Sideline interaction clears the air on John Mateer’s crucial pick-six to swing Oklahoma’s playoff loss to Alabama
John Mateer’s pick-six against Alabama really had the Sooners in a bad spot.
You can blame John Mateer all you want for the Oklahoma Sooners losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff, but the truth is, he wasn’t the reason OU lost. In fact, his interception wasn’t even his fault. If the pick-six wasn’t Mateer’s fault, then we can’t blame the loss on Mateer, because he actually played great.
“I don’t think Oklahoma did a lot of stuff wrong,” Bud Elliot of the Cover 3 Podcast said. “You do see [QB John] Mateer on the pick-six, so, before the play, he’s doing this to the receiver, right, a little chop on the palm move. On the replay, they show him yelling at the guy like, ‘Hey, I gave you this [to chop off the top of the route].’ Given that he did it before the snap and it resulted in a pick-six, he was pretty emphatic. I’m guessing that’s some sort of missed call or missed signal there.”
Mateer threw the right ball, and the receiver ran the wrong route
Mateer made some mistakes in this game. he threw some bad balls, but he is not to blame for this game. I thought he actually played one of his best games of the year, and had a stretch where he was absolutely dealing. That interception wasn’t even his, really, on the receiver.
But Mateer, being the type of guy he is, will take the blame, as always.
“Yeah, I had checked something, but it was a bad check, and I got tricked, and it’s pretty bad,” Mateer said after the game. “And, it’s pretty bad. If you watch the tape, it was obvious it was cover zero, and I got tricked. It happens sometimes, but when you get tricked, you have to mitigate the damage, and I didn’t do it. And then I didn’t make the tackle, and I didn’t let our defense have a chance.”
A large portion of the Sooners’ fan base is unhappy with how the season went from a quarterback perspective. OU paid Mateer a ton of money, and in return, they didn’t get great play at the position. However, Mateer played well against Alabama, and if that game is any indication of his improvement, maybe there’s a bright future ahead for next season.
All Mateer has to do is get better this offseason. In 2026, he will serve as the bridge quarterback for freshman quarterback Bowe Bentley, who will likely go into 2027 as the guy. Mateer has to improve next season to help the team reach a National Championship. Then, it’s Bentley time, and that kid has the potential to be an absolute star.
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