A Restless Night Fueled John Mateer's Performance in Oklahoma's Win at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. — John Mateer had a moment of clarity this week. 

“I woke up in the middle of night and something told me to to forgive yourself,” Mateer said after the win. “Real powerful stuff. And I only say that now because I hope everybody hears that. And I knew it, right when it happened. Forgive yourself and the next play matters. 

“And all day, all I thought was the last play is the least important. The least important thing is whatever just happened. So the next play, to focus, being calm and believing in who I am.”

His results in Starkville spoke for themselves. 

The Sooners took down Mississippi State 23-15 and put up 467 total yards of offense — OU’s most against a Power 4 opponent since entering the SEC. 

Every member of Oklahoma’s offense wants to finish more drives with touchdowns instead of deferring to kicker Tate Sandell, but overall, it was a big step forward for the Sooners (4-3, 2-2 SEC).

“Proud of John, the way he played,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “Thought he played an excellent game, did some fantastic things, made some great throws.

“… His sheer will, determination, great toughness. The poise under pressure. … As I’ve said many times, he carries heavy weight, and that goes with the territory. He’s never shied away from it one time, and today, when we needed him to be his best, he was able to do that.”

Mateer completed 22-of-29 passing attempts for 283 yards and two scores. He added another 37 yards on the ground on nine carries. 

Crucially, he was able to work through progressions quickly and settle for checkdowns when necessary instead of turning the ball over. 

“It’s been a big emphasis all year. … Take the checkdowns,” Mateer said. “We wanted it to be a big part of this. And just play next play. I remember one to (Jonathan Hatton Jr.), like I’m a second and a half and I’m just right to him. And that to me felt good.”

That kept Mateer in rhythm, which in turn led to some of the off-script plays that Mateer made his money on in 2025.

No better example of that came than the final drive before halftime. Mateer was able to flip the ball over a defensive lineman to move the chains. He later bobbed and weaved through the pocket, repelling a defender with a stiff arm, to find Isaiah Sategna for his 36-yard score before the teams headed into the locker room. 

“We’re in tempo; they’re in their big people; we have them,” Mateer said of the play. “We had the seam. I should have hit it right away… but I felt (the pass rush). Just got through. Didn’t want to take a negative. You can’t do that in two-minute. And then I felt somebody coming underneath me and saw him open and just reacted.”

Mateer did everything the Sooners needed hit to do late, too.

The Bulldogs kicked it deep late after cutting the deficit to eight, forcing OU to kill the game with first downs.

Mateer was able to scramble for six yards on third-and-5, and then facing third-and-11, he found Rocky Beers for 13 yards to ice the game.

"Played his butt off," OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. "Made some unbelievable chucks today. … He made some awesome mental plays today and he did some really good things. Again, it wasn’t perfect and I don’t think anyone’s ever asked him to be perfect. He just went out there and played his butt off, did his job, managed the game and I’m really proud of him. Really proud."

There are plenty of improvements still to be made over the final five weeks of the season, but Mateer and the offense found another response after last week’s disappointing performance against Kentucky, and they seized some momentum heading into next week’s clash with South Carolina.

“I know who I am as a player and as a man, through struggle, that's what you find,” Mateer said. “I’m not perfect, and I won't be perfect. I'm moving forward, but I felt good out there, and I believed."

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