Oklahoma fans bought into the John Mateer hype, but may be asking for refunds

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said he told quarterback John Mateer after the Sooners' loss to Ole Miss, "You're going to hate what you see on tape," and Mateer's not the only one.

The No. 13 Sooners lost a close 34-26 game to No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday in Norman and are now fighting for their College Football Playoff life at 6-2 with a daunting four-game stretch ahead. The most frustrating part for OU fans, though, was that there were plenty of opportunities to beat the Rebels, but their quarterback who was once a Heisman Trophy candidate never came through in the moment.

John Mateer disappoints again in loss to Ole Miss

Mateer completed just 55% of his passes for 223 yards and one TD with a 45.5 QBR in the loss. As a dual-threat weapon, Mateer also had just 17 rushing yards and averaged 1.3 yards an attempt despite leading the Sooners with 13 carries.

A chunk of his yardage came from his 75-yard TD pass to Isaiah Sategna III, who outran the Ole Miss defense to reach the end zone for Mateer's only touchdown. Mateer has thrown multiple TDs in a game just once this season in OU's season opener against Illinois State. Saturday was also his third straight game without a rushing score.

Early in the season, Mateer was considered a Heisman frontrunner. His odds to win the award then crashed after injuring his throwing hand in the Sooners' SEC opener against Auburn and getting surgery. However, Mateer missed just one game and returned to action just 17 days later.

Mateer's production certainly dipped after that surgery, especially in his return against Texas, but it can't be blamed for why. Even Mateer admitted after the Red River Rivalry it was more his eyes than his hand causing mistakes, and that was again the case against Ole Miss.

“My eyes weren’t as good as they needed to be," Mateer said again on Saturday.

With the game on the line on a 4th-and-five on Ole Miss' 30 deep in the fourth quarter, Mateer had top target Isaiah Sategna III open for a first down. Instead, Mateer fired an errant deep ball to someone else and Ole Miss got the ball back. And it wasn't just that one play that led OU fans to start doubting Mateer, but that it's been a common occurrence all season, just now there aren't enough big plays and redos to make up for it.

Mateer transferred this offseason to OU from Washington State, where he led the FBS with 44 total TDs last season. He had a weak schedule, though, and many doubted if Mateer could still be as productive against SEC defenses on a weekly basis. Regardless, Sooner Nation bought in and expected to have another Heisman candidate in Norman.

Seven games in, Mateer is averaging 255.7 passing yards. Against the SEC, though, that number dips to 211.5. Mateer has also failed to score multiple TDs in three of four SEC outings. Those are certainly not Heisman numbers or the kind of rising stock the Sooners thought they went all in on.