John Mateer's 'Difficult Week' Led to Oklahoma's Victorious Trip to The Swamp

The human element of major college sports can fall by the wayside when a team comes up short of expectations.

The Oklahoma Sooners have done just that in 2026 — fall well short of expectations. So much so that Ben Arbuckle, who has been connected to John Mateer for the last four seasons, was fired last Monday.

Mateer's thoughts following their 23-7 victory against No. 24 Florida on Arbuckle's dismissal were a reminder of that human element. The much-criticized quarterback was certainly in good spirits after an upset victory on the road, but was solemn in sharing what his week was like.

"Difficult week, you can imagine," Mateer said after the game. "I’ve been with Coach Arbuckle for so long. I love him, and he’s just meant so much to me and my career and my teachings and what I know about the game, so I want to say that I love him and feel for him."

When someone is relieved of their duties, the immediate minutes and hours following can lead to some awkward or even deeply emotional moments. Mateer, who would often watch film in Arbuckle's office on Monday, was making his way to do just that after Brent Venables had already made the decision.

"(Arbuckle) just walked in, gave me a hug and said he’s got to go," Mateer said. "He said he loved me, and he said he appreciated me. Obviously a wild moment. The way I am as a person, when things like that happen — real change, I didn’t really understand it until that night, but it was hard."

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On Tuesday, Venables mentioned that Arbuckle's firing was not on his quarterback, although he understood that Mateer may feel responsible. Instead, Venables assured Mateer that the decision had nothing to do with him, that he didn't "deserve that weight."

From there, Mateer conducted himself professionally and moved forward by leading his teammates who, as he shared on Saturday night, immediately had his back as the Sooners took the practice field on Monday despite the emotions he was dealing with.

"After practice (on Monday) it got me. I’ll be honest, I was pretty upset. Not mad at anybody. My teammates had my back," he said.

The focus and team-backing paid off. Mateer played one of his finest games as a Sooner, completing 21-of-33 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns in the program's first trip to The Swamp.

"Nobody flinched — coaches, players, defense not knowing what’s going on. It was good. Really good. We came out, and we believed, and we made it happen," Mateer said.

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