John Mateer missing time could end up being a blessing in disguise for the Sooners and their playoff hopes
John Mateer and the Oklahoma Sooners could use this injury situation, if they can hold on while he’s out.
With the news of Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer being out for a few weeks, or maybe even a month, doubt is starting to creep into the fan base. A good portion of fans have remained positive, too, but some feel OU will lose a few important SEC games coming up.
But this can be a blessing in disguise.
Michael Hawkins taking over for the injured Mateer is a blessing in disguise
Anyone who’s watched the Oklahoma Sooners has seen the types of hits Mateer has taken and how many. When he runs the ball, he doesn’t slide; he doesn’t run out of bounds, and that’s awesome. Fans love seeing that style of football, but at the same time, that wears on your body massively. He’s already said he feels like he’s been in a wreck every Sunday.
When the SEC games begin, and they play an SEC opponent every single week, it will only get worse. The Sooners have a bye week this week, and then play Kent State. That’s two weeks the Sooners do not need Mateer for, so he can rest his entire body, not just his hand. Then, they play the Texas Longhorns, followed by South Carolina and the Ole Miss Rebels. Neither of those teams looks like they would beat OU convincingly without Mateer.
The silver lining and the blessing in disguise is that, let’s say Hawkins is pretty good, and OU holds on and loses one of their next three games; Mateer just got four weeks of rest, and is fresher for a run at the postseason than he would have been had he not missed a few games. And that’s important.
Now, that only matters if the Sooners can hang on and still show themselves as a threat with Hawkins. If they fall apart and look terrible, then this idea doesn’t matter. However, there is certainly a way in where this could be a blessing for the Sooners.
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