Oklahoma fans were harsh about OU quarterback John Mateer’s performance against Ole Miss on Saturday, but head coach Brent Venables has also been just as critical of his offensive leader.
The then-No. 13 Sooners lost to No. 8 Ole Miss 34-26 on Saturday in Norman as Mateer failed twice in crunch time to lead his team back in it and his constant poor decisions had fans questioning why he was ever a Heisman Trophy candidate early in the season.
Brent Venables criticizes John Mateer's performance vs Ole Miss
Mateer finished the game completing 55% of his passes with just a 45.1 QBR. He threw for 223 yards and one touchdown, marking his sixth-straight game without multiple TD passes. As a dual-threat weapon, he also had just 17 rushing yards despite leading the team with 13 carries, averaging 1.3 yards an attempt.
"Yeah, we'll have to wait and go back and look at the tape,” Venables said postgame. “I told him, 'There's gonna be, you're gonna hate what you see on tape, because of some missed opportunities.'
“Not talking about having to go make a play, I'm just doing the basics a little cleaner. And so, we're all gonna have some regret watching the tape."
Between Saturday after the game and his coaches show on Sunday, Venables was able to actually watch that film and dissect Mateer’s performance even further than just what he witnessed in real-time against Ole Miss. And after a better look, Venables was actually even harsher about Mateer’s performance on Sunday.
“Not where we need to be from a consistency standpoint and a cleanliness standpoint,” Venables said. “That’s a position that needs to play well in order to win, and I think we could have played a little better there.”