The consensus is that Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has lost his confidence, but that doesn't mean his head coach has lost belief in his QB1 yet, even if maybe he has in himself and basically everyone else has.
OU head coach Brent Venables talked to the media after Wednesday's practice, right in the middle of the Sooners' bye week, and made it clear that Mateer will still be the Sooners' starting quarterback when they play No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10, despite recent struggles.
“I have no idea. We’re not there right now," Venables responded when asked if either of OU's backup quarterbacks will play. "John’s our starting quarterback.”
John Mateer is still Sooners' starting QB, even after Georgia disaster
It's been a rough few weeks for Mateer, and how he's handled the negativity behind the scenes seems to be why Venables trusts one of his six team captains even more. Not only has a chunk of the OU fan base been clamoring for a change at quarterback, but even college football experts and fans of other teams watching from afar have questioned how in the world Mateer still has his job.
Mateer entered a needed bye week to reset after probably the worst performance of his career in OU's 41-13 loss to No. 2 Georgia in Athens. He turned the ball over in three straight possessions in the second quarter with a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, an underthrown interception and another fumble that also set up another TD for the Bulldogs.
It actually looked like Mateer had his pre-thumb injury swagger back as he marched the Sooners through Georgia's stout defense to the two-yard line with a perfect drive by him to that point. But then, rearing back to throw to an open man in the end zone, the ball slipped right out of his hand.
Georgia linebacker Chris Cole then scooped it up for an 85-yard score to complete an absurd play that went viral and made Mateer a laughingstock of college football. An interception on the next drive, followed by another fumble, had everyone anticipating a quarterback change for OU at halftime while down 28-0.
Yet, Mateer was the only quarterback to take a snap for the Sooners, even well after the game was way out of hand. That right there should have been enough proof that it would take more than a disaster for Venables to waver from his QB1.
Still, with a bye week providing time to reevaluate before the Red River Rivalry, the biggest question in Oklahoma has been whether Mateer will still be the Sooners' QB1 moving forward. The answer seems to be yes.
“John is tough as they come,” Venables said. “One of the things that makes it easy to believe in John is just how he shows up every single day. He’s the same guy, how he works, how he competes, how he leads, how he responds. All of those things have been really good.”
Take away those turnovers, and Mateer actually wouldn't have had a bad day against Georgia. But those mistakes can't be ignored and make it obvious that nothing was going right for Mateer or OU's offense as a whole under OC Ben Arbuckle.
It hasn't been just Mateer holding OU's offense back. The offensive line has allowed more pressure than any unit in the SEC, which makes life harder for whoever is back there. There's also no functional running game, which is averaging more yards per game than only two other Power 4 teams.
Can any quarterback really succeed in that situation?
Some would answer, "Well, let's find out." Neither Mercer transfer Whitt Newbauer or freshman Bowe Bentley have taken a meaningful snap at the FBS level yet, but some fans still want to see what they're made of after seeing enough of Mateer for 16 games now since transferring from Washington State.
There's the hope, though, which Venables seems to be hanging onto, that the Mateer who was once great enough to be a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy is still on his roster somewhere.
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