Oklahoma fans pleading for Michael Hawkins Jr. to replace John Mateer at QB vs LSU

Oklahoma fans have seen an entire regular season of John Mateer playing quarterback, and they clearly don't want any more of it.

Mateer has struggled since returning from thumb surgery in the loss to Texas, but that was seven games ago, and it seems like things are only getting worse instead of better, especially in the ugly 17-13 win against the LSU Tigers on Saturday in Norman.

Sooner Nation has clearly had enough of John Mateer

The Sooners have had to rely on their defense all season, but Brent Venables' unit had to overcome Mateer's mistakes even more than big plays from LSU on Saturday as Mateer threw a season-high three interceptions.

Mateer threw his first pick on just his second pass of the game and it gave the Tigers the ball on OU's four-yard line. But, as always, the Sooners' defense bailed Mateer out when Peyton Bowen got an interception the very next play.

Mateer then threw a pair of interceptions on back-to-back possessions to start the second half. The first one ultimately resulted in a touchdown that gave LSU a 10-3 lead. The Sooners kept the second interception from turning into more points for LSU, but it likely also kept points off the board for the Sooners as they were driving inside LSU territory.

The season was saved and the Sooners punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff thanks to a 58-yard touchdown pass from Mateer to Isaiah Sategna III, but Sategna was wide open thanks to busted coverage, and Mateer had already done enough by that point for fans to turn against him.

Mateer finished the game completing 61% of his passes for 318 yards and two TDs with the three interceptions. That stat line, minus the interceptions, really doesn't look bad, but Mateer consistently missed throws throughout the game and the picks are impossible to overlook.

Many OU fans have been clamoring for a change at quarterback for weeks now, but that third interception had Sooner Nation collectively asking for Michael Hawkins Jr. to take over as QB1, including OU great Gerald McCoy and Hawkins' own parents. Hawkins' dad, Michael, also played at OU.

It's also worth noting that Hawkins playing would not have burnt his redshirt for the season, and with the Sooners now in the postseason, no games would count against Hawkins.

Mark Mangino also shared his input.

Ultimately, no matter how much fans beg, Mateer is still going to be the guy who leads the Sooners in the College Football Playoff.