Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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NORMAN — The Tulsa World answers questions from fans and readers on X (formerly Twitter) following Oklahoma’s 24-17 win over Auburn on Saturday.
@MrEd315: What impressed you most in the win over Auburn?
I think it’s gotta be the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, capped by John Mateer’s 31-yard pass to Isaiah Sategna and Mateer’s 9-yard touchdown run. That throw to Sategna was a dime, maybe Mateer’s best of the whole season so far.
And, at the end of the day, I just don’t think this team last year, with a shaky Jackson Arnold, offensive line and receiving corps, goes down and gets in the end zone. The calm and confidence OU played with on that drive was night and day from one year ago and that’s a credit to Mateer and Ben Arbuckle.
@Colts_brigade: Even though we still have a little bit of time before the Red River Rivalry game, how are you feeling about the OU-Texas matchup? With both teams having pretty good showings Saturday it seems like it’s going to be a pretty tight game.
I love this question. It’s never too early to look ahead, right? That Kent State game next week should (I repeat, should) be a gimme. We’ve already learned some things about this team from the Michigan and Auburn games, but the Red River Rivalry will be really telling for the back half of the season.
I do feel like Texas is less daunting of an opponent at this point because of how underwhelming Arch Manning has been. That said, weird things sometimes happen inside the Cotton Bowl. This projects to be a battle of two of the best defenses in the country. We’ll see who flinches first. But I do feel better about the Sooners’ chances now than I did in the preseason.
@SeanAntle: 1. Guillory is good, but he is a liability against better WRs. 2. Gotta find ways to get mismatches for Kanak. Dude is a difference maker. Mateer’s escapability is the best in the country, but he needs to work on touch passes after he escapes.
I’d pump the brakes on the Guillory hate. The great Berry Tramel and I were talking about this on the phone earlier today. It’s almost a badge of honor that OU kept Guillory out there. Gentry Williams, Devon Jordan and Jacobe Johnson all rotated but Guillory seldom subbed off. He played the second most snaps of any OU defender, behind only Peyton Bowen.
That Brent Venables continued to put Guillory one-on-one with Cam Coleman with no safety help, I think, says something. The coaching staff trusts Guillory tremendously, and they perhaps wanted to rough him up a little bit, so he’d grow from adversity. They also were sort of daring Jackson Arnold to throw deep and he missed on a couple shots to Coleman.
I doubt OU will see many receivers as good or better than Coleman the rest of the way, and I feel pretty certain that Guillory will refine his technique and learn from this.
On Kanak, I agree, and you saw Mateer and Arbuckle realize Auburn couldn’t guard Kanak in the second half. They got Kanak the ball more and that was good.
As for Mateer, there’s always room for improvement. He already makes many incredible off platform throws and that should only continue as he settles even more into the season.
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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