NORMAN, Okla. — As he jogged off the field, his rib protector hanging out of his jersey and the red sleeve on his right arm held high, quarterback John Mateer surveyed his still-new dominion of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and soaked in an atmosphere celebrating his exploits.
The new king was gallivanting around his castle or, more accurately, a Palace on the Prairie in this case, and enjoying the aftermath of the first marquee win of his Sooner career after running through (74 yards) and throwing over (270) No. 18 Michigan in a game that was far more one-sided than the 24–13 final score.
“This is something you dream of,” Mateer said with a smile. “Yeah, it’s great to have everyone shake my hand, but that was a team win.”
That’s a nice sentiment, perhaps the correct one if you’re a signal-caller, but it also obscures a cold, hard truth unveiled Saturday. The Sooners appear to have a quarterback on their hands.
A good one at that and, as a result, have shown life on offense for the first time in two years under embattled head coach Brent Venables. Combined with the normally salty defense the past few years, Oklahoma appears to have taken a meaningful step forward with some much-needed balance.
This is no longer an Oklahoma that trotted out 10 different starting lineups along the offensive line amid a disastrous 6–7 campaign last season. This one allowed only one sack to the Wolverines. The Sooners racked up 408 total yards at a healthy 5.5 yards per play against a unit stocked with NFL talent. They were far from the same group that hunted for bodies last fall with a lack of healthy wide receivers.
In a marquee matchup of bluebloods under the prime-time lights, it was notable that Oklahoma looked like Oklahoma once again. Flying around on defense sure, but finally with an offense that made them feel threatening well beyond what they showed for 60 minutes in Week 2.
“Proud of those guys and everything they’ve battled though,” Venables said. “The pain, as I told the team, is one of the world’s greatest adhesives. For somebody who’s gone through hell like a lot of us have, you don’t walk the same. Our destination isn’t just to be 2–0 and beat Michigan, but we have a heck of a team and a lot of opportunity and big-time challenges in front of us.”
Based on what transpired against a Big Ten contender, that might elevate the Sooners from just keeping their heads above water based on preseason expectations to truly competing.
At a minimum, contending in the SEC and perhaps even enough to flirt with the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma’s schedule looks far more manageable in retrospect after two weeks of actual football. It hosts Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU where it has lost just 15 times since 1999. In addition to the traditional neutral-site visit to Dallas to take on a Texas team that has looked mortal, there are road trips to South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama that all seem like toss-ups.
Boomer? It might be time to start saying that sooner than expected.
What allows Venables to puff his chest out a bit more is that he can loudly proclaim a proof of concept for his vision with this team.
An elite defense that harassed true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood into a 9-for-24 effort for only 142 yards while bottling up the Michigan run game, aside from a Justice Haynes 75-yard touchdown run off a bust to start the second half.
Even better were the contributions from all over, many were labeled as questionable acquisitions in a new world of roster building that prioritizes being either a big name or having big-time production.
Punter Grayson Miller averaged 47.8 yards per kick and helped flip the field consistently when called upon despite arriving on the team from tiny Division II Central Oklahoma just up the highway. Linebacker Owen Heinecke led the team in tackles on Saturday (seven) as a walk-on going up against a program which has won more than any other in the sport. Derek Simmons started at right tackle after playing last season at Western Carolina while true freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi more than held his own against one of the best front sevens in the Big Ten. Fellow freshman Courtland Guillory registered three tackles in the secondary, forced an errant throw and limited the Wolverines to just five plays of over 15 yards.
Venables notably gave $1 million of his salary back over the offseason—a tacit admission he was on the hot seat almost as much as it was confirmation that he needed better players.
It appears he’s found plenty of them. In Mateer, he certainly has one capable of elevating the team from good to great.
“He’s a tough-ass dude. He’s going to run the ball and he’s going to try to run you over,” said tight end Jaren Kanak, who had five catches and 69 yards. “It’s fun to see him run the ball. Every time he gets clobbered, you kind of wince a little bit, but it’s fun.”
Mateer was already known as a dynamic player at Washington State, but he proved more than capable of succeeding at a higher level Saturday. On top of accounting for all three of the Sooners’ touchdowns, he also was responsible for 84% of the team’s total yardage. Mateer seemingly had an answer for whatever was thrown at him by veteran defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, even factoring in an ill-advised interception on an overthrown pass.
“There were some, moments,” chuckled offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who arrived from the Palouse just ahead of his protégé. “The thing with John is that I trust that kid like no end. He understands moments and situations and he knows when to take a chance and when not to take a chance. Whenever he lets one rip and puts the ball in what some may say is in a risky situation, I have the utmost confidence that he’s making the right decision.”
That has proven to be the case as Mateer’s completed 72% of his passes on the season and thrown for the second-most yards (662) of any first-time Oklahoma starter since Josh Heupel had 773 on his way to leading the team to its most recent national title.
“We didn’t play perfect, there’s a lot of things to clean up but that just shows how together we are. Nobody panicked. We’ve got a lot of veteran leadership and we all came together,” Mateer said. “We came together and did whatever it took to win.”
If there was anything to nitpick about the performance, it might be with several of the Sooners’ special teams mistakes. A roughing the punter penalty in the second quarter near the end zone extended a Michigan drive that allowed the Wolverines to attempt a field goal while a muffed punt in the third quarter took away a potential knockout blow.
Yet each time it felt like the Wolverines were about to threaten to make things interesting, Oklahoma always had some sort of a response—including a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive that soaked up almost all of the fourth quarter and delivered the final margin after the visitors made it a one-score game.
“They look like they’re having fun like it’s recess. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that and be developed?” quipped Venables. “There will be a byproduct of having a good night like [tonight] so early in the year, it creates a little bit of momentum—and that’s real.”
Real and tangible, Oklahoma has an offense—and particularly a swaggering quarterback—it can lean on instead of cover up. That leaves the Sooners dreaming about much more than just knocking off one marquee opponent and wondering how much further the ol’ Schooner can go this season.
