The Oklahoma Sooners suffered another embarrassing home loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks under head coach Brent Venables. The Sooners fell 42-25, but the final score doesn't show how big of a blowout it was.
The Sooners trailed 35-10 at the end of the third quarter, with the defense scoring the lone touchdown. Oklahoma managed some points in the fourth after South Carolina benched its starters and played a conservative defense.
Quarterback John Mateer struggled again on Saturday. He completed 26-of-43 passes for 244 yards and two scores. Both touchdowns came in that fourth quarter. He also ran it 11 times for just 29 yards. There's been a lot of talk about replacing Mateer at quarterback with either Whitt Newbauer or Bowe Bentley. However,
Venables dismissed those conversations in his postgame press conference.
"Right now, I'm not ready to say anything like that," Venables said.
Venables' response leaves Mateer in position to remain Oklahoma's starting quarterback, at least for now, but the pressure surrounding the position is unlikely to disappear. The Sooners need more consistent production from the offense, and Mateer has struggled to deliver that over the past several weeks. With Newbauer and Bentley waiting for an opportunity, the coaching staff will face continued questions about whether a chance could give the unit a spark.
Oklahoma now has to regroup after another disappointing performance at home. The Sooners' path forward will depend on finding answers on offense, protecting the football and getting more out of their quarterback position. Venables may not be ready to make a change, but the performance that follows will ultimately determine whether that decision remains the same.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Will Oklahoma make a change at QB? Brent Venables weighs in
