'We can get a lot better': Oklahoma QB John Mateer has high hopes for Sooners offense
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The Oklahoma Sooners pulled off a monumental win over the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. It was a strong defensive performance, and special teams turned in maybe its best game of the season. Oklahoma picked up the top five wins while the offense, for the most part, struggled.
The Sooners were held to 212 yards of total offense and were just 3 of 13 on third downs.
To their credit, the defense and an Isaiah Sategna punt return gave them short fields to work with. They went 3-for-3 in the red zone. Still, the offense is the biggest area of concern for the Oklahoma Sooners with two games remaining in the regular season.
Speaking with the media after practice on Monday, here’s what John Mateer had to say.
“We can get a lot better,” Sooners quarterback John Mateer said following Monday’s practice. “You can say that every week, we obviously left a lot of meat on the bone. There’s a lot of room for improvement. We didn’t run a whole lot of plays, and that’s partly our fault, but then you get a pick-6 and special teams play so well, some plays just get cut off. But we’ve got to do better extending drives. You watch the tape and you can see that, but we got to do better.”
The Oklahoma Sooners had three drives that started on their side of the 50-yard line, not counting the end-of-game kneel-downs, and the Sooners punted each time, including two three-and-outs.
Those drives went like this.
- 6 plays, 4 yards, punt
- 3 plays, 5 yards, punt
- 3 plays, 1 yard, punt.
Alabama has a good defense and playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium is no small task. However, the Sooners have to find a way to create more offensive success. They did well enough when special teams or the defense gave them the ball on Alabama’s side of the 50, turning the Sategna punt return and two fumbles into a touchdown and a field goal.
The Oklahoma offense has been good enough over the last couple of weeks, but they need to be better, and that starts with John Mateer. He’s shown leadership and he’s done a good job protecting the football. But for the Sooners to win these last two games, he’s going to have to find the playmaking element to his game as a passer to elevate the Sooners offense.
Though they’re 8-2 on the season and will likely be favored in their final two regular season games, the Sooners haven’t clinched anything yet. They have to continue to take care of business, and it’s time for Mateer to take his game to another level.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners need QB John Mateer to find another level to his game
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