John Mateer looked like himself again in Oklahoma’s 23-15 win over Mississippi State, and for the Sooners, that might have been the biggest development of the afternoon.
The quarterback threw it efficiently, finishing 22 of 29 for 283 yards and two touchdowns, but the cleaner story was how he played with his legs. Mateer arrived at Oklahoma as a dual-threat quarterback, yet that part of his game had been missing through 2026. Against the Bulldogs, it showed up again in a way that mattered.
He ran nine times for 37 yards, and while the numbers don’t jump off the page, the way he carried the ball did. Mateer was decisive, went north-south, and avoided the kind of mistake that can wipe out a good night. He also moved the chains on four of his eight other carries, including key conversions on third down and fourth down.
“I thought he did a good job of getting downhill,” offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said after the win. “I think he made the wrong read on one. … but didn't make the wrong read a lot. But yeah, he got his foot down, went north to south.”
Mateer said Mississippi State wasn’t accounting for him quite the way most defenses have this season, and he noticed that early.
“They weren’t really keying me as much as most defenses do, which was fun for me. I appreciate it,” Mateer said. “But I noticed it early.”
That mattered for Oklahoma’s whole offense. With Mateer threatening to run, the Bulldogs had to stay honest, which created more room for Tory Blaylock and Lloyd Avant. Brent Venables said that kind of pressure changes the way a defense has to play.
“It’s just another element that’s difficult to defend, from a defensive standpoint (when) you get anybody in the plus-one run game,” OU coach Brent Venables said.
Mateer was sacked once, but his legs still helped define the game. One third-down run on the final drive went for six yards on third-and-5. Earlier, he picked up three yards on fourth-and-1 on the final drive of the first half, and that play immediately set up a touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna.
“Those are big plays,” Venables said. “If he can be effective in running the football, that just opens up another element for our offense.”
Mateer said part of the issue earlier in the season was a tendency to hesitate on those inside runs. He said he worked to clean that up, and it showed on Saturday.
“In the QB run game between the tackles earlier in the year, I had noticed I was kind of tiptoeing a little bit,” Mateer said. “I don’t know where that came from, but I tried to stop that recently and you saw that on the fourth down.
I tried to just get in there and I kind of got hit, but I’m good. Play ball.”
Oklahoma’s upcoming defenses will be a tougher test than Mississippi State offered, but for a team looking for any spark it can find, Mateer’s running game reappearing is the kind of development that can change an offense’s shape.
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For Oklahoma, the appeal is obvious: one more chance to claim bragging rights over a familiar in-state enemy before the calendar flips. There are still plenty of moving parts, though, from the final bowl assignments to player availability, including OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker, so nothing is close to official yet. Even so, the possibility of Bedlam in Houston gives the postseason a little extra edge for Sooners fans who know this rivalry is never just another game. [Read more 🡒]
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For Oklahoma fans, the broader angle is worth watching because Mississippi State is the kind of conference opponent that can complicate a schedule if the quarterback situation clears up quickly. The historical series record also adds a little context here, since these programs do not meet often and each crossing of paths tends to carry a bit of extra intrigue. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Got An Even Tougher Florida Road Test
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Floridas resurgence under Jon Sumrall has only sharpened the focus on this one. The Gators are ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 after upsetting Texas, while Oklahoma is still working through its own season issues, so the timing of this matchup could make an already demanding assignment even more uncomfortable for the Sooners. [Read more 🡒]