It was a dominating performance by the Oklahoma Sooners to keep their bowl game hopes alive, as OU crushed Maine, 59-14, Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

The non-conference win over an FCS opponent ended the Sooners’ three-game losing streak and moved OU to one win of becoming bowl eligible at 5-4, 1-4 SEC. Maine dropped to 4-5 overall and are 2-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play.

Jovantae Barnes had a career game to lead the Sooners. He rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns.

“It feels good, but I can’t celebrate so much,” Barnes said. “I think it’s a good moment to build off of this as an offense, as a team, and go on to next week’s practice and just work. So, it was a good start to something.”

OU head coach Brent Venables said, regardless of the opponent, his team was able to accomplish many things in this game.

“At the end of the day, we got what we wanted accomplished,” Venables said. “We got a lot of young guys some experience. Saw some improvement with guys up front just playing through the whistle, competing, playing with confidence.”

Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold completed 15-of-21 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns, he also ran for another touchdown. J.J. Hester added four catches for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Sooners.

As a team, the Sooners gained a season-high 665 yards, including 381 on the ground.

“We obviously had an outstanding day from a statistical standpoint,” Venables said. “Real proud of the offensive linemen and the depth of our running backs.”

The Black Bears’ Carter Peevy completed 13 of 24 attempts for 123 yards and ran for 30 yards. Maine totaled 251 yards of offense.

While the Sooners got off to a slow start, the Black Bears jumped out to an early lead, scoring on their first possession when Peevy connected with Cooper Heisey for a 3-yard touchdown pass.

After that, OU ran up 52 straight points before Maine would score again, late in the fourth quarter.

The biggest play of the Sooners run was a 90-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to Hester that put the Sooners up 28-7 in the second quarter.

Maine head coach Jordan Stevens said despite the loss, the important this was the experience his team gained by playing at Oklahoma.

“I mean, Oklahoma carries some weight to it,” Stevens said. “That was the message before the game, it was being present. This is a one-time opportunity. We need to make sure you’re in the moment. Make sure your head and your feet are both here and I’m just happy for the players that they got that experience.”

OU must win one of its final three games to become bowl eligible. However, the Sooners’ road to that achievement won’t be easy. OU will play at No. 25 Missouri on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Then the Sooners will be at home against Alabama on Nov. 23 and at LSU on Nov. 30.