Tory Blaylock ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and Oklahoma’s defense had six sacks and forced a pair of turnovers as the No. 14 Sooners beat South Carolina 26-7 on Saturday in Columbia, S. C.
Oklahoma had struggled to run the ball most of the season, but didn’t have much of an issue moving the ball on the ground against the Gamecocks, who dropped their fourth game in the last five games.
Xavier Robinson ran for 58 yards and a touchdown for the Sooners (6-1, 2-1 SEC), who secured bowl eligibility for the 27th consecutive season. Only Georgia has a longer active bowl streak.
A week after struggling, throwing three interceptions in a loss to Texas, Sooners quarterback John Mateer wasn’t flashy but was effective.
Mateer, who returned last week after suffering a hand injury Sept. 20 against Auburn, finished 18 of 26 for 150 yards and a touchdown.
He also pinned the Gamecocks inside the 1-yard line with a fourth-quarter punt, leading to a safety late.
Oklahoma got off to a quick start, taking the lead on Blaylock’s 18-yard touchdown run on the game’s first drive.
The Sooners jumped up 14-0 early in the second quarter before South Carolina bounced back to cut the lead in half with an 11-play touchdown drive capped by Nyck Harbor’s 2-yard touchdown reception from LaNorris Sellers on fourth down late in the second quarter.
But that was all the scoring for the Gamecocks (3-4, 1-4).
South Carolina turned the ball over twice in the second half, once on Taylor Wein’s interception on a fake punt late in the third and another on Jacobe Johnson’s interception in the closing minutes of the game.
Oklahoma went up 17-7 on Tate Sandell’s 55-yard field goal in the third, then after Wein’s interception, Mateer hit Isaiah Sategna for a 20-yard touchdown to put the Sooners up 24-7.
Sellers finished 17 of 25 for 124 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma, the nation’s leader in the category, had 13 tackles for loss.
Sategna led the Sooners with seven catches for 73 yards.
South Carolina played much of the game without star edge rusher Dylan Stewart, who was injured early. Stewart briefly returned before exiting for good.
