John Mateer attacked the bye week aiming to clean up mental mistakes as Sooners gear up to pull off upset over Alabama
Sooners quarterback John Mateer is confident in his prep during the bye week ahead of crucial matchup against Alabama
The Oklahoma Sooners are entering what feels like the biggest road game in years for the team this weekend when they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Win, and the Sooners are all but a lock to make the College Football Playoff. Lose, and they need a lot to go right to sneak in an at-large bid.
One of the keys to pulling off a win is the play of quarterback John Mateer, who has been inconsistent at best and downright unwatchable at worst. It’s safe to say that his variance has been the biggest problem for the Sooners this season, as it has cost them in both losses this season while also winning them games against Michigan and Tennessee.
However, this past bye week was the first time Mateer was able to fully attack his time off after missing the prior bye while rehabbing from his hand injury. If Mateer’s comments about how this week has gone are true, the Sooners should feel good about their chances on Saturday.
Mateer self-scouting for first time this season
Perhaps my biggest criticism of Mateer all season has been his inability to adjust and learn from his mistakes. Mateer frequently read QB run plays the wrong way, made mistakes on RPOs (see the Tennessee interception), or just completely misdiagnosed a concept and ran the ball when he could have made a big time throw had he gone through his progressions.
These issues popping up in every game have made it a frustrating experience to watch every week, and Mateer knows it. After practice on Thursday, he spoke to media about the prep he was able to take during the bye week and where he feels mentally heading into this crucial matchup.
“It’s a couple more practice to get more reps, got some good reps last week. It’s also just settle in and watch film and not have to perform the next week, I can focus and self-scout a little bit and see what I need to work on, so it was really good.”
Mateer’s mental mistakes have been crippling the Sooners’ offense all season just as much as his playmaking has lifted the offense. If he can iron out the inconsistencies and mental mistakes even just a little bit, Oklahoma’s offense becomes significantly more potent than what we’ve seen thus far in 2025, and it could be just what the Sooners need to take down the Crimson Tide.
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