Halftime Huddle: OU recovers from disastrous start

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

Just seven minutes into the contest, the Maine Black Bears led the Sooners 7-0. OU's offense only gained one first down before having to punt early in the game, and the Black Bears drove right down the field to take the lead.

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

But they recovered and took a 35-7 halftime lead. Here's a look at what's happened so far.

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

The results? For the Sooners, it was a little bit of everything.

The opening trip was an absolute disaster. The Sooners gained just one first down and 12 total 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 bad. Then, Jovantae Barnes made a first-and-10 run up the middle for 74 yards to the one-yard line and scored two plays later. This 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 was really the theme for the Sooners today. It was the Barnes show – he had 11 carries for 158 yards (14.4 yards per carry), becoming the first OU player to rush for over 100 yards this season. It's also the most rushing yards Barnes has had in a game in his career.

This is 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' highest rushing output was 222 against Temple, and they had broken the 130 mark just twice since then.

Barnes has helped overshadow some of the difficult moments in Oklahoma's offense. In addition to this disaster on the first trip, Sam Franklin also had a brutal fumble inside the 20-yard line in the second quarter after fumbling a pitch from it Jackson Arnold. But the Sooners did just enough to gain a comfortable lead against Maine.

It took a while for Arnold to find his footing in the air. But toward the end of the second quarter, he reminded people why he was such a highly touted recruit.

Arnold danced into the pocket before being flushed outside, eventually throwing the ball down the field. He found it JJ Hester in single coverage for a 90-yard touchdown.

Not only is it the longest play from scrimmage this season, but it's also the Sooners' longest passing play since 1995.

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

Hester (3 catches, 98 yards) and Jacob Jordan (3 catches, 36 yards) are leaders among receivers. The Sooners had 402 total yards at halftime, the most in a game this season.

Maine's first drive was terrible for OU's defense as the Black Bears completed eight plays and 64 yards to take a 7-0 lead. The Sooners appeared out of sorts and completely disorganized, even delaying the game on a fourth down, giving the Black Bears a first down.

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

What's notable is that the Sooners took part Eli Bowen And Jacobe Johnson as starting cornerbacks. Jayden Hardy also saw significant snaps at the Cheetah position in the first half.