Oklahoma Sooners QB John Mateer Could Be X-Factor Red River Rivalry Game

Last year, the Oklahoma Sooners fielded an offense ranked No. 124 out of the 134 total FBS teams, which measures as their worst in history.

Lacking explosivity, they recorded just 13 plays for 20 or more yards, which makes up 3.4% of their total number of plays on offense. To conceptualize these statistics relative to other teams, this was the third-lowest explosiveness rate between all Power Four teams in the past 10 years. 

Additionally, in last year’s Red River Rivalry, the Texas Longhorns took the victory with a score of 34-3. Playing four quarters against the Longhorns and having just one field goal to show for it on the offensive side is far less than ideal for the Sooners, especially after they claimed a 34-30 victory in 2023.

John Mateer takes the reigns  

All of this raises an important question: Who’s responsible for bringing this offense back to life in 2025?

The answer to this question is Washington State transfer John Mateer, a redshirt junior who recorded 3,139 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, along with 826 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns during his breakout season in 2024.

According to analyst RJ Young, Mateer could be a player to watch as the Sooners gear up for a season during which they hope to reestablish their offense.

“John Mateer is the biggest X factor, I think, of this entire college football season, but certainly in OU-Texas, as he is coming back home of sorts to play in a game that he grew up watching,” Young said in his recent video on the ‘Adapt & Respond’ channel. “He went to Little Elm, played high school football, and went to play for Ben Arbuckle at Washington State.”

Arbuckle now serves as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Sooners, and his familiarity with designing an offense around Mateer’s strengths could prove instrumental this season. Arbuckle assembled an offense at Washington State that was a national leader in scoring, and they ranked sixth among all FBS teams in terms of passing touchdowns. Now, he will just have to make sure his schemes and his quarterback can hold up in SEC matchups, such as the one against the Longhorns on Oct. 11.

Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and his crew will enter the game with the intent of dominating for the second consecutive year. They are ranked as one of the top teams in the rankings that have surfaced throughout the summer, and their defense is one that Mateer could have trouble against.

However, Young believes he can make a difference in the rivalry game, just as famous Sooner quarterbacks before him have.

“So, can John Mateer make the difference? Yes," Young affirmed. “Dillon Gabriel made the difference. Kyler Murray made the difference. Caleb Williams makes the difference. Be nice to see if John can reach that high water.”