Sooners Bounce Back Against ULM

Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work and No. 14 Oklahoma beat Louisiana-Monroe 59-17 on Saturday night in a warmup for its showdown with Ohio State.

Joe Mixon rushed for 117 yards, and Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns. The Sooners (1-1) outgained the Warhawks (1-1) 640 yards to 350.

Oklahoma lost its opener to Houston and fell from No. 3 to No. 14 in the AP poll , but its home matchup with fourth-ranked Ohio State next week offers a chance to return to its place among the nation's top teams.

Mayfield took the blame for the loss to Houston and bounced back well.

"He responded like we all expected and made some small corrections that he needed to make," offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said.

Garrett Smith passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns and R.J. Turner caught seven passes for 135 yards for ULM.

Mayfield completed 10 of 11 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Sooners take a 21-0 lead. Mark Andrews opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown grab. Andrews has four receptions this season, including three for touchdowns.

Dimitri Flowers added an 8-yard touchdown catch, then Perine's 1-yard blast up the middle made it 21-0.

Mayfield was replaced by Austin Kendall in the second half. Kendall passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

"As much as anything, (it was about) keeping Baker healthy in the situation we're in, and Austin's a true freshman who needs to play," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.