Power ranking the SEC after week 8: 9 - Oklahoma
The Sooners bounced back pretty well against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road in what was a clear letdown-lookahead sandwich spot. After facing off with Texas in Red River and before hosting the Ole Miss Rebels, getting a win in Columbia was potentially tricky— but there were simply too many matchups that favored Oklahoma here.
The Sooner defense looked like themselves again in this game after getting beaten up front for stretches against Texas. It didn’t help anything that they turned the ball over three times against the Longhorns, putting the defense out there time and time again, but they didn’t have to deal with that in this game.
Mateer didn’t need to put the ball in harm’s way a lot in this game thanks to their ability to run the rock. That isn’t something that has manifested a lot throughout this year, and there’s certainly a decent part of this that has to do with the Gamecock defense, but it was still encouraging to see that aspect helping out the OU offense so much.
The Sooners still have a gauntlet ahead of them, not least of which is the game against the Rebels next week, but right now, they’re still in position to contend for a playoff spot.