Mateer is who he is — Sooners must adapt
After going 10-3 and hosting a home playoff game last season, hopes were high for 2026. The Sooners achieved that playoff birth despite an anemic offense that most came to believe to be caused by the injury to John Mateer’s thumb during the Auburn
game.
This year was supposed to be different. We heard stories of a fully healthy Mateer bulking up over the summer. Word out of the Manning Passing Academy was that his arm talent, mechanics and physical transformation had led to “high velocity, tight
spirals and strong accuracy on deep and intermediate routes”.
Expectations only soared higher. But then hard reality hit the Sooners last Saturday in Ann Arbor. It may be that Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer just aren’t as advertised. After the shellacking Oklahoma put on one of the worst teams in college football, they laid an egg in their first real test of the season.
Mateer went 17 for 33 with 189 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception that turned into 7 points for Michigan, the final difference in the game.
Not exactly Heisman numbers. He still has problems reading the defense and locking onto one receiver. He also makes too many throws into tight windows that either get intercepted or result in an incompletion. Not that the offensive performance was all his
fault.