The ball was in fifth year quarterback John Mateer’s hands with the game seemingly on the line against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday, but he blew it.
Mateer threw a crosser to fifth year wide receiver Trell Harris that was undercut by a Michigan defender and returned inside the Sooner 10-yard line. The costly interception led to a Wolverine touchdown that ultimately sealed the Michigan victory.
Now, with criticism about Mateer’s outing building, teammates are rallying behind their quarterback.
Junior wide receiver Mackenzie Alleyne praised the quarterback’s leadership through a rough week.
“Everybody is down, feeling down about themselves,” Alleyne said. “But it's always about how you come back the next day. Today, (Mateer was) making sure we (are) all on point.”
Alleyne has known Mateer longer than any player on OU’s roster, as the two were teammates at Washington State in 2024. The connection was alive on Saturday, as Alleyne caught Mateer’s lone touchdown to get the Sooners on the scoreboard.
Junior running back Lloyd Avant, who has been the Sooners’ lead back through two games, also noticed Mateer’s leadership after the loss. Avant finished Saturday’s game with just 35 yards on nine carries.
“He keeps his head up; he's a leader of the team,” Avant said. “I mean, when we came (into) the locker room right after the game, his head was high. … He (made) sure the team was up, and (he made) sure we had a level head.”
Junior offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis also had full support of his quarterback Monday night.
“Everybody knows John got our back, and we got his back all the time,” Pierre-Louis said.
Mateer acknowledged his need for improvement following the loss.
“I’ll make it happen,” Mateer said on Saturday. "I don't have a choice. This team needs me. This university needs me. I have to do it.”
Head coach Brent Venables said on his coaches show Sunday that the offense missed too many easy opportunities.
“We didn’t make the layups,” Venables said. “There are a lot of layups there. We can’t miss those layups. … We didn’t take what was there, and that’s the frustrating part.”
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
