Oklahoma Sooners HC Brent Venables said what needed to be said about QB John Mateer after loss to Kentucky Wildcats
The Oklahoma Sooners lost a close game they should have won to the Kentucky Wildcats, and John Mateer played well.
The Oklahoma Sooners are walking out of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium 3-3, just when this would have been the perfect time to get back into the College Football Playoff conversation. But after a few late-game interceptions by QB John Mateer, their opportunity slipped away vs. No. 15 Kentucky.
This team had plenty of opportunities, though. And for the most part, the only reason they had those opportunities was because of Mateer. Did he have two bad interceptions? Yes.
He had another one, but that wasn’t really his fault, because someone hit his arm from behind as he threw it. The box score screams “classic John Mateer game.” But anyone who watched knows he actually played one of his best games of the season.
“I don’t,” Venables said after the game, when asked if this was another case of the ‘same old John Mateer.’ “I saw improvement. Thought he did a very good job most of the game, played well, and gave us a chance to win. He fought his butt off until the very end. He had a poor decision on the curl route there, the tip ball; other than that, he did some stuff we can have confidence in.”
John Mateer played well up until the final few drives, and even those weren’t his fault
Oklahoma played maybe their best offense all season outside of the first game against UTEP. They moved the ball at will in the first half, and should have actually had at least 13 points at the half. Of course, another holding penalty forced OU to settle for another field goal instead of a TD. There were also a few key drops on critical downs, when Mateer placed the ball literally in his receiver’s hands.
This game changed when two things happened: the first interception, as OU drove downfield. As we said, Mateer was hit, and the ball was in the air forever. Kentucky then returned it, putting themselves in great field position. Before that, they hadn’t been able to string anything together on offense outside of that first drive.
The second thing that changed the game was obviously the offensive line falling apart in the fourth quarter. No, literally, they fell apart. Guys were playing through injuries that they got in that game. Ryan Fodje, at left tackle, was pretty much unable to move.
OU ended up playing offensive linemen with little to no reps this year. Of course, they gave Mateer no time in the pocket, and that’s when the mistakes started. To me, that’s not Mateer’s fault. If anything, he was trying to do everything he could, even though his offensive line held him back.
“I thought he came in really dialed. I thought he saw the field well. We just have to be better. I have to be better at getting guys open for him,” OC Ben Arbuckle told reporters.
Mateer played well. This is some of the best football he has played in an SEC game, maybe ever. The last two drives will leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths, but this one isn’t on him. The Georgia game, sure. This one? No shot. He finished 24/40 for 270 passing yards and a passing touchdown to Rocky Beers.
