Despite Setbacks, John Mateer Has Oklahoma Right Where It Wants to Be: In the Playoff Hunt
Let’s be honest-John Mateer’s season hasn’t exactly mirrored the preseason expectations that had him in early Heisman conversations. But here’s the thing: he’s still standing, and more importantly, he’s still winning. The Oklahoma quarterback may not be lighting up the stat sheet like he did at Washington State, but he’s got the Sooners in the thick of the College Football Playoff race, and that counts for a whole lot more than a clean stat line.
As Oklahoma gears up for a high-stakes CFP showdown against No. 9 Alabama, all eyes are on the quarterback matchups.
And according to a recent ranking of the 12 playoff quarterbacks, Mateer finds himself near the bottom-No. 11, to be exact-just ahead of Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff. On paper, that feels like a steep drop for a guy who, not too long ago, was being mentioned alongside the best in the country.
But context matters. Mateer’s season took a turn back in Week 4 against Auburn, when he suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
Surgery followed, and since then, he’s been battling through the kind of adversity that doesn’t show up in the box score. The numbers haven’t been pretty, especially when it comes to pushing the ball downfield.
Accuracy has dipped, and the deep shots that once came naturally have been harder to come by.
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. What Mateer has done is manage the offense with poise, relying on a dominant Oklahoma defense to keep the Sooners in games.
That’s a shift from his Washington State days, where he was asked to put the team on his back every week. In Norman, the ask has been different: don’t force it, don’t lose it, and make the right reads.
And by and large, he’s done that.
Now, critics will point to his post-injury stats and shrug. But let’s not forget-those games came against the SEC’s best.
Every week, it’s been a grind against top-tier defenses. Even before the injury, Mateer led Oklahoma to wins over Michigan and Auburn, and handled business against Illinois State and Temple.
That’s not nothing.
And then there’s the comparison that’s raising some eyebrows-James Madison’s Alonza Barnett landing just ahead of Mateer in the rankings. Sure, Barnett’s numbers look cleaner, but they came against Sun Belt competition.
When he finally faced a Power Four defense in Louisville, the wheels came off. Meanwhile, Mateer’s been in the fire every week, and while it hasn’t always been pretty, he’s kept the Sooners on track.
So yeah, maybe Mateer isn’t the headline-grabbing QB he was projected to be. But he’s still the guy leading a top-10 team into a CFP clash with Alabama. And if he’s healthy enough to make a few plays and let that Oklahoma defense do its thing, the Sooners are going to be a tough out-no matter where he’s ranked on a list.