Oklahoma Sooners news: Massive John Mateer upgrade, Bedlam football return and more

Massive John Mateer injury update

Injured Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was upgraded from questionable to probable on Thursday's SEC Availability Report ahead of the Red River Rivalry. Probable means Mateer has a 75% chance of playing, so the No. 6 Sooners should have their starting quarterback against unranked Texas at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday in Dallas.

Mateer's availability was in limbo all week because of an injury to his throwing hand. He injured his right hand against Auburn on Sept. 20 and had to get surgery during the Sooners' bye week. Mateer then missed the Sooners' last game against Kent State.

The Red River Rivalry will be only 17 days since Mateer's surgery, shattering the expected timeline of his return.

Bedlam football return

Tulsa World reported that OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said he met with Oklahoma State a few months ago to try to schedule a nonconference Bedlam game, but according to Castiglione, OSU had "minimal" interest.

Bedlam hasn't been played on a football field since 2023 after OU left the Big 12 for the SEC. Since Bedlam would have to be a nonconference matchup now, it likely wouldn't have been on the schedule immediately, but neither program has a Power Four team on its schedule yet for as early as 2031.

Poor Arch Manning take

OU fans were more annoyed than anyone by all the preseason hype about Texas quarterback Arch Manning, but even after a disappointing start, one outlet had such a poor take on Manning that even Sooner Nation was on his side.

The Athletic, owned by The New York Times, released a story about Manning with the headline, “Is Arch Manning College Football’s First Flop?” The post on X about the story also read, “Many people are having a bad year in college football, but Arch Manning is having one of the worst.”

The viral post united all college football fans, even rivals.

That love from Sooner Nation won't last long, though. Manning will be the best quarterback OU has faced so far during the Red River Rivalry on Saturday, so the Sooners will wish him nothing but more disappointment then.