John Mateer has an SEC expert believing the Sooners are destined for failure in 2026

The doubt surrounding the Oklahoma Sooners for 2026 because of quarterback John Mateer just keeps growing, and we're not even in June yet.

Pat Smith, who has the "3 Man Front" radio show in Alabama and proclaims to be co-creator of "The Paul Finebaum Show" as a long-time follower of the SEC, was recently a guest on "that SEC podcast" with host Michael Bratton. Bratton asked Smith to pick an SEC team "most likely to crash and burn," as in going from a preseason College Football Playoff contender to fighting for bowl eligibility.

Pat Smith labels Oklahoma as potential disappointment but that argument has already been debunked

Smith first stated Texas A&M, mostly pointing to the Aggies' shutout loss to Miami in the first round of the CFP, but then also paired OU with them while putting Mateer on blast as the key reason behind his doubt in the Sooners.

"I would say (Texas A&M) and Oklahoma are very close because, you know, the whole Mateer thing last year," Smith said. "Incredible quarterback, but I know he got injured, was that the reason why that team faded? Is that the reason why he made tremendously bad decisions? I mean, the pick-6 he had in the Alabama game in the playoff, that was bad.

"For me, those two teams are going to get a lot of hype for the College Football Playoff, potentially. Mateer probably for the Heisman. I could see those two teams being on the outside looking in when we get towards November."

This early Mateer hate is nothing new. On3's J.D. PicKell, though, recently pointed out all the flaws in that argument against the Sooners as one of the few true Mateer believers left in the national media.

"When he was healthy, this dude was one of the best quarterbacks in college football," PicKell said earlier this month. "We're just dismissing what September was because it was a long time ago? Miss me with all that. Can we have a little bit more of a memory than a goldfish here, college football world? Can we not like remember what we saw that first month of the season? He was playing with nine fingers and no run game, dude (the rest of the season). ...

"For me, John Mateer, I think should be getting a lot more juice heading into next season. I'll say this, I will not be surprised in the slightest if he's a top-10 quarterback in college football next season when it's all said and done."

Read more: John Mateer shared an offseason change Oklahoma fans will be thrilled to hear

PicKell laid out the counterargument against Smith before Smith even plead his case. Like PicKell mentioned, though, it's obvious most analysts are dismissing what Mateer was before he broke the thumb on his throwing hand. Or that the Sooners still made the playoff even while Mateer struggled.

Smith's sample size seems to be even smaller in his Alabama bubble as he mostly pointed to OU's first-round loss to the Crimson Tide.

Now, Mateer not only has a year of SEC experience and another season in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's system under his belt, but also has more talent than ever around him.

There's reason to doubt Mateer based on precise situations to fit a narrative, but common sense says 2026 should only be better for Mateer. And even if he's not Heisman caliber, there's still enough talent throughout the Sooners' roster that Mateer will not be the only deciding factor if they make the playoff or not, which was proven last year when they did while Mateer was at his worst.

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