Brent Venables Admits John Mateer’s “Biggest Issue” Has Hurt Oklahoma After Sooners Fans Deliver Clear Verdict on His Future
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Oklahoma’s QB question looked like something that might finally get answered during the bye week. Instead, Brent Venables has made his position pretty clear. John Mateer is still the starter. That decision comes after a rough start to the season and an ugly afternoon against Georgia that turned the QB conversation into a full-blown storyline. The Sooners are 2-2, and their 41-13 loss to the Bulldogs exposed problems that were difficult to hide. Still, the head coach isn’t reaching for a different QB.
“John’s our starting quarterback,” Brent Venables said, according to Oklahoma reporter Toby Rowland.
He pointed back to John Mateer being the QB of a 10-win team a year ago and argued that the best version of the junior is still good enough. That does not mean Brent Venables is pretending everything is fine.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” he added. “He’s got to be more consistent, and the turnovers have been the biggest issue at critical moments, and there’s no discounting that. But we do believe that he gives us the best chance to win, and our job is to get the best out of him and help him.”
Against Georgia, John Mateer put Oklahoma in trouble almost by himself. He lost two fumbles and threw an interception before halftime, accounting for three of the Sooners’ four turnovers. One of those fumbles was especially costly.
Oklahoma was already trailing 14-0 but had finally moved into position to make the game interesting. Then, John Mateer lost the ball in the red zone, Georgia LB Chris Cole scooped it up and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. A possible 14-7 game became 21-0.
Georgia eventually went into halftime with a 28-0 advantage, turning Oklahoma’s four giveaways into 17 points. At that point, the Sooners were not chasing the Bulldogs so much as trying to survive the wreckage. And this hasn’t been one bad Saturday.
Oklahoma has struggled to generate much offensively for weeks. The Sooners managed only 289 total yards in a 17-10 loss to Michigan. They produced 299 yards against New Mexico in a 14-6 win. Georgia held them to 296. John Mateer’s season numbers show he has thrown for 883 yards and eight touchdowns, while completing 66.1% of his passes. His four interceptions, however, are tied for third-most in the SEC, and his 59.4 QBR ranks 12th in the conference.
That explains why Brent Venables is sticking with him while also demanding more. The timing makes the decision even more interesting. Oklahoma now has a bye before facing Texas in the Red River Rivalry. If there were ever a natural point to make a QB change, this would be it.
But Brent Venables isn’t taking that route. He believes John Mateer gives Oklahoma its best chance to win, while also pointing out that QB play doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Protection has to improve, the running game needs to become more consistent, and the QB still has to execute.
Oklahoma fans appear to have their own opinions. In a survey of more than 13,000 Sooners fans, 62% reportedly said they did not want Oklahoma to move on from Brent Venables. But 71.8% favored changing QBs or seriously reconsidering John Mateer’s place in the lineup. So there is a strange split developing around the program.
For now, Brent Venables has made his choice, putting his faith in his QB. John Mateer gets the ball against Texas, so now he has to make that faith look reasonable. The bye week gives Oklahoma time to fix the issues. It also gives the QB time to prove that Georgia was a disastrous afternoon rather than a preview of what comes next.
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