Three Quick Takeaways After Oklahoma Gets Blown Out by No. 2 Georgia

The Sooners turned the ball over three times in the first half, which made Saturday's difficult task impossible in Athens.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer gets the ball stripped during the first half against Georgia at Sanford Stadium. | Carson Field / Sooners on SI

ATHENS, Ga. — Oklahoma had a narrow path to victory against No. 2 Georgia. 

Three turnovers in the second quarter by OU quarterback John Mateer demolished any path the Sooners may have had, however. 

Two weeks after failing to move the ball against Michigan in the first half and one week after a dismal showing against New Mexico, Mateer sank to a new low. 

Oklahoma’s defense tried to shake off a relatively slow start to buy the offense time, but the combination of short fields and the time the defense had to spend on the field finally got the best of Brent Venables’ unit. 

The Bulldogs crushed the Sooners 41-13 at Sanford Stadium, knocking OU back to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play in the midst of Georgia’s 52nd straight win over unranked opposition.

Oklahoma has a week to heal up and put the game in the past before the Sooners turn their attention to No. 1 Texas on the other side of the bye week. 

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s blowout defeat:

Mateer sinks the Sooners

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer gets the ball stripped in the first half against Georgia at Sanford Stadium. | Carson Field / Sooners on SI

There’s a lot wrong with Oklahoma’s offense, but OU’s quarterback made it impossible to win on Saturday. 

The offense struggled to move the chains early, but after finally locking in and getting to the red zone, Mateer channeled his inner Jackson Arnold. 

On third-and-goal from the 2, Mateer rolled out to his left, jumped up in the air and dropped the football as he cocked back to try and throw. 

The result was an 85-yard scoop-and-score to put the hosts on top 21-0.

Mateer wasn’t done firing shots into his foot, however. 

He spectacularly underthrew Jacob Jordan on the next possession to set the Bulldogs up near midfield, and after OU’s defense steeled itself and forced a stop, Mateer fumbled the ball again on the OU sideline to put his defense in another impossible bind. 

The fact that Mateer started the second half was more a commentary on what the Sooners have waiting in the wings in Whitt Newbauer and freshman Bowe Bentley, who both would have been tossed into an unfair environment at Sanford Stadium, than any grand statement of faith in Mateer.

Inexcusable start

OU’s defense forced a punt on the first possession of the game, but that’s about the only positive that went the Sooners’ way in the first quarter. 

On each of Oklahoma’s first two drives, Ben Arbuckle appeared to have no plan on third down and Venables had to burn timeouts. Out of those stoppages, OU got zero yards. 

Then, on the second punt of the game, the Sooners took a needless delay of game penalty. 

While it’s no surprise that the offense was wholly unprepared — that’s become a norm over the last three years of a Venables-led team — the defense also needed a moment to settle in. 

Georgia marched 79 yards in 11 plays on its second offensive drive, converting on a third-and-7 with a 30-yard pass and picking up a fourth-and-2 in the red zone. 

Then, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton found Tayln Taylor streaking behind the defense on the Bulldogs’ third drive for a 35-yard touchdown. 

The rest of the points allowed came at the hands of terrible field position off of a Mateer turnover, but the defense unfortunately has to play a perfect game against the SEC’s best to give OU a chance, and it took a few drives to figure out the Georgia offense.

Big Decisions Loom

As Oklahoma hits its bye week, this would be the opportunity to make any changes on the offensive side of the ball. 

Thoughts will quickly go to Arbuckle and whether he will be the one on the headset calling plays in two weeks in the Cotton Bowl. But the week of “self-scouting” will not be kind to Mateer, who has played worse while healthy than he did a year ago with the thumb injury.

It doesn’t seem like a great spot to throw Bentley in, as the freshman wouldn’t have a running game or an offensive line to support him. 

Newbauer has started games before at Mercer, though he likely never imagined his number could get called while Mateer is healthy in 2026.

At 0-1 in SEC play, the coaching staff will maintain that every goal is still on the table, as an 8-1 run through the rest of conference play would likely result in a bid to Atlanta, but nobody operating in the real world believes there are any championships left to chase this year in Norman.

There was no upturn in play in 2024 when the Sooners endured a terrible season, but Venables’ culture won out in the end, as OU never quit. 

That foundation will be tested again over the next nine contests, where the Sooners are slated to play six more opponents currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

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