Benching John Mateer won’t fix the disaster Brent Venables has created at Oklahoma

This will be a divisive statement that a lot of Oklahoma fans will not like to hear: benching quarterback John Mateer will not solve the Sooners’ problems. 

That was something Brent Venables and his staff even thought about on Saturday, but then had to come to the hard realization that there’s no better option, even if it seems like things couldn’t get any worse. They only have themselves to blame for that, though. 

Mateer had three first-half turnovers that were the key contributors to the Sooners getting embarrassed by No. 2 Georgia 41-13 in Athens. OU fans spent halftime pleading for a change at quarterback, and even the rest of the college football world questioned why Mateer kept trotting out there all game. 

Replacing Mateer seems like such an obvious answer, so of course OU’s coaching staff debated it. 

“It was something that we discussed,” Venables admitted during his postgame press conference. “Conversation that you’ll look at everything, how to get better.” 

Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle confirmed the conversation: “We discussed all options on the headset and ultimately still felt like John was our best choice to go win the game right there. That was talked about, and that was the conclusion we came up with.” 

That’s probably not something Mateer’s coaches should have admitted out loud, but it’s the truth. 

Why benching John Mateer won't fix the Sooners' offensive issues

I’m not writing this to defend Mateer and proclaim he’s a great, or even good, quarterback. There’s no broken thumb excuse. He makes poor decisions, and there’s a valid argument that he’s the reason the loss to Georgia was so bad. 

Yet, OU’s coaches aren’t just in denial. Mateer really is the best option they have. 

The Sooners ultimately never took an offensive snap without Mateer, even long after the game was out of hand. 

Mateer finished the game completing 25 of his 34 passes for a 73.5 completion percentage. He threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns. If you exclude those few terrible mistakes that led to turnovers, then no one would be questioning Mateer’s ability right now. 

But you simply cannot ignore the three turnovers that came on three straight possessions. The Sooners were two yards from the end zone when Mateer just let the ball slip out of his hand to give Georgia an easy 85-yard touchdown. That right there was a 14-point swing that had OU down 21-0 in an instant. 

Mateer threw an interception on the next possession when his pass was about five yards short of his target. He then fumbled again on the next drive while being careless with the ball. After three straight drives with a turnover, the Sooners just drained the clock on their last drive and went to the locker room down 28-0.

Maybe if Michael Hawkins Jr. were still in Norman instead of thriving at West Virginia, the Sooners should have made a quarterback change at halftime. But after Hawkins transferred over the offseason in a move everyone saw coming, OU general manager Jim Nagy did nothing to fill the void. 

That has left the Sooners with former FCS-level Mercer transfer Whitt Newbauer and freshman Bowe Bentley behind Mateer at quarterback. Newbauer was only ever brought in to be a depth piece when OU was desperate for it two offseasons ago. 

Bentley, a four-star gem from the 2026 class, is the heir to the quarterback position as long as he sticks around, but it was made clear he’s not ready yet when he struggled during OU’s spring game. He also failed to win the QB2 job over Newbauer in fall camp. 

All of the chips were pushed to the center of the table on Mateer to not only be better now that he’s healthy, but also to stay healthy all season. There was no Plan B for 2026. 

Arbuckle has also put every egg his offense has in Mateer’s basket. Of the Sooners’ 69 offensive plays on Saturday, Mateer threw a pass or rushed the ball on 71% of them. He led the team in rushing attempts for the third game in a row with 15 carries for seven yards. 

The weight of the Sooners’ offense is on Mateer’s shoulders. He’s not good enough to carry it, but neither are Newbauer or Bentley. 

I understand the argument for at least giving them a chance, but it’s a situation set up for failure, especially for such a young player like Bentley, who OU needs for the long haul. Mateer is a fifth-year senior and third-year starter in the same system, and even he’s crumbling. 

The Sooners averaged just 1.9 yards per rush against Georgia and have had one of the worst running games going on two years now. None of their running backs averaged more than 3.3 yards per carry. The offensive line also gave up three sacks and five tackles for loss while constantly shuffling up front.  

That’s not a situation an inexperienced quarterback can succeed in, especially with a schedule ahead that ESPN deems the toughest in all of college football. Next up is No. 1 Texas, with maybe an even better defense than Georgia, in the Red River Rivalry.

The Sooners have created such an awful problem that not only is Mateer not the answer, but there are no good answers at all.

Venables could fire Arbuckle and replace him with Kevin Wilson. A redesigned offense could even open the door to replacing Mateer, but that still wouldn't fix a porous offensive line. Firing offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh also wouldn't prompt the O-line to start blocking better overnight.

Simply benching Mateer definitely doesn't fix any of that. He's not the problem; Mateer is just the consequence of what Venables and his staff have created.

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