Temple head coach K.C. Keeler proclaimed Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer would pay the price when he ran against the Owls. Instead, Mateer didn't just walk the walk after Keeler talked, but he ran and threw without paying anything.
The No. 13 Sooners hammered Temple 42-3 on Saturday in Philadelphia to stay unbeaten and hand the Owls their first loss of the 2025 season. Like things have went every game so far, Heisman Trophy favorite Mateer did whatever he wanted to against the defense, even if Keeler believed the results would be different for his team.
John Mateer ran all over Temple despite K.C. Keeler's warning
When asked about Mateer's dual-threat ability during his weekly press conference leading up to the game, Keeler praised Mateer's skillset, but then he sent out a warning to Mateer that obviously backfired.
“It’s going to be important for us to get as many hits on him as possible," Keeler said. "It’s a cumulative thing. He took 19 rushing hits (Week 2 against Michigan). Also a couple of hits in the pocket on top of that. Those kinds of things add up. I'm sure our QB would be sore if he took that many hits.
"When he pulls the ball down and becomes a running back, he has to pay the price.”
Mateer didn't even need close to 19 carries like he did against Michigan. He ran for 63 yards on just seven attempts, averaging nine yards a carry. That was 11 yards less than Mateer had against Michigan, but with 12 less attempts. Temple, as a team, had 26 rushing yards.
Most of Mateer's rushing yards came on a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter during which a Temple defender didn't get within a yard of Mateer as he could have walked into the end zone.
To the 🏠@John_Mateer4's ninth straight game with at least one rushing and one passing TD—the nation's longest streak 📊 pic.twitter.com/HFTAQdibGx
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 13, 2025
John Mateer is such a fun college QB
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 13, 2025
Will be interested to see how his draft stock evolves from now until April pic.twitter.com/m3A3XClx2R
Mateer is a true dual-threat QB, scoring on the ground and through the air in nine straight games going back to his days with Washington State before transferring to OU this winter.
Although he was tremendous escaping pressure from Temple thanks to his legs, Mateer did most of his damage Saturday in the passing game. He threw for 282 yards with a touchdown and interception while completing 20 of his 34 attempts.
Overall, Mateer has tallied 1,105 total yards in three wins so far. Eventually, with a daunting SEC schedule ahead, a defensive coordinator will likely find a way to at least slow down Mateer, but Keeler did not despite his meaningless warning.
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