Column
NORMAN — When you lose three games before Halloween at Oklahoma — while showing little hope that improvements can be made — communicating moral victories to the public falls on deaf ears.
Yes, John Mateer appeared the best he had looked this season for nearly three quarters against a good Kentucky team. Yes, his first interception had less to do with his flaws as a quarterback and more to do with Bill Bedenbaugh's failure to develop the talent at hand.
But his fourth-quarter interceptions, one returned for a touchdown that surrendered the Sooners' lead for good, were a reminder that even on nights that appear strong for the fifth-year quarterback, his mistakes far outweigh his strengths.
And that's not the fault of Mateer. He is doing everything he can to be the quarterback OU wants him to be — it's on his head coach. Specifically, not demanding a high standard of his offense bred the consequences that placed Oklahoma down the dark path it finds itself. offense
"I saw improvement," Brent Venables said after the 21-13 loss to Kentucky. "I thought he did a really good job most of the game, played well and gave us an opportunity to win. It’s not going to be perfect, but I thought he battled his butt off.
"I thought he did, until the very end there with whatever it was — just a couple of minutes left to go in the game."
Mateer has played in 42 collegiate games. He's started in 31 of those games (19 for Oklahoma). Now is not the time to look for incremental improvements, especially after losses that could have very easily been victories. Mateer is what he is — there's no light bulb moment coming to save the Sooners.
Again, football is a team sport. It's not all on Mateer. His first interception came from E'Marion Harris getting beat on a simple speed rush from Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace, who hit Mateer's arm as he threw. Ryan Fodje's injury, which came on the drive before the interception, cratered the offense's ability to do anything positive from that point on.
But this is Oklahoma. The quarterback is expected to be the hero of the day in big moments. Mateer was that player in the Cotton Bowl a week ago against then-No. 1 Texas. The offense collapsing around him against the Wildcats exposed Mateer's lack of ability to overcome adversity consistently.
Venables has allowed the offense's standard to plunge, often boiling down offensive performances to lamenting turnovers, while getting in the weeds about defensive technique and mistakes for his preferred side of the ball.
Of course, coaches and players must fall in love with the process. They must build on past successes in order to find more success down the road. For a half, it appeared Mateer and Oklahoma truly were building off the success they had in the second half of the Red River Rivalry.
But a low standard — simply don't turn the football over — allowed for an environment where a visibly injured Fodje to remain on the field, while also being a crutch for a lack of development on that unit. His visible injury and lack of ability did not result in the boss getting on the headset and pulling him, instead, he deferred blame to the training staff.
That low standard allowed pass catchers to not develop, and a running game to never appear. Everything falls on Mateer to make plays he simply cannot on a consistent basis, while the defense is placed on a pedestal of expectations.
That low standard led to begging an old quarterback to make improvements that are expected of freshmen as they become sophomores.
"(Mateer) did a lot of really good stuff today that we can, I think, have confidence from,” Venables said.
Venables' confidence and backing of Mateer is commendable. But it's resulting in more losses than wins, and will continue to do so.
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