The Oklahoma Sooners are 3-0, dominating the first three weeks of the season. Thanks to their new QB, John Mateer, who has set the expectations high. In the first three games, he completed 71 of 105 passes, covering 944 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also rushed 161 yards for 4 touchdowns. Naturally, we are seeing him in Heisman lists. But when you’re at the Sooners, you don’t need other QBs for comparison. The program has had its own history. One of them is charting his own path in Tampa. 

Ahead of Oklahoma’s week 4 match-up against Auburn this Saturday at OU Memorial Stadium, people started comparing Mateer to a $100M NFL quarterback. Oklahoma journalist veteran Berry Tramel, on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning podcast, addressed Oklahoma fans’ reception of John Mateer and the arising comparison with the $100M NFL QB, Baker Mayfield. But for CFB fans, Baker is not Tampa. He’s Oklahoma, the guy who traveled across college football to noisy away stadiums and silenced them at will. 

Berry Tramel first addressed Mateer’s own story. “Yeah, you know what, he’s been exactly as he was built, which is not always the case for even the greatest players or the greatest stories.” He added, “He’s not played 100% fabulous football.” Although Mateer has torched his opponents so far this season, there have also been some flaws.

“He was a little bit of a gambler, makes some throws, and he’d like to have them back.” So far, Mateer has gotten three picks, one in each game, throwing the ball in place, which he probably shouldn’t have thrown. However, he makes so many other plays. 

Tramel then addressed the comparison between John Mateer and Baker Mayfield. It’s hard not to compare the two. The two QBs who are putting Sooners at their backs. But how similar are they? For Tramel, Mateer is “a little bit different… personality-wise to Baker Mayfield.” He said that Mateer is “not nearly as brash as Baker Mayfield was.” Tramel wondered how that impression came about, as “Baker was born brash. He’s still brash.”

While Baker always grabbed headlines, Mateer is not like that. “Mateer is a pretty real, personable, and outgoing, and he’s not really brash or overconfident,” he said. However, Berry claims that “anybody who is compared to Baker Mayfield in Sooner land is held in high esteem.”

Moreover, last season, Oklahoma fans were wondering what’s wrong with their offense when Jackson Arnold had the keys. Imagine going from that to a Heisman favorite in Mateer? Stuff of dreams!

John Mateer tops SEC QB rankings

College football analyst Josh Pate recently released an updated SEC QB ranking three weeks into the season. Oklahoma’s John Mateer tops Pate’s list as the top SEC QB of this season. He is followed by Taylen Green of Arkansas, Joey Aguilar of Tennessee, Beau Pribula of Missouri, and Gunner Stockton of Georgia.

However, his top 5 QBs a month ago in the preseason were totally different, with Texas’ Arch Manning and Florida’s DJ Lagway leading the list. What’s surprising is that John Mateer hadn’t made it into his top 10 list.

Pate, after updating his rankings on X, captioned it, “This is NOT an admission my preseason rankings were flawed…it just means players & coaches scre-ed them up.” This list might not have surprised many, as Mateer is the betting odds favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, according to DraftKings sportsbook, heading into week 4.