John Mateer didn’t need the noise Saturday night to know he had work to do. He heard it anyway.
The Oklahoma quarterback took the boos from the crowd at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and answered with a blunt assessment of his own performance after the Sooners’ 14-6 win over New Mexico.
“You don’t need to boo us,” Mateer said postgame. “Sure, do it.
You do whatever you want. But we know.
We’re people, too.”
Mateer was out of rhythm early and handed New Mexico two chances to make things uncomfortable. On Oklahoma’s third play, he tried to throw a pass back behind his body and it was picked off. The second interception appeared to come on a miscommunication with wide receiver Parker Livingstone, though offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said he would need to review the play.
Mateer didn’t dodge responsibility.
“First of all, throwing it back over the middle, not a good idea,” Mateer said. “I thought I could get it in there, obviously didn't.
And the second one, a little miscommunication, but I mean, there's so many places to throw the ball... And it's like, what?
But it's on me. I mean, just can't do it.
“And there's another option on the play to throw somewhere else. So if I see it not going well, just throw it to the other place."
Even with the turnovers, Oklahoma leaned on Mateer because there wasn’t much else to lean on. The Sooners had trouble getting anything going on the ground as offensive line issues continued to show up, leaving Mateer as the team’s most reliable source of offense. He played 59 snaps and finished with a Pro Football Focus passing grade of 65.6.
Once the first-half mistakes were behind him, Mateer settled in and kept Oklahoma moving. He completed 19 of 25 passes for 238 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His 76% completion rate was his second-best as a Sooner.
The touchdown throws came in two different styles. One went to tight end Hayden Hansen for a 29-yard score, the first touchdown of Hansen’s Oklahoma career. The other was a 53-yard strike to Isaiah Sategna III, who turned it into the biggest play of the game.
That Sategna touchdown came with a little help from the crowd. Mateer said he was late getting the ball out and didn’t notice how open Sategna was until the fans inside the stadium reacted.
“We ran the ball out of that formation earlier in the game, so we knew the safety came down and fit the run,” Mateer said. “We had a run take, and then I was late to it. I looked left and I skipped over to the third read, and I heard everybody screaming, 'Well, something must be going on.'
“I'm serious. Put his hand up, and I see him."
When asked who he heard screaming, Mateer didn’t hesitate.
“The fans,” Mateer said.
It was an odd turn in a night that had already gone sideways and then swung back in Oklahoma’s favor. The same crowd that had booed him earlier was part of the reason he found Sategna deep downfield.
Mateer said the Michigan loss hit him hard. He said he recentered himself through his faith, gave that defeat over to God and tried to reset. Saturday brought another test, and he said to himself, "I’m being tested again."
He fought through it, and Oklahoma got the win. Still, the Sooners know what’s ahead.
OU heads to No. 2 Georgia for a 2:30 p.m. matchup Saturday at Sanford Stadium, and Mateer will need to be sharper for that one. Arbuckle said he saw enough from the quarterback to believe there’s something to build on.
“I thought for the most part tonight, I thought John did some really good things,” Arbuckle said. “Especially in the second half. There's some good stuff to build off of.”
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Just Put Oklahomas Brent Venables Defense In The Spotlight
Ahead of a matchup that already carries plenty of weight, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made sure to put Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables in the conversation for all the right reasons. Smart pointed to Venables reputation as a top-tier defensive mind and the history between the two coaches from Venables Clemson days, a reminder that this meeting is as much about elite game-planning as it is about the records each team brings in.
For Oklahoma, that kind of public praise only adds to the spotlight on Venables unit, which will be tested by one of the sports most familiar and demanding opponents. The Sooners have a chance to show that their defense can travel against a Georgia program that expects to dictate terms, and the buildup only sharpens the significance of whats coming next. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Defense Is Carrying A Problem Sooners Fans Cant Ignore
Brent Venables has done exactly what Oklahoma hired him to do on the defensive side, turning that group into a far more reliable unit and pushing the Sooners up the national rankings in points allowed. It has given Oklahoma a sturdier identity and a chance to stay in games even when things get messy, which is a major shift from the recent past.
The problem is the other side of the ball has not kept pace. Since offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and quarterback Dillon Gabriel moved on, the Sooners have had trouble finding the same rhythm, and the imbalance is becoming harder to overlook. For a program built to contend, the question now is whether a defense this good can keep carrying the load while the offense searches for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Bowen Knows What Oklahoma Must Fix Before SEC Play
Oklahoma came away with a 14-6 win over New Mexico, and the defense did most of the heavy lifting while the offense labored and several defensive starters were unavailable. Safety Peyton Bowen was one of the standouts in that effort, putting together a strong day in coverage and nearly turning a pass into a touchdown the other way, a reminder that the Sooners still have playmakers on that side of the ball even as the season tightens.
Bowen also pointed to the younger defenders who were forced into bigger roles and said the group stayed connected even when the offense gave the ball away. That matters with SEC play looming, because Oklahoma cant count on a performance like this every week if the offense keeps putting the defense in tough spots. The Sooners got the result they needed, but Bowens bigger message was clear: the margin for error gets much smaller from here. [Read more 🡒]