Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer has had a rough start to the 2026 season. He hasn't played with the same level of confidence that we saw in the first four games of the 2025 season, where he led the Sooners to a 4-0 record before injuring his thumb. Despite some of the struggles, Brent Venables and the Sooners don't look like they're planning to make a change at this point.
While he hasn't been as good as many thought he could be coming into the season as a dark horse Heisman contender, he also hasn't been the worst quarterback in the SEC. Statistically, he's been right in the middle of the pack by most measures.
Much of his play has left something to be desired, but the turnovers have been the biggest issue. He had three against Georgia,
threw two interceptions against New Mexico, and threw an interception against Michigan that led to the go-ahead score.
Mateer could certainly be better, but if he could take care of the football, Oklahoma would have a better shot at winning moving forward. The offense isn't doing much to help him, given how ineffective the Sooners' rushing attack has been this season, but that shouldn't affect Mateer's ability to hold onto the ball.
Another area where Mateer can improve is pushing the ball downfield. Teams aren't respecting Oklahoma's downfield passing attack, which lets defenses play within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Mateer's average depth of target of 8.6 yards downfield ranks tied for 12th. He needs to start attacking downfield. Even if it's not successful, showing teams you're willing to attack deep can soften coverage within 10 yards and potentially pull a defender out of the box that the run game has to account for. Mateer has to give his wide receivers and tight ends chances to make plays downfield.
Here's how Mateer ranks in a number of stats compared to the rest of the SEC.
John Mateer SEC Rankings
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: How John Mateer compares to SEC quarterbacks statistically
