Looked like it had the energy of “We’ve got you,” from the OU linebacker. 

— Chapman 

12:26 p.m.

That's a tough INT by Mateer. Led Keontez Lewis well in coverage and seemed to have a completion coming off the goal line, but a big hit and strong hands by Temple DB Ty Davis results in a pick in the OU red zone. And Lewis was knocked woozy. Ouch.

— Hoover

12:26 p.m.

Keontez Lewis is down after the play, and the entire OU sideline had stepped out near the 20-yard line and taken a knee. 

Lewis was able to sit up. The trainers kept him immobile on the ground for a bit. 

— Chapman 

12:25 p.m.

Some kinda blitz by Brent Venables there on third and long. Sevewn man pressure, zero blitz, Boganowski with the QB sack.

— Hoover

12:20 p.m.

And yes, the next play also was a “big play” from the Temple offense, a 20-yard pass.

I’ll stop now.

— Hoover

12:20 p.m.

That would have been tough on Hardy to miss the rest of this game. Plenty of guys on both sides of the ball getting run today. 

— Chapman 

12:19 p.m.

Jaydan Hardy avoids getting hit with a targeting penalty tacked onto the end of Ducker’s 20-yard run. He will stay in the game. Replay confirms no targeting.

— Hoover

12:17 p.m.

And right on cue, just seconds after Hoover posts the “zero big plays by the Temple offense” tweet, Ducker takes one 20 yards.

— Hoover

12:16 p.m.

At the 7:16 point of the second quarter, OU leads Temple 25-0.

The Sooners have seven “big play” passes (15 yards or more) and two “big play” runs (10 yards or more).

Temple has zero of either category.

— Hoover

12:12 p.m.

The Sooners will have to punt for the first time today. 

Jacob Ulrich caught the two-point conversion and kicked during warmups, but UCO transfer Grayson Miller will boot this one away. 

— Chapman 

12:09 p.m.

Big drive by Kobie McKinzie as Temple goes three-and-out again. He made the solo tackle on Simon’s 7-yard run, then stuffed the running back on a reception at the line of scrimmage, and then hurried Simon into an incomplete pass. 

Another Temple three-and-out — the Owls are now 1-for-6 on third down.

— Hoover

12:08 p.m.

Temple’s offense has gotten the ball five times. 

The Owls have picked up one first down. 

Brent Venables has to be happy.

— Chapman 

12:04 p.m.

Oklahoma, a 21 1/2-point favorite today at Temple, just went up 25-0 still early in the second quarter on Tory Blaylock’s 18-yard touchdown run — untouched down the left sideline. Bust by the Owls defense on first down, but a good call by Ben Arbuckle to catch the Temple defense off guard and unbalanced.

— Hoover 

12:02 p.m.

Oklahoma’s drive was extended by a defensive holding on third down, and the Sooners made the most of it. 

Tory Blaylock got into the end zone for the second time today, this time on an 18-yard run. That’s Oklahoma’s second-longest rush of the season, and the longest run of the year by a running back (Mateer had a 19-yard run).

Sooners on top 25-0 with 10:05 left until halftime. 

— Chapman 

11:59 a.m.

After a blunder on the kickoff return set up the Owls at their own 1-yard line, Brent Venables isn’t happy that Michael Boganowski was whistled for defensive offsides on third down. The Sooners nearly had a safety and nearly had an interception in the end zone, but a Temple punt pushes OU back to midfield.

— Hoover

 

11:57 a.m.

You’ve gotta give Gracen Halton all the credit in the world for laying out. 

Sammy Omosigho tipped Evan Simon’s pass in the end zone, and the defensive tackle did everything he could to try and catch the ball for a pick six. 

Instead, Temple will punt from the 7-yard line (Boganowski jumped offside on the punt).

— Chapman 

11:54 a.m.

That scoring drive ought to silence some of the questions about Oklahoma’s run game and offensive line.

The Sooners take an 18-0 lead after a 12-play, 89-yard drive, on which Mater went 5-for-6 for 60 yards but Tory Blaylock looked like Lydell Carr or Samaje Perine, plowing through the Temple defense five times for 28 yards, all moving forward, all pushing the pile, and the last one a 4-yard TD on which he made the tackler pay the price.

— Hoover

11:53 a.m.

True freshman Tory Blaylock carried the ball five times for 28 yards on that touchdown drive, including the 6-yard score. 

He’s been comfortably the Sooners’ best back through nine and a half quarters in 2025. OU now up 18-0 with 12:11 left until halftime.

— Chapman 

11:46 a.m.

On one hand, the offense is moving. 

On the other… the Sooners finished the first quarter with -3 rushing yards. Burks’ loss on the reverse and Mateer’s 10-yard sack have Oklahoma underwater. 

Ben Arbuckle hasn’t really tried to hammer Temple with the running game, but that’s something Sooners fans will likely want to see in the second half. 

Overall, solid first quarter. No real signs of an emotional hangover from the win over Michigan.

— Chapman 

11:44 a.m.

First quarter stats:

11:38 a.m.

Boy, Oklahoma’s first QB sack of the season was something. 

Jacobe Johnson was in at nickel on the left side for his first snap of the season. On the right side, Reggie Powers came around the edge on a blitz — his second of the series. Jayden Jackson split a double-team perfectly and pushed Simon into Powers’ path. 

Another punt, and the Sooners’ offense is already moving.

— Hoover

11:35 a.m.

A pair of new faces start this defensive series for the Sooners. 

Michael Boganowski is getting snaps at safety in Spears-Jennings’ place. Powers is at cheetah for Daniels. 

Heinecke is seeing his first action on defense as well in place of Kip Lewis. 

— Chapman 

11:31 a.m.

Temple sends a linebacker blitz at Mateer on second down, and he gets away — but then is sacked by a second rush from the d-end. Then on third down, Barnes gets taken down for a loss.

Tate Sandell comes on for a 52-yard field goal, but Temple takes a timeout. Sandell coolly drills it for an 11-0 Oklahoma lead.

— Hoover

11:30 a.m.

A couple of bad moments made life hard on kicker Tate Sandell. 

Kearney got hit with a false start, then Mateer took a 10-yard sack. 

Barnes was unable to make anything happen on third-and-17, so Sandell will be called upon for a 52-yarder. 

— Chapman 

11:28 a.m.

Kanak has two big catches so far today, and a Temple defensive back has left the game with injury after each one.

— Hoover

11:27 a.m.

Wow, I hope Kanak and Burger both participate in plenty of yoga. 

Kanak got bent in half on the tackle, but he moved the chains for the second time today on third-and-long. 

Another good scramble by Mateer to extend the play, too. He’s done that twice today. Mateer has done a nice job of keeping his eyes downfield and buying time to get a receiver open. 

— Chapman 

11:26 a.m.

First reception of the year for Zion Kearney results in an Oklahoma first down. 

Oklahoma getting plenty of faces involved early.

— Chapman 

11:21 a.m.

That’s two possessions of “physical, punishing, relentless, suffocating” defense. The Sooners’ defensive coordinator seems to know what he’s doing.

David Stone rose up for a big TFL on third-and-1, and the Sooners have the football again at the OU 46 with 7:43 on the clock.

— Hoover

11:23 a.m.

David Stone and friends completely nuked that third down. 

The Owls go three yards the other direction, and then punter Dante Atton looked like he scuffed the punt off the end of his foot. 

Isaiah Sategna fielded the bouncing ball and was able to set the Sooners up on their own 36-yard line. 

Second chance for Mater and Co. to put points on the board coming up after this media timeout. 

— Chapman 

11:20 a.m.

Tremendous start for the Sooners: three-and-out on defense, then a sustained TD drive (with a big third-down conversion), a couple of powerful runs by Barnes and a 2-point conversion pass on a trick play.

Only 52 more minutes of that and the SEC would take notice.

— Hoover

11:16 a.m.

Kanak everywhere!

He hauled in a 23-yard reception on third-and-19 to move the chains, then showed off a jump pass for a two-point conversion! Okay, it wasn’t the prettiest jump pass, but OU up 8-0 early. Brent Venables keeping everybody locked in (and putting out some future tape to give the SEC opponents something else to study) early in Philadelphia.

— Chapman 

11:14 a.m.

Jovantae Barnes with an authoritative run to the 4-yard line, then a nice cutback for the 4-yard TD from OU’s senior running back. Looked like an RPO from John Mateer. Nice block by Kanak.

Kanak lines up at the QB and throws a 2-point conversion pass to holder/punter Jacob Ulrich. Wow.

OU leads it 8-0 with 12:24 left in the first quarter.

— Hoover

11:10 a.m.

Third-and-19? No problem for John Mateer and Jaren Kanak. 

The duo hooked up for a 23-yard completion to set the Sooners up at first-and-goal on the 9-yard line. 

Good protection from the offensive line for the most part here on this first drive (and on that third down). Only real negative so far was the reverse to Deion Burks. 

— Chapman 

11:06 a.m.

John Mateer starts 3-for-3 for 14 yards with a couple of first downs, but then a 10-yard loss on a reverse to Deion Burks nearly shuts down the first drive thanks to a missed block and a 9-yard loss. 

But then Mateer finds Jaren Kanak in open space for a 23-yard conversion on third-and-19.

— Hoover

11:05 a.m.

The Sooners get an easy three-and-out. 

Here’s how OU lines up to start on offense:

Howland - Ozaeta - Maikkula - Nwaiwu - Simmons 

Lewis - Kanak - Burks - Sategna 

Mateer - Barnes 

— Chapman 

11:03 a.m.

Welcome back, Kendel Dolby. He gets the start. 

OU’s full starting lineup on defense:

Jones - Jackson - D. Williams - Thomas 

Daniels - McKinzie - Lewis

Dolby - Bowen - Spears-Jennings - Guillory 

— Chapman 

11:00 a.m.

Temple won the toss. The Owls will receive. 

OU’s defense up first. 

— Chapman 

10:59 a.m.

As Oklahoma comes out onto the field, sideline reporter Gabe Ikard says “probably 75 percent” of the fans at Lincoln Financial Field are OU fans.

Temple wins the toss and will receive. OU is 0-3 on coin tosses this year.

— Hoover

10:50 a.m.

On the OU pregame show, going over the starting lineups, Toby Rowland just said "Gentry Williams will start at the other corner."

— Hoover

10:47 p.m.

The press box is situated about the visitor’s sideline, so it’s hard to see the entire OU half of the stadium.

But OU legitimately may have more fans behind the Sooners’ bench than Temple has on the Owls’ side of the field. Pretty cool showing from Oklahoma.

— Chapman 

10:30 a.m.

Per sideline voice Chris Plank and several OU beat media at the game, Kendel Dolby is warming up with the first team defense at cornerback.

Cornerback Gentry Williams is in uniform and warming up as well.

Cornerback Eli Bowen is out, although he’s no longer wearing a protective boot.

Defensive end Danny Okoye is in street clothes. 

Center Troy Everett is out.

Wide receiver Javonnie Gibson is dressed out for pregame, but still might not play.

— Hoover

10:20 a.m.

Oklahoma’s projected starting offensive line based on warmups:

LT: Logan Howland
LG: Heath Ozaeta
C: Jake Maikkula
RG: Febechi Nwaiwu
RT: Derek Simmons

— Chapman 

10:15 a.m.

It appears Troy Everett is also missing from warmups. 

#Sooners beat, roster check-in.

Notable: No Troy Everett, Michael Fasusi, Danny Okoye or Jeremiah Newcombe.

Javonte Gibson and Kendel Dolby are dressed out. Eli Bowen no longer has the boot on. @_RyanChapman @GeorgeStoia @Tomas_Verde pic.twitter.com/HF1j8pc9kK

— Jesse Crittenden (@JesseCrittenden) September 13, 2025

— Chapman 

10:12 a.m.

Oklahoma defensive end Danny Okoye is also in street clothes. He’s talking to Fasusi while the rest of the team warms up. 

— Chapman

10:11 a.m.

Michael Fasusi is in street clothes with a protective boot on his left ankle. 

He said after the Michigan game that he sprained his ankle on the final drive of the game. 

— Chapman 

10:06 a.m.

Like the previous two weeks, receiver Javonnie Gibson is fully dressed, but he’s off to the side during warmups. 

Running back Taylor Tatum is also dressed, but he is participating in warmups. 

— Chapman 

10:00 a.m.

Punter Jacob Ulrich is dressed, and he is participating in pregame warmups with the other specialists. He’s still got a wrap on his right hamstring. That injury held him out of last week’s contest. Grayson Miller filled in admirably against Michigan, averaging nearly 48 yards per kick. 

— Chapman 

9:42 a.m.

Oklahoma sideline reporter Chris Plank said a few minutes ago on the pregame show that cornerbacks Gentry Williams and Kendel Dolby are going through early pregame warmups. It seems unlikely, however, that either would play a major role (if any) in today’s game against Temple.

With Eli Bowen still out, one of the Sooners’ most important positions today will be manned by true freshman Courtland Guillory and sophomore Devon Jordan. 

After Jordan replaced Williams last week against Michigan, those two finished the game and looked strong.

— Hoover

9:30 a.m.

The traveling contengent of the Sooners on SI crew, Ryan Chapman and Carson Field, are set up and ready to roll at Lincoln Financial Field.

The gates haven't opened up to fans yet, but there were droves of OU fans all over downtown Philadelphia over the past two days. Intersted to see just how much Crimson and Cream makes its way into the stands.

📍#Sooners in the northeast. Let’s get weird! pic.twitter.com/E6S3AkxjjJ

— Ryan Chapman (@_RyanChapman) September 13, 2025

Boots on the ground at The Linc.

Roughly 90 minutes until kickoff between Oklahoma and Temple.

Stay tuned for articles, photos, videos and more for @SoonersOnSI. Let’s roll. pic.twitter.com/lUxWhWc92F

— Carson Field (@CarsonDField) September 13, 2025

— Chapman