NORMAN — There was a moment of panic at the start of Saturday’s game.

Just seven minutes into the game, the Maine Black Bears led the Sooners 7-0. OU’s offense mustered just one first down before having to punt to start the game, and the Black Bears drove right down the field to take a lead.

It looked like disaster was about to strike as the Sooners were a 34.5-point favorite. The Sooners (4-4) simply need a win, regardless of the opponent.

But they recovered to take a 35-7 lead into halftime. Here’s a look at what’s happened so far.

Considering how bad the offense was, today was always supposed to be a perfect opportunity for the Sooners to build some confidence heading into the final three games of the season.

The results? It was a little bit of everything for the Sooners.

It was an absolute disaster during the opening stage. The Sooners picked up just one first down and 12 yards before being forced to putt. Maine then scored on an eight-play, 69-yard drive to briefly take a 7-0 lead.

Things just seemed terrible. Than, Jovantae Barnes took a first and 10 run up the middle for 74 yards to the one-yard line and scored two plays later. That run gave Barnes his most rushing yards in a game since the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl. Just before halftime, Barnes added an eight-yard touchdown.

That’s really been the theme for the Sooners so far. It was the Barnes show: He has 11 carries for 158 yards (14.4 yards per carry), making him the first OU player to rush for more than 100 yards this season. It’s also the most rushing yards Barnes has had in a game in his career.

It’s a big reason why the Sooners have 236 rushing yards, the most in a game this season. They are on pace for 452 rushing yards.

Before today, the Sooners’ biggest rushing output was 222 against Temple, and since then they had broken 130 only twice.

Barnes has helped overshadow some of the rough patches for Oklahoma’s offense. Besides that disaster on the first ride, Sam Franklin also had a brutal fumble inside the 20-yard line in the second quarter after throwing away a throw Jackson Arnold. But the Sooners did just enough to give themselves a comfortable margin against Maine.

It took a while for Arnold to find his feet on the air. But late in the second quarter, he reminded people why he was such a highly touted recruit.

Arnold danced in the pocket before being flushed out and eventually throwing the ball across the field. He found JJ Hester in single coverage for a 90-yard touchdown.

In addition to being the longest play from scrimmage this season, it is also the Sooners’ longest passing play since 1995.

In a game like this, all the Sooners had to do was show some semblance of an explosive passing game. Even last week, when the offense looked better, the Sooners didn’t have a 20-yard passing game. Today, Arnold is averaging 18.4 yards per completion.

Hester (3 catches, 98 yards) and Jacob Jordaan (3 catches, 36 yards) lead the way at receiver. The Sooners have 402 yards at halftime, the most in a game this season.

Maine’s first drive was terrible for OU’s defense as the Black Bears drove eight plays and 64 yards to take a 7–0 lead. The Sooners looked out of sorts and were completely disorganized, even causing a delay of game on a fourth down that gave the Black Bears a first down.

Since then, OU’s defense has been fine. The defensive line has overwhelmed Maine’s offensive line and the Black Bears have gained just 47 yards and three first downs since that opening drive. Maine quarterback Carter Peevy initially found

The Sooners in particular went along with it Eli Bowen And Jacob Johnson as the starting cornerbacks. Jayden Hardy has also seen significant snaps at the cheetah position in the first half.