Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Sooners appointed the best doctor, Dr. Shin, to treat John Mateer’s injury. “I hereby issue this official commendation of Dr. Shin for single-handedly saving John Mateer’s season. BOOMER!” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement. He was all happy about Mateer’s surgery being a great success. Even then, tension prevailed with the injury reports until Mateer passed the check to play for the Red River Rivalry. But the Mateer move happened to be the worst mistake for the night. Was it because the quarterback is not yet 100% fit? An Oklahoma coach refused to buy into this narrative. 

Right after the Sooners took an L from Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns, George Stoia III dropped a big update. He wrote, “Ben Arbuckle says John Mateer had good physical and mental reps in practice this week. Says that he felt good about him playing in the game. Says he just wasn’t very accurate and made some bad decisions. #Sooners.” Texas landed a 23-6 loss to Mateer and Co., leaving the Cotton Bowl Stadium in a state of shock. 

Analysts and fans alike are now pointing fingers at Venables, as Ari Wasserman shared his take on X, “I’m not making excuses because I just don’t know, but did Oklahoma make a mistake in rushing Mateer back? He just didn’t look like himself today, for obvious reasons.” That’s because even though Mateer’s status went from “questionable” to “probable,” the head coach was confident about making Mateer play against Texas. He confidently stated that his quarterback will have “no limitations.” But Arbuckle found no harm in Venables’ bet to make Mateer play. Rather, he puts the quarterback on the hot seat.

Mateer picked the heat, dishing out the worst performance of his career. It wasn’t until 90 minutes before kickoff that the final SEC Availability Report was released. And how fans wish, had Mateer been sidelined, their luck might have favored against the Longhorns. The quarterback came up with 20 of 38 passes for 202 yards. But the worst part?

Mateer added three interceptions to his name in a single game. Unbelievable indeed. With three minutes thirty-seven seconds left in the first quarter, the quarterback opened his interception book for the day, hardly knowing that this was just the beginning. His second interception came at halftime, and the last came with 13 minutes and 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Now, is Mateer seeing $16.9 million slipping out of his hands?

John Mateer’s next big leap is at stake

The 2025 season started with hopes about Mateer, having the pen to write a successful story for Venables’ Sooners. After all, the quarterback was the one who turned Oklahoma’s 6-7 trajectory into an undefeated 4-0 streak. Even though his hand took a blow, was operated on, and spent time in rehab, he was back in action. That’s when Todd McShay dropped his huge take on Mateer.

In conversation with Bill Collins, he said, “I think Mateer’s going to be a first-round draft pick.” The discussion rolled on, with the quarterback’s NFL stock hitting the roof. He sees Mateer as the 25th pick, against whom he will be receiving a fat check worth $16.9 million. Not just this. 

Mateer drew comparisons to NFL star Baker Mayfield. Thinking about the common traits? The quarterback’s strength lies in driving the ball down the field and showing up in clutch moments. “Is that seems like an unusual NFL quarterback? I think he’s a faster Baker Mayfield,” McShay dropped the bomb. 

Mateer, himself, did not feel pressure from being compared to the legends Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Instead, it oomphed up his self-confidence. The quarterback stated, “I mean, both of them were incredible football players still. And what they did, and in such a proximity to me, where I was from, and doing it. I guess how I’m doing it now, was awesome.”

But the universe came back-to-back grounding alerts. First came his injury. And now, John Mateer became the walking red flag, carrying the burden of three interceptions in a single game on his shoulders. Right now, one of his biggest supporters, Ben Arbuckle, too, has turned his back. Will Mateer find his footing ever in this season?