STARKVILLE, Miss. — Oklahoma's offense has been stuck in the mud all season.
Typically when a unit is struggling to get going, the plan becomes simple: Try and get the ball to your playmaker.
For the Sooners, that man is Isaiah Sategna.
With Oklahoma rolling into Starkville for the first time in school history, bringing a .500 record, inconsistency and Dead Sea Scroll's worth of injured names on the SEC availability report, Sategna obliged to the tune of eight catches, 118 yards and a touchdown in a 23-15 win.
"The team believes in him," Brent Venables said "He’s a dynamic playmaker. For a guy who’s not real big, he plays very strong, and he plays with great toughness. I think he energizes the team by finding ways to make explosive plays down the field."
Sategna's dynamic play was on display on the Sooners' first touchdown of the game.
Leading 3-0, John Mateer scrambled towards the OU sideline and found Sategna alone for a 13-yard pass catch. Sategna turned around and ran to space — which became his red carpet into the end zone for a 36-yard score.
The score capped off a 14-play, 96-yard drive for the Sooners.
"I mean, our offense was rolling today," Sategna said. "We had to go make it up for him. And I think it was like a 98-yard drive or 95-yard drive, but it was a long drive. I think that was our longest of the year.”
Ben Arbuckle knows that if his offense is going to make the most of the rest of their season, Sategna has to remain a focal point. In fact, OU's first play was a reverse to Sategna who opened with a 12-yard rush to move the chains.
"Wanted to get him in the game immediately," Arbuckle said. "He's a special player, and the more and more you can get him involved, the more and more you can get him into the game, the better and better he plays. Like a lot of really good players, the more he gets into it, the better he plays."
Later in the second half, Mateer rolled to his right before seeing Sategna break free in the middle of the field. Mateer launched it downfield to Sategna for a 54-yard gain. That drive was capped off by a Tate Sandell field foal to stretch the lead to 20-7.
In the fourth quarter, Mateer delivered perhaps his most beautiful deep ball as a member of the Crimson and Cream. This one found Sategna in stride for a 48-yard explosive play.
"Today was a good day for hitting guys on runs and making plays through traffic," Venables said.
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