Who's Up, Who's Down in the OU Stock Report After Oklahoma's Thrilling Win Over LSU

NORMAN — An angry sky rose over Oklahoma’s regular-season finale Saturday morning, gray, wet, windy and chilly.

But the sun chased it all away just past noon, and blue skies returned to OU’s campus — and the Sooners eventually rode that vibe to the most important victory of Brent Venables’ head coaching career so far.

Instead of a raucous field storm like last year’s win over Alabama, Sooner Nation sweated it out and then finally roared its approval for their team’s likely spot in the College Football Playoff as No. 8-ranked OU escaped LSU 17-13 at Memorial Stadium.

The Sooners (10-2 overall, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) have now won 11 consecutive home finales and 23 of the last 24. All OU had to do was take care of business as an 11 1/2-point favorite at home, and a spot in this year’s CFP — likely a home game on Dec. 19 or 20 — would be theirs.

If, that is, the CFP selection committee isn't too put off by the Sooners' offensive struggles. Those pairings will be announced on Dec. 7.

The Tigers — unranked and unraveled after the midseason firing of their head coach — were mostly outplayed by the home team, no match for OU’s home success and perhaps shaken by a ferocious home crowd, this time 84,734 strong.

Points were at a premium as two impotent offenses went nowhere against two alpha defenses.

OU quarterback John Mateer threw three interceptions, but rallied his team with a pair of late touchdown throws.

Mateer's 45-yard touchdown pass to Deion Burks late in the third quarter came on a middle screen pass on which the LSU defense parted and Burks scored untouched. That made it 10-10 to start the fourth quarter.

Then in the fourth quarter, with 4:16 on the clock and the Sooners down 13-10, Mateer engineered his best drive of the season, a three-play, 84-yard march that was capped off by his best throw of the season, a 58-yard rainbow to wide-open Isaiah Sategna to give Oklahoma a 17-13 lead.

LSU then used a 47-yard kickoff return to launch their final offensive, but that threat died at the Oklahoma 28-yard line as Michael Van Buren's final pass was pressured by Gracen Halton and batted down by a blitzing Peyton Bowen with just 1:16 on the clock.

LSU (7-5, 3-5) had beaten Oklahoma three games in a row, dating back to the 2003 National Championship Game, the 2019 College Football Playoff and last year’s season finale in Baton Rouge.

This time, instead of Bob Stoops versus Nick Saban or Lincoln Riley versus Ed Orgeron or Brent Venables versus Brian Kelly, it was Venables wrapping up his fourth season as head man in Norman matching wits with interim coach Frank Wilson.

Venables’ squad was up to the task with yet another ugly, gritty victory.

Now, with 10 wins against a demanding schedule, the Sooners almost assuredly will hear their name called in two weeks on Selection Sunday. That’s on a different plane of existence from just turning up at another forgettable bowl game, where Venables teams are 0-3 during his time as a head coach.

After finishing 6-7 last season for the second time in three years, winning 10 games in 2025 and landing a playoff berth is a monumental step forward for Venables’ team. That’s beyond progress and could be proof that he has established that culture change he’s been chasing.

In the immediate term, there won’t be another team in the CFP field eager to play against this Oklahoma defense.

LSU, with just 198 yards total offense and nine first downs, is the latest team that can attest to that.

Here’s the OU stock report for Saturday’s win over LSU:

UP: C Febechi Nwaiwu

When Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula came up ill this week, Nwaiwu, a senior, had to slide in from right guard.

He wasn’t overwhelming as a blocker against a stout LSU front, but he didn’t have any bad snaps and might have made himself a little NFL money by proving his versatility and willingness to help out from another position.

UP: RG Ryan Fodje

With Maikkula out and Nwaiwu at center, Fodje, a true freshman, was back at his normal position of right guard.

Fodje had started the previous four games at right tackle for injured transfer Derek Simmons.

Without knowing specific assignments and position grades (keep an eye out for that late Saturday or early Sunday), it did look like Oklahoma’s offensive front had trouble blocking the Tigers interior defenders, and much of that trouble was coming from Nwaiwu and Fodje’s area — which could be expected with new starters at two positions.

Simmons was back at right tackle and also played well.

DOWN: QB John Mateer

In probably his worst game as a Sooner, at least until the end, it appeared that Mateer struggled not only to hit open receivers again, but just to find them.

He missed a couple of reads in the second quarter that might have resulted in a big play, but more often than not he was either checking down too soon (his 14 first-half completions netted just 99 yards) or just overthrowing his target (he went 14-of-22 before halftime).

Mateer wasn’t used much as a runner either, with just four carries (20 yards) in the first half and eight carries for 27 yards in all. Isaiah Sategna caught six passes before halftime, but only averaged 4.5 yards per catch. Deion Burks caught three and averaged 5.3.

On the Sooners’ opening drive, Mateer’s quick throw on a slant to the left was batted in the air and intercepted, but Mateer chased down Harold Perkins at the end of a 44-yard return.

Mateer pushing Perkins out of bounds at the 4 was huge, as Peyton Bowen intercepted LSU’s Michael Van Buren in the end zone on the next play.

But boos rained down on the OU offense in the third quarter as Mateer threw two more interceptions, including one at the LSU 5-yard line and one that was returned 42 yards and resulted in LSU’s first touchdown. Fans were calling for backup Michael Hawkins, but Mateer stayed in the lineup and showed real resolve.

Mateer finished 23-of-38 for 318 yards with two touchdowns and three INTs.

UP: WR Javonnie Gibson

Gibson’s 27-yard catch on a quick post in the first quarter was OU’s longest play of the first half, and Gibson added a 30-yard reception in the third quarter. He finished with three catches for 66 yards, but couldn’t bring in a fourth-quarter throw from Mateer that nearly hit the official over the middle.

UP: RB Tory Blaylock

With a first-down sprint of 21 yards in the second quarter, Blaylock turned in OU’s longest run by a running back since Xavier Robinson broke free on a 43-yard gallop to clinch the win at Tennessee on Nov. 1.

Blaylock, who’s nursing a sore shoulder, finished the game with 42 yards on 11 carries.

UP: DB Peyton Bowen

Bowen’s interception in the end zone to save the Sooners points — one play after Mateer’s INT at midfield was returned to the 4-yard line — could go down as one of the most important plays of the season for Oklahoma. He also finished the nighty with four tackles.

Bowen also came up with the game's biggest defensive play, batting down Michael Van Buren's fourth-down pass to seal the win for OU.

DOWN: TFLs

Oklahoma’s unyielding defense had a season-low one tackle for loss (by Owen Heinecke) and zero quarterback sacks in the first half.

LSU utilized a lot of short, quick throws and heavy protection packages to keep the Sooners from getting their usual penetration.

OU defenders also missed at least five opportunities for TFLs in the first half alone. For the game, Oklahoma logged a season-low five TFLs with no sacks.

UP: Tate Sandell

Sandell’s 38-yard field goal in the first quarter was the Sooners’ only points, and was his 23rd consecutive successful field goal, extending his school record.

Sandell was named a Groza Award finalist earlier this week.

UP: Deion Burks

It’s good to be fast.

Burks snared a quick inside screen from Mateer and popped through the LSU defense untouched for a 45-yard touchdown that made it 10-10 with 1:47 left in the third quarter.

Burks finished with four receptions for 61 yards.