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Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Win Over South Carolina

The No. 14-ranked Sooners bounced back from last week's defeat with an impressive road victory over South Carolina on Saturday.
Ryan Chapman|
Oklahoma running back Tory Blaylock carries the ball in Saturday's victory over South Carolina.
Oklahoma running back Tory Blaylock carries the ball in Saturday's victory over South Carolina. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

COLUMBIA, SC — Oklahoma is back on track. 

The No. 14-ranked Sooners recovered from their first setback of the season with a mature 26-7 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

John Mateer’s 20-yard connection with Isaiah Sategna effectively ended the game with two minutes left in the third quarter, ensuring the Sooners’ first memories at Williams-Brice Stadium would be positive. 

Brent Venables’ squad moved to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in SEC play with the win, while Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in conference action. 

Here are three quick takeaways from the victory.:

Ground and Pound

Ben Arbuckle’s offense finally got the rushing attack online in SEC play. 

On the opening drive of the game, Tory Blaylock rushed the ball four times for 45 yards and a touchdown. 

The Sooners finished their win over Auburn with 32 rushing yards, and OU only ran for 48 yards in last week’s loss to Texas. 

Oklahoma’s second touchdown drive was a 13-play march that spanned 92 yards. On that possession, OU carried the ball six times for 56 yards, including a nice 25-yard carry that Xavier Robinson bounced outside. Robinson added a touchdown of his own to cap off that drive to put the Sooners up 14-0.

Arbuckle did not ask Mateer to push the ball downfield, but the Sooners weren’t boxed in because they were able to run the football. 

The offensive line also kept Mateer upright for most of the afternoon. 

They only surrendered one sack, which came early in the fourth quarter, and OU allowed just four quarterback hurries. 

Dylan Stewart, South Carolina’s star defensive end, got hurt on the game’s opening possession, and OU’s offensive line was able to make the Gamecock defense pay. 

Oklahoma finished the game with 171 rushing yards, and the Sooners averaged 4.3 yards per carry.

Fine Wein

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Taylor Wein is getting better and better. 

He finished Saturday’s win with four tackles, including two tackles for loss, but his impact was felt far beyond the box score. 

Wein remained disciplined in several key moments. 

A flurry of plays by Wein in the middle of the third quarter set OU up with fantastic field position before Mateer’s touchdown to Sategna. 

South Carolina tried to dial up a trick play with the ball on its own 40-yard line. The Gamecocks hoped to hit quarterback LaNorris Sellers on a swing pass down the sideline, but Wein was assignment-sound and stuck with Sellers down the sideline, essentially blowing up the play. 

The Gamecocks tried to extend the same series with a fake punt on fourth-and-2 near midfield, but Wein dropped back and intercepted the pass. 

He also tripped up Sellers on the first possession of the game to deny a touchdown and turn the Gamecocks over on downs. 

The defensive end has lived up to the offseason hype and is getting better and better as the 2025 season wears on, which is a great sign for defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis. 

Gibson is Ramping Up

This week, Venables said it is “tremendously important” for the OU offense to get the ball to receiver Javonnie Gibson. 

With Keontez Lewis ruled out for the game, Gibson stepped into his role as one of Mateer’s trusted targets on third down. 

Gibson’s final line isn’t going to turn many heads; he caught five passes for 24 yards. 

But Gibson kept the chains moving. Three of Gibson’s five catches resulted in a first down. 

A fourth play in Gibson’s direction moved the chains as well. He fought through contact by South Carolina defensive back Judge Collier on the OU sideline to haul in a pass. The catch was wiped out because the Sooners accepted a penalty for pass interference called against Collier, but Gibson would have picked up the first down had the flag not been thrown. 

Each of his first down receptions was thrown directly to the sticks as well, showing he knew exactly where he was on the field in key moments on third down. 

With plenty of close games left to be played this year, Mateer has another huge target he trusts to make contested catches. 

The Sooners will be back in action next week when OU hosts No. 5 Ole Miss (11 a.m., ABC).

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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