NORMAN — John Mateer knows football is unpredictable.
It’s that realization, complimenting the fact he forgave himself from his past mistakes this season, that he’s aiming to keep in mind moving forward this season. Mateer feels like he’s prepared well for every game this season but having short-term memory when something goes wrong will be critical during Oklahoma’s final five games.
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“It’s just staying in the moment,” Mateer said after practice Monday evening. “I mean, things are gonna happen. It’s an imperfect game. That’s why everybody loves it. That’s why it’s the greatest game. You can learn so much. But knowing who I am, trusting in the week of preparation and just playing free.
“One play could go bad, but the next play matters.”
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It’s that mindset that led to perhaps Mateer’s best game in years this past weekend against Mississippi State. The Sooners’ offense recorded 467 offensive yards and Mateer threw for a season-high 283 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.
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Mateer is looking to continue that efficiency against South Carolina on Saturday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
“Super clean, really proud of John,” coach Brent Venables said on his coach’s show. “Managed the game in a great way, made plays. Certainly took what was there but made some fantastic plays. Had big vision.”
It helped that OU relied heavily on the run game earlier, which helped open up the pass game. The Sooners also took advantage of quality field position thanks to their defense.
“The defense got us the ball in a lot of plus territory,” Mateer said. “We were at the 50-yard line a lot. We had that one drive that was really long, but other than that, it was really at the 50-yard line, and so we’re already in the zone to take advantage of where we’re at. And so we ran the ball well.
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“Obviously, put up a lot of numbers, and I thought I was efficient, throwing the ball short and letting them run long.”
Mateer has proven to be turnover-prone this season. That could be a problem against a talented crop of Gamecocks edge rushers, including Dylan Stewart.
If Mateer plays clean football and continues to live in the moment, the Sooners believe they can win all five games remaining on their schedule.
“It feels good,” Mateer said. “The goal is to go 1–0 every week. And you can get a little ahead of yourself: ‘We’ve got to win this and this and this.’ You just focus on the right now and winning the game and making it happen.
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“So we did, and it was a close game. Probably didn’t have to be, but we made it that way. And we finished a four-minute drill, and it felt good to win.”
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Can OU football QB John Mateer remain efficient vs South Carolina?
