John Mateer woke up in the middle of the night with a revelation.
It was just hours before the Oklahoma Sooners were set to take on Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
“Something told me to forgive yourself,” Mateer said after the win. “Real powerful stuff. And I only say that now because I hope everybody hears that. And I knew it, right when it happened. Forgive yourself.”
Just last week, Oklahoma’s four turnovers played a big role in the Sooners' home loss to a ranked Kentucky squad. Mateer alone hadthree interceptions.
But on Saturday, Mateer turned in an outstanding performance,leading Oklahoma to a 23-15 road win over Mississippi State. After his revelation, Mateer entered Saturday with a simple mindset.
“The next play matters,” Mateer said.
“And all day, all I thought was the last play is the least important — the least important thing is whatever just happened. So the next play, to focus, being calm and believing in who I am.”
Mateer finished the game completing 22-of-29 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball nine times for 37 yards. All in all, it was one of his best performances as Oklahoma's quarterback. And OU benefited as the Sooners' offense put up 467 total yards – the most against a Power Four opponent since entering the SEC.
Mateer admitted it’s been a challenge to forgive himself for how he’s played this season. He’s felt like he’s worked hard in practice, but it hasn’t shown on the field routinely enough for Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2 SEC) to be in the position they want to be in at this point in the season.
But on Saturday, he had it going. He was making his reads more quickly and created multiple explosive plays, including a 36-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna in the second quarter. Mateer rolled out of the pocket and threw the pass under pressure.
By the third quarter, Oklahoma held a 17-point lead, but it was an 8-point game late in the fourth. Mateer made sure not to repeat last week, when he threw two interceptions in the final minutes.
“In the third quarter,” Mateer said. “I was like, ‘Well, I played good for 44 minutes last week, and I woke up on Sunday and felt terrible.’ So nothing matters. The fourth quarter ended up getting tight. Shouldn’t have been when you score touchdowns. That’s, it’s on me. I play quarterback, so. But I said I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning, feeling some type of way. I want to win. I want everybody to feel good.”
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer forgives himself, leads OU to win over Mississippi State
