John Mateer's rough day ended on a high note against LSU

The Oklahoma Sooners notched another ugly win on Saturday, this time at home against the LSU Tigers. Winning ugly has become a staple of OU's 2025 season, and they very likely stamped their ticket to the College Football Playoff with the win. We'll find out for sure on Sunday, but the Sooners sure look like they're going to be on the final bracket.

Defense and special teams once again carried the day for Oklahoma, which wasn't surprising considering what this team has looked like for a good chunk of the season on offense. However, it was perhaps even uglier than normal this weekend, with starting quarterback John Mateer throwing three interceptions over the first three quarters of the game on what was mostly a night to forget for the Sooner signal-caller.

However, the rugged OU defense continued buying their offense time in this game, and the Sooners trailed by just three points with a little over five minutes left when they got the ball back. Three plays into the drive, Mateer atoned for the picks by finding and hitting wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III, who was wide open, for a 58-yard touchdown that gave the Sooners the lead. One more stop from the defense preserved the win and very likely put OU in the playoff.

It was mostly a day Mateer would like to forget against the Tigers, but it's a credit to him for sticking with it, and to head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle for sticking with him. After the game, Mateer was asked about his mindset heading into the final quarter.

"Everything that I worked for, from January and my whole life, was these 15 minutes right here," Mateer said. "I mean, everything I want is in front of me, and it hasn't been good, but we're still here, we’re still fighting and thanks to this defense, we're still alive. So, I was very grateful for the grace that our defense gives me and this offense, and so I just know how to keep fighting."

Mateer continued to fight, even as he and the Sooner offense struggled. He's nowhere near the best pure passer of the football that OU has had in the last half-decade, but how many of those players would have had the ability and the mental fortitude to be able to step up and deliver the go-ahead throw to take the lead in a must-win game? That takes guts, and Mateer certainly ranks as the gutsiest QB in Norman in that time frame.

"Yeah, it obviously didn't go very well at first," Mateer said. "We knew what was on the line, and we had a lot of fight and believed that we could do it. So, we came together when we needed it ... I think if you get caught in that, it's only negative and I think you gotta have a little more mental strength not do it. If I got caught in that, if it's like, 'Oh, if I don't play well, then this is gonna happen.' It's just fear. You can't play with fear. So I knew if I had another opportunity, I would do my best to get it done."

The redshirt junior quarterback has been very open and candid about some of his struggles since breaking his thumb in the fourth week of the season, and he was once again very transparent after helping Oklahoma defeat LSU. After kneeling out the game's final seconds following the defense's last stand, he stayed kneeling as his teammates began celebrating.

"Yeah, I stayed on a knee and I just thanked God for the opportunity and the strength and the courage to get it done," Mateer said. "To be able to fight through all that, not do well, and have the Grace to still get it done is something I really appreciate, and the opportunity, and these guys, and how fun it is to win, even though I wasn't perfect."

Mateer and the entire offense have a lot to figure out if this Oklahoma team is truly going to get where they want to go in 2025, and even beyond that. It's not a unit that is executing at a high level right now, and it's nearly cost the Sooners dozens of times. However, as poorly as he played through three quarters and as dicey as the situation got late in a game the Sooners had to have, Mateer's belief in himself and his inner drive to keep going and keep making plays for his team ultimately was just enough, once again, to deliver the Sooners from the hands of the Tigers and an embarrassing upset loss with everything on the table.

"When you have a third quarter like I did, I knew I just had to keep going out there and playing football," Mateer said. "I was either going to hate myself forever or become a man."

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer overcame three picks to lead the Sooners past the Tigers