Pressure mounts on Mateer as ‘Boo birds’ circle Owen Field
You knew when the OU twirler dropped her baton and then an errant firework scorched the turf during the pregame run on that things weren’t going to go well for the Sooners the rest of the evening.
Omens aside, the events during Oklahoma’s narrow 14-6 game which it didn’t win as much as it survived, and the post-game remarks about it, made for a disappointing and perhaps foreboding turn in the Sooners’ 2026 season.
Oklahoma’s fans turned on their quarterback, launching the first boos of the still fledgling season when QB John Mateer inexplicably completed his first pass to the wrong team — an interception to begin his first action since throwing a game-losing INT in Ann Arbor a week before.
Later in the second quarter the fans turned on offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, especially when he chose to run the ball in the waning minutes of the half to set up a field goal (that would miss), rather than have Mateer pass the ball for a hoped for touchdown.
This overshadowed a stellar performance by Oklahoma’s defense, making six sacks and 10 tackles for a loss. Their fourth down stop near the end of the game sealed a win.
The night-versus-day imbalance between Oklahoma’s offense and defense is a mirror image of a Lincoln Riley team — but in Riley’s case, the Sooners’ offense was so potent it didn’t matter as much.
“Captain Obvious here. Got a lot of work to do,” Coach Brent Venables said after the game.
If you wonder whether Venables is as disturbed by the Sooners’ stumbling offense as the rest of us, you need not. It was evident in his post-game press conference, which felt more like the losing coach’s remarks than it did the winner’s.
Bluntly, Venables said there was nothing the Sooners offense did that could be relied upon.
“You watched the game. Did you see anything?” Venables said, in response a reporter’s question.
“We are too erratic. Not consistent enough with what we’re doing. Not enough rhythm,” he said.
“When we are getting in our own way, whether it’s discipline or lack of focus, that’s very discouraging.”
Arbuckle is getting the brunt of fan criticism, holding him responsible for the anemic point production. Venables was asked in his post-game press conference about his confidence in his second-year play caller.
“I’m not going to talk about confidence. He’s our offensive coordinator. We’ve got a lot of work to do to improve, to get better. We need to make improvement if we’re going to have a chance to win the games against the teams we are going to play,” Venables said.
If there is anything for sure right now, it is that Venables will not lie. He didn’t give coach speak or dance around the question. He just said he wasn’t going to answer it. That’s not a ringing endorsement of Arbuckle.
Of course a play caller’s decisions look golden when they work. They just aren’t working for the Sooners. Much of that seems to be the offensive line’s inability (a malady in its second year) to push an opposing defense enough to allow Oklahoma ball carriers to have success.
When Oklahoma’s backs did get five or six-yard carries, it was due to their own muscle, oftentimes having to carry two or three Lobo tacklers with them. It wasn’t because of any gaping holes created by offensive guards or tackles.
Arbuckle said he was aware of fans’ unhappiness with the offense.
“We all understand the standard. We all understand the expectation. I will leave it at that.” Arbuckle said, in reference to boos coming from the stands.
“At the end of the day, the defense plays it’s butt off week in and week out. We’ve got to get up to the standard of it,” Arbuckle said.
Perhaps a more disturbing revelation Saturday night was the effect this year’s adversity is having on Mateer.
That was evident in his remarks after the game, which every Sooners fan should watch.
A despondent Mateer is struggling not only in avoiding throwing interceptions (one that cost Oklahoma the game at Michigan, and two picks that limited the O’s production against New Mexico), but also struggling with the heavy emotional burden of being QB in front of an irritable fan base that loudly expressed their displeasure.
The last Oklahoma quarterback jeered by Sooners fans was Jackson Arnold. And we know how that turned out.
Mateer said he was being challenged by God through the game of football.
He said after the Michigan loss he avoided his phone (social media), but admitted his head wasn’t in a good place.
I appreciate Mateer’s faith. And his turning to it when the adversity of the game becomes overwhelming.
But his remarks that show how much his field performance has gotten into his head makes me wonder if divine intervention may be the only solution to Mateer avoiding interceptions.
Mateer said he “gave it to the Lord” after the Michigan game and believed he would “play clean” against New Mexico.
But on the first pass threw back against his body — what Arbuckle called a “cardinal sin” — and another interception.
“So, I’m like, Oh my God. I’m not freaking out but this is not like how I thought it was going. None of our plans this actually happens. But I knew I would be tested again. And at that moment what would I do? Would I turn away from him, from the Lord? Football and the Lord. I need to be better. I do believe I’m being tested by the Lord through the game of football. I knew I was getting tested again.”
“I’m not going to tap out. Not going to give up and my guys are not going to give up on me. My teammates have done a great job and I appreciate them more than they know saying they have my back. I’m tired of them saying they have my back, because they keep saying it because I keep making mistakes. One day it will stop,” he said.
“I believe it will change. I believe I’m being tested. And I believe I’ll persevere,” Mateer said.
Mateer said the leadership on the team is strong. But they know their play is not meeting anyone’s expectations.
“We’re in the huddle going into victory (formation), it’s like ‘we got it, but this is not what it’s suppose to look like’. We know. You don’t need to boo us. Sure do it. You can do whatever you want. But we know. We’re people too.”
Sooners drop from AP Top 25 after dismal performance against New Mexico
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