John Mateer shoulders blame for bad performance in Georgia loss
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The Oklahoma Sooners are now 2-2 overall and 0-1 in SEC play, after a 41-13 blowout loss on the road at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the biggest reasons for the defeat was the performance of fifth-year starting quarterback John Mateer, who turned the ball over three times in the first half.
The Dawgs built a big lead while the Sooners floundered, and many believed Mateer would be benched. After the game, both head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said that making a quarterback change was discussed, but they chose to stick with Mateer.
After the game, Mateer shouldered the blame for his performance.
"Really frustrating, I mean, just bad football," Mateer said. "I mean, we did move the ball, and props to them, it's a good defense, it's a really good defense. But we were getting drives going, the o-line played really well, receivers playing well and getting open, and then I'm just not making it happen."
Mateer is only a part of a much larger problem within the offense and within the program as a whole, but as the starting quarterback at OU, you get the praise when things look good, and you get the blame when things look bad. On Saturday, things looked very bad, and Mateer looked like a player who had lost his confidence.
However, Mateer said postgame that he does not believe his confidence is the issue.
"I think I’m still playing fast, I think I’m not questioning what I’m doing during the play," Mateer said. "I think the process is where it needs to be, I think it’s just not working out, so I wouldn’t say so."
Perhaps Mateer will still be the starter when Oklahoma takes on Texas in two weeks, or perhaps the coaching staff will make the decision to go with somebody else. His continued presence in the game against Georgia speaks volumes, though, as the staff still believed he was the best option. However, Mateer says that he and the Sooners aren't quitting after being knocked down hard against Georgia.
"You get punched in the face, you’ve got to go back to work," Mateer said. "We’re not gonna quit; it’s not who we are, it’s not what we do."
Oklahoma Quarterback Depth Chart
- Starter: John Mateer (5th-year)
- Backup: Whitt Newbauer (Junior)
- Third-String: Bowe Bentley (Freshman)
- Fourth-String: Jett Niu (Sophomore)
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer shoulders blame for bad performance in Georgia loss
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