NORMAN - Sooners on SI offers real-time observations from the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium throughout Saturday's matchup between Oklahoma and the No. 15 Kentucky. Just keep your browser open and refresh often.
FINAL: Kentucky 21, Oklahoma 13
John Mateer was picked off yet again, this time ending any hope for a Sooners comeback.
Ty Bryant had his second interception of the day on second-and-10 from near midfield to put the game on ice.
1:17 4Q
The Sooners' chances of pulling off the victory are on life support.
Jordan Castell picked off John Mateer, returning this one 41 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 21-13.
The Sooners have the ball at the 25 with 77 seconds and two timeouts remaining.
Castell intercepted Jacob Ulrich earlier in the game.
-Aber
2:43 4Q
The Sooners will get the ball back with a chance to win the game.
But they'll have to go a long way to do it.
Isaiah Sategna let the punt go by him and it kept running, finally being downed at the OU 4.
-Aber
5:22 4Q
Oklahoma's offense couldn't do anything with the long field given to them by Jake Kreul's sack.
Jacob Ulrich punted to put the Wildcats at their own 38 with a little more than five minutes remaining.
-Aber
6:04 4Q
This is the Jake Kreul game.
Kreul came up with his third sack of the game, this one on fourth-and-3 from the OU 5, to gibve the Sooners the ball back with just more than six minutes remaining.
-Aber
12:53 4Q
Kentucky took advantage of the turnover.
Kenny Minchey hit tight end Willie Rodriguez for a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats ahead 14-13 early in the fourth quarter.
-Aber
0:35 3Q
Huge play for the Wildcats.
John Mateer's arm got hit, leading to a massive underthrow.
Ty Bryant picked off the ball that helplessly floated toward the goal line and he returned it to midfield.
Big drive coming up for the OU defense.
- Chapman
6:32 3Q
Oklahoma settles for a field goal after another nice drive from the offense.
Mateer found Sategna for a pair of nice completions, a 25-yarder and a 20-yarder, before stalling and settling for a field goal.
Ryan Fodje did appear to favor his lower body following the last second down on that drive. He stayed in for third down, but will need to see if he can shake it off and stay in the game. Oklahoma's offensive line depth is already incredibly thin.
Sandell's 26-yard field goal extends the OU lead to 13-7.
- Chapman
13:01 3Q
For all of the good we saw in the first half, an ill-timed penalty can still blow everything up.
Jake Maikkula was flagged for holding as Mateer rushed for a first down. OU was able to rally back to fourth-and-1, but considering the field position, Venables made the sensible decision to punt.
Ulrich boomed it, and Kentucky will start on its own 12. At least it's a good starting point for the Oklahoma defense.
- Chapman
OU-Kentucky halftime stats | Stat Broadcast
0:30 2Q
Now that's a drive the offense can build on.
The Sooners took over at their own 10 and sprinted 90 yards downfield to take the lead before halftime.
OU was sitting on its own 35 at the two-minute timeout, but a 34-yard connection from Mateer to Manny Choice broke things open.
A few plays later, Mateer was able to hit Rocky Beers for a touchdown to put Oklahoma up 10-7.
Barring anything crazy, the Sooners are going to head to halftime with 191 total yards - 167 of which have come through the air. Choice leads the way with 70 receiving yards.
- Chapman
2:00 2Q
Oklahoma has all three of its timeouts to try and run a two-minute drill here.
It's second-and-8 from the Sooners' 35. Will be go time on the other side of the two-minute timeout, but every bit of the field is on the table with the stoppages available to Brent Venables.
- Chapman
4:24 2Q
Kenny Minchey killed that drive with an intentional grounding penalty. It looked like he panicked under duress and just hurled the ball toward the corner of the end zone.
But the Sooners were flagged for holding in the midst of the punt, which was not needed as it bounced into the end zone.
OU will take over on its own 10 after the timeout.
- Chapman
8:22 2Q
Well, that was a weird drive.
Oklahoma went 47 yards on 12 plays, but things stalled out at fourth-and-2 from the 10.
Special teams coach Doug Deakin dialed up a fake field goal, but instead of standing up and throwing, punter Jacob Ulrich ran toward the offensive line and attempted a jump pass.
It was intercepted in the end zone, so not only did the Sooners come up with no points, but the Wildcats actually got better field position out of the whole thing.
All for a special teams wrinkle, but if the move there was to go, OU was probably better served to leave the offense on the field. Odd deal.
Kentucky will take over up 7-3 at its own 20.
- Chapman
14:54 2Q
Much better second drive from the defense.
They gave up a 15-yard run to start, but bowed up. Freshman Jake Kruel closed out the first quarter with a sack to set up third-and-13, where David Stone flushed Minchey out of the pocket with a pressure up the middle.
Isaiah Sategna's 16-yard punt return sets the offense up with great field position.
- Chapman
First Quarter Stats
OU-Kentucky first quarter stats | Stat broadcast
1:33 1Q
After converting on the first three third downs of the drive, Jer'Michael Carter drops the ball on the fourth third down to stall the drive.
Oklahoma was put in a tough spot due to the decision to run a slow-developing flea flicker on first down where both receivers downfield were double covered.
John Mateer did complete passes to five different receivers on that drive, though, which in itself is impressive for this offense.
In the end, Tate Sandell made a 44-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
- Chapman
8:36 1Q
Oklahoma's starters on offense:
Fodje - Best - Maikkula - Joseph - Harris
Sategna - Beers - Choice - Thomas
Mateer - Avant
- Chapman
8:36 1Q
Kentucky converted on fourth-and-1 from the Oklahoma 23 and three plays later, Kenny Minchey hit tight end Willie Rodriguez for a 2-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats up after the game's first drive.
Former Sooners Jovantae Barnes and Nic Anderson played roles for the Wildcats' offense on the drive. Barnes had three carries for 13 yards and Anderson had a 12-yard catch.
-Aber
14:55 1Q
Oklahoma's starters on defense:
Adebawore - Stone - Jackson - Wein
Powers - Kip Lewis - Heinecke
Haynes - Robinson - P. Bowen - Guillory
- Chapman
Two minutes until kickoff
Nic Anderson called the toss, but the coin flipped for Oklahoma.
Brent Venables' defense coming up first against Will Stein's offense.
Let's football!
- Chapman
40 minutes until kickoff
With several offensive linemen out for the game, the Sooners look like they'll start Ryan Fodje (LT), Noah Best (LG), Jake Maikkula (C), Peyton Joseph (RG) and E'Marion Harris (RT) up front.
-Ryan Aber
90 minutes until kickoff
The final availability report brought some bad, but not surprising, news for the Sooners.
Offensive linemen Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Heath Ozaeta were all ruled out.
It's likely that Georgia Tech transfer Peyton Joseph starts in Ozaeta's spot at guard.
- Chapman
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahoma as Live Updates From Oklahoma's SEC Home Opener Against No. 15 Kentucky .
