Mateer completed 20-of-38 passes for 202 yards and ran 14 times for a net of just 5 yards. His passer efficiency rating was 81.5 — a career-low for him including the 2024 season as a breakout star at Washington State. Mateer has had just one other game in his career in which his efficiency rating was below 105 (a 25-17 win at Fresno State last year).
Even with an injured thumb on his throwing hand, Mateer was in the game late taking hit after hit from the Texas defense as the Sooners tried to rally. He was sacked five times, tackled 14 times and hit several more. At one point during the ESPN broadcast, it was noted that Mateer’s thumb was bleeding.
“Again, John’s a really tough guy, as we know,” Venables added on Sunday. “So if there was some soreness and things like that — which was in the muscle, not apparently, according to John and the doctors, nothing from where the actual wound was and the the break was — but the soreness was just in the muscles within the finger and things like that.
“But again, seemed to hold up. I don’t, you know, John says it was never an issue in the game, and it felt fine. And I think the little scab on his hand was bleeding a little bit, but nothing was affected structurally at all.”
Mateer had 21 days off between games, and apparently had no real practice time to prepare himself for the speed and ferocity of a talented and accomplished Texas defense.
“Was there an opportunity to be a little bit out of rhythm? Maybe,” Venables said. “He did a lot of really good things in that game. And again, you’re playing a really good team and defense, one of the best defenses in college football.”
OU (5-1 overall, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) dropped to No. 14 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 and plays this week at South Carolina.
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