SOONER WIRE - John Mateer threw for 282 yards and a touchdown and had a 51-yard rushing score and Tory Blaylock rushed for 100 yards and a pair of TDs to lead No. 13 Oklahoma to a 42-3 victory over Temple on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, home to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“This is a very hungry, driven, humble, tough, high-standard group of young men that like to be pushed, liked to be challenged, they like to practice,” Venable said. “When they play together, it does, it kind of resembles recess. I say that respectfully. They have fun.”

The Sooners (3-0) had tons of fun early when they scored on their first four possessions and took a 25-0 lead in the first half.

OU made the rare trip to the East Coast and boasted a solid turnout of fans, and crimson and cream were the primary colors among an announced crowd of 24,927 fans. Even with the solid OU turnout, that number failed the eye test — though the Sooners looked every bit a playoff contender as advertised.

Jovantae Barnes scored a 3-yard rushing TD on the opening drive and OU converted the 2-point conversion for the 8-0 lead. The Owls (2-1) made a nice defensive stand on the next drive, with a sack and a tackle for a loss that pushed the Sooners into a fourth-andlong. No problem for OU. Tate Sandell promptly kicked a 52-yard field goal.

So, it went from there. Blaylock added TD runs of 6 and 18 yards in the second quarter for the Sooners and the expected rout was on. OU also beat Temple 51-3 in 2024.

Mateer, the former Washington State QB and one of the most coveted players out of the transfer portal, threw a 6-yard TD pass to Xavier Robinson in the second half and made it 42-3 with a 51-yard scoring run later in the third. Mateer leads the nation with at least one rushing and one passing touchdown in nine straight games.

The Sooners showed off their aggressive defense again in the 39-point victory, winning in their first road game of the year. Fourth-year head coach Brent Venables and his squad will be undefeated heading into SEC play.

In short, Oklahoma did what they needed to do in Week 3, not looking past an inferior opponent with a conference foe on the horizon. Here are three takeaways from OU’s win in Philadelphia.

1. The Sooners have a tight end

Over the last two seasons, Oklahoma has really struggled at the tight end position. The return of Austin Stogner in 2023 wasn’t what either party hoped for, and the Bauer Sharp experiment in 2024 did not work. Expectations for the tight ends in 2025 weren’t high heading into the season, with the room rebuilt again.

Converted linebacker Jaren Kanak won the job out of fall camp, and he’s played well in his first three games at his new position. Kanak has become a reliable target for John Mateer, and showed that in this game, finishing with four catches for 86 yards. He helped the Sooners convert a third-and-19 on their first drive of the game, which he capped with a touchdown pass on a trick play on a two-point conversion.

What Kanak has shown through three games is what the Sooners need from their tight ends. He’s been good with the ball in his hands after the catch, and he’s gotten open when he’s needed to. For the first time since Brayden Willis’ senior season in 2022, OU might have guy at the tight end position again.

2. Another day at the office for the defense

We’re a quarter of the way into the 2025 season, and the Sooners have given up just one touchdown (last week against Michigan). Sure, two of their opponents have been Illinois State and Temple, but OU has allowed just three points in each of those games, with both field goals for the opposition coming after interceptions thrown by the offense.

It was another excellent day at the office for the Oklahoma defense, as they allowed just 104 total yards against the Owls. Temple ran for just 26 yards on 27 rushes, despite a game plan that heavily emphasized the run. Temple also had just 78 passing yards and got only seven first downs in this one.

Simply put, Saturday was the latest example of how Venables has remade the Sooner defense in his image since arriving in Norman. This is what Oklahoma fans hoped for on that side of the ball when he got to town.

3. Feed Tory Blaylock

Oklahoma’s running back rotation has been a point of confusion through the season’s first three weeks. However, maybe it doesn’t need to be. Perhaps true freshman Tory Blaylock needs to start and get the bulk of the carries.

Jaydn Ott has barely seen the field for the Sooners, and Xavier Robinson has mostly been used in a reserve role through three games. Additionally, Taylor Tatum has yet to see the field at all this season, despite being the No. 1 running back in the 2024 recruiting class. It’s been primarily the duo of Blaylock and Jovantae Barnes to this point of the year.

From what we’ve seen this season, Blaylock seems to be the best runner of the bunch and offers the most burst with the ball in his hands. While players like Barnes and Robinson are bigger backs and offer more in the way of pass protection and short yardage, the Sooners need to make Blaylock the feature player in their run game, especially if they’re going to continue to make Ott, a big-time portal addition, RB4 in the rotation.

Next up for the Oklahoma Sooners is this Saturday at home against the number 22 Auburn. The Auburn Tigers picked up former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold through the transfer portal after last season. The Tigers have a matching season record as Oklahoma’s 3-0.

The game is set to start at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.