John Mateer looked up at the clock and saw that 19 seconds remained.
Just after Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Courtland Guillory grabbed his first-career interception, Mateer knew his Sooners still had a chance. Kicker Tate Sandell began preparing on the sideline, and Mateer needed just about 20 yards to give last year’s Lou Groza Award winner an opportunity to send No. 1-ranked Texas home with a loss
.With the game tied, Mateer, who had been criticized for his poor play over the last three games of the season, had everything in front of him. And in those moments, he trusted his top wide receiver, who had a quiet day up to that point. Mateer flung two back-shoulder passes to Isaiah Sategna, who just got his feet in bounds on each catch. They proved
to be two of Mateer’s best throws of the season.
“I knew when we hit the back-shoulder that it was most likely the game was over,” Mateer said postgame.
The reason was his kicker. Sandell knocked through a 47-yard field goal to give Oklahoma a 27-24 win over No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday evening. It was the first time Oklahoma had beaten Texas when the Longhorns were the top-ranked team in the country. They were previously 0-4-1. Oklahoma scored 20 points in the second half, 17 of those coming in the fourth quarter. It was a well-earned victory for Oklahoma (3-2, 0-1 SEC). But it certainly meant just as much to Mateer, who had received an abundance of scrutiny all season and was looking for redemption on Saturday.
that's another catch 🤲 https://t.co/dU2WVdYcCd pic.twitter.com/0G4NiWiQJV
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 10, 2026
Mateer completed 18 of 26 passes for 155 yards. Though he didn’t account for a touchdown, it was his game management and carefulness in avoiding turnovers that gave Oklahoma opportunities to score on special teams and on a pick-6. For Mateer, it wasn’t only redemption for his performances this year, but also for how he played in Red River last season.
The Sooners were riding high as the No. 6-ranked team in the country, and Mateer was an early-season Heisman candidate. Looking to keep that momentum going, Mateer returned 17 days from surgery on his throwing thumb to try to end Texas’ playoff hopes with a loss. A win would have been a storybook feature film. But it all turned sour as Mateer threw three interceptions in a loss.
“I think to go into it last year, this game kind of, it hits real deep,” Mateer said postgame on Saturday. “And I came back (from injury), and I wanted to do it, and turns out it’s not Hollywood. I’ve thought about this game every day for 365 days… And I think there’s real power in that. I think that was the longest fourth quarter I’ve ever been a part of. And it was awesome, and I’ll never forget it.”
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer's clutch throws lead to redemption and OU win over Texas
