How Oklahoma QB John Mateer 'Got the Job Done' Against Tennessee

KNOXVILLE — John Mateer showed flashes of the “Mateer Magic” that he displayed in his first four starts as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.

Mateer threw for 159 yards and rushed for 80 in the No. 18 Sooners’ 33-27 win over No. 14 Tennessee.

The quarterback’s stat line wasn’t the flashiest of his career. But it was good enough to give OU a much-needed win in what could turn out to be a College Football Playoff elimination game.

“I think it was a lot better,” Mateer said. “(I was) a lot calmer. There’s still some situations where I drop my eyes too early, but overall, we got the job done and it was good enough.”

The first half was rough for Mateer and his offensive teammates.

Oklahoma logged just 99 yards in the first half on 25 plays. Mateer threw 13 times, completing just seven of his attempts for 44 yards.

Despite all of this, OU led 16-10 at halftime.

Defensive end R Mason Thomas returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown, and kicker Tate Sandell made three field goals, thanks largely to two first-half interceptions from Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar.

Even after a strange, quiet first half for the offense, Mateer didn’t feel the need to play hero ball, thanks to the Sooners’ six-point advantage at the break.

“We were just confident in who we are,” Mateer said.

The second half didn’t start perfectly for the Sooners’ offense either. Oklahoma went three and out on its first drive before an Xavier Robinson fumble ended a previously productive second drive. In that time, Tennessee scored a touchdown to take a 17-16 lead.

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On the third drive, though, Mateer became a field general.

Mateer kicked off the series with a 14-yard completion to Jer’Michael Carter before hitting Isaiah Sategna down the sideline for 25 yards. That throw to Sategna got OU to the Tennessee 18-yard line, and three plays later, Robinson scored a touchdown to retake the lead.

The Sooners’ defense answered with a three and out, giving OU’s offense a chance to make it a two-score game.

Mateer helped OU move down the field methodically, giving the offense a balance of short passes and designed quarterback runs. He did, however, make a mistake when he took a sack on third down at the Tennessee 38-yard line, setting up a difficult 55-yard field-goal attempt for Sandell.

Sandell, though, made the kick to make it a nine-point game.

In the final 30 minutes, Mateer went 12-of-16 on pass attempts for 115 yards and an interception, and he also rushed for a touchdown to ice the game in the final two minutes.

“He was really just in a good headspace all day, all night,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “In the second half, he just got a really good rhythm, taking good easy things underneath and hitting that nice little shot to Isaiah. At that moment, I knew that he was just feeling it.”

The version of Mateer that had shown up lately was a stark contrast from how he played in the first half of the season.

Mateer registered 1,215 passing yards, 11 total touchdowns and three interceptions in his first four games before undergoing surgery on his right hand. In his last three contests before the Tennessee game, Mateer completed only 57.9 percent of his passes for 575 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Mateer’s performance against Tennessee won’t suddenly put him back into the Heisman race. But the quarterback reaffirmed that he is someone that can lead the Sooners to monumental wins, both this year and further down the road.

“It just instills even more belief, and it's even a good tool of affirmation,” Arbuckle said. “That's a great thing for us to be able to go into this bye week with and continue to build on and ultimately finish out the remainder of this regular season really strong."