Oklahoma holds off Mississippi State 23-15 as Kamario Taylor exits early and John Mateer throws two TDs

Oklahoma won the first meeting between these programs, beating Mississippi State 23-15 on Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. John Mateer threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and Isaiah Sategna III caught eight passes for 164 yards.

The biggest question going in was Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor, who had missed the previous week’s loss at LSU with a foot injury. He started, but he lasted only part of the first half. Oklahoma improved to 4-3 and 2-2 in the SEC, according to ESPN. Mississippi State fell to 4-3 and 2-3.

Kamario Taylor’s injury: what happened

Taylor completed 2 of 5 passes for 10 yards before leaving, per ESPN’s box score. In the first quarter, he kept the ball on a fourth-and-5 run and came up short, and he appeared to aggravate the injury on the play, 247Sports’ Mississippi State site reported. Taylor limped to the locker room at the end of the quarter, and backup Puckett ran the offense the rest of the way.

Mississippi State had not offered much detail on Taylor’s status during the week. Coach Jeff Lebby called him “day-to-day” on Monday, CBS Sports reported, and reports late in the week said Taylor was expected to play. Before the LSU game he had thrown 17 touchdown passes and four interceptions this season. No update on his condition after Saturday’s game was available in the reporting we reviewed.

How Oklahoma won

Points were hard to come by for most of the afternoon. Tate Sandell’s 42-yard field goal gave Oklahoma an early 3-0 lead, and the Sooners’ defense came up with a big stop in the second quarter: Puckett had the ball punched out near the goal line after a run inside the 6, and Oklahoma recovered, 247Sports reported.

Oklahoma then went 96 yards in 14 plays, converting a fourth-and-inches along the way, and Mateer found Sategna for a 36-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left in the half for a 10-0 lead.

Mateer hit Rocky Beers for a 32-yard score early in the third quarter. Mississippi State answered when Sam West threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Camden Capehart, and late in the game Puckett found Sanfrisco Magee for a 42-yard touchdown plus the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 23-15 with 2:10 left. Oklahoma held on from there.

Scoring summary

Key numbers

Mateer’s clean game stood out. He had thrown seven interceptions in Oklahoma’s first six games, including three in a 21-13 home loss to Kentucky the week before, according to CBS Sports. Peyton Bowen had Oklahoma’s interception, and linebacker Owen Heinecke led the Sooners with 10 tackles and a sack.

For Mississippi State, Fluff Bothwell ran 17 times for 111 yards, including a 37-yard burst. Puckett finished 17 of 24 for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Sandell made 3 of 6 field goal attempts for Oklahoma.

FAQ