STARKVILLE, MS — Oklahoma’s offense had a banner day.
Better than the scoreboard showed in OU’s 23-15 win against Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville.
The Sooners’ 467 yards were its most-ever against a conference opponent since joining the SEC.
Let’s get to the grades.
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Peyton Bowen: A+
If you want to see Brent Venables light up, just ask him about Peyton Bowen.
The senior safety had another huge game, snagging a timely pick in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. .
“He’s made a ton of game-changing plays,” Venables said.
Bowen and the Sooners defense limited the Bulldogs to a 1-of-11 conversion rate on third down.
OU’s four sacks and six tackles for a loss were its most in both categories in conference play.
Mississippi State star quarterback Kamario Taylor tried to give it a go, but he clearly wasn’t right. Backup Jimmy Puckett fared OK in a difficult spot.
Tate Sandell: D
Tate Sandell is no longer a sure thing. Far from it.
Last year’s Lou Groza Award winner went 3 for 6 Saturday, with makes of 30, 38 and 42 yards and misses from 41, 45 and 45 yards. (On the 41-yard miss, Sandell had been good from 36 yards, but he had to rekick — unsuccessfully — after the Sooners were penalized for illegal formation).
Sandell went 23 for 24 on field goals last regular season before missing two kicks against Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Sandell has struggled since, but he’s in no danger of losing his job.
Big plays: A
OU’s longest pass of the season and longest run of the season came in the same quarter Saturday in Starkville.
Tory Blaylock got the third quarter started with a 47-yard run. Later in the quarter, John Mateer connected with Isaiah Sategna III on a 54-yard pass.
Mateer had five passes of 20-plus yards, tying his season high.
Rocky Beers: C-
OU tight end Rocky Beers caught a 32-yard touchdown to give the Sooners a 17-0 lead early in the third quarter. Then Beers gave it right back.
On OU’s next drive, Beers fumbled while hurdling a Mississippi State defender. If there was one thing OU couldn’t afford to do, it was that.
The Bulldogs were given new life, and they made good on it — scoring on a double pass to draw within 10.
Beers had an even worse blunder later in the third quarter, dropping an easy touchdown catch that would’ve given the Sooners a 24-7 lead.
Killer penalties: C-
OU had three of them in the first half.
At the end of the first quarter, a Peyton Joseph chop block erased a would-be first down. The Sooners should’ve been in automatic scoring territory, but they came away with nothing after Tate Sandell missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
In the second quarter, OU defensive end Taylor Wein jumped offsides on a fourth-and-2 that Mississippi State — deep in its own territory — surely wasn’t going for. The Bulldogs were just trying to get the Sooners to jump.
Wein made another senseless play later in the second quarter, getting whistled for a personal foul at the end of a punt.
Mississippi State returned the favor, giving OU a critical first down on the Sooners’ scoring drive at the end of the first half.
A fourth-quarter illegal formation penalty wiped away three OU points.
The teams kept trading ill-timed penalties.
After Sandell’s miss, Mississippi State put together a nice drive and got all the way to the 1-yard line on a 27-yard pass to Zion Ragins. The play, though, was wiped away due to holding. Mississippi State got backed up, and Peyton Bowen promptly picked off Jimmy Puckett. Ball game.
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Mississippi State Sooners: A+
Mississippi State’s pregame hype video was voiced by none other than former Longhorn turned Sooner turned Mississippi State Bulldog Brenen Thompson, who’s now playing for the Chargers.
And on the first play from scrimmage, Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor tried to connect with former Sooner Zion Ragins on a deep shot. You think Jeff Lebby dialed that one up for a reason?
Former Sooner Kendel Dolby recovered Rocky Beers’ fumble in the third quarter.
The chef’s kiss came at the end of the first quarter, when the Mississippi State softball team was honored on the field. The team, coached by former Sooner Samantha Ricketts, that stunned OU in the super regionals last spring.
You have to respect it.
Starkville experience: A-
Starkville gets a bad rap. Its name does it no favors. But here’s my theory: Most who knock Starkville and Mississippi State have never been there.
Sure, it’s an outpost — especially for those who prefer to fly (I very much recommend driving from Oklahoma). And yes, it’s very small. About half the size (25,000 people) of Stillwater.
But I found Starkville to be a perfectly fine place. It was my second time here, but I didn’t remember much from nine years ago (covering Kentucky-Mississippi State) outside of the football stadium.
Granted, most of what I saw in Starkville was in the dark, and I don’t pretend that you can get a feel for a town being there for less than 48 hours. Our crew, which included me, OU beat writer Colton Sulley and old friends Berry Tramel and Mason Young of the Tulsa World, pulled into Starkville a little after 7 p.m. Friday.
We had dinner at Lost Pizza Co., a southeast-based chain with a couple of locations in Texas. Thumbs up all around. Then it was off to Bop’s Frozen Custard for a sweet treat. It’s an old-school stand with a walk-up window and two drive-thru lanes. It reminded me of Ted Drewes in St. Louis.
I found Mississippi State’s campus and game-day atmosphere to be on par with much of what you see in the SEC. Tons of tailgating tents. Plenty of character.
And the cowbell clanging is a one-of-one experience.
The size of the crowd was the only disappointment.
Davis Wade Stadium is the second-smallest stadium in the SEC (61,337) ahead of only Vanderbilt, and it wasn’t close to full. Fans were late arriving and early to leave.
The cowbell is the great equalizer, though. This has to be the loudest stadium in college football per capita.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Peyton Bowen keeps making 'game-changing plays' as OU football beats MSU | Report card