Why Oklahoma QB John Mateer ‘Valued’ Bye Week Ahead of Alabama Game

John Mateer's play has been up and down since the Sooners' first bye week, and he treasured the opportunity to rest ahead of OU's game against Alabama.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Last week marked the second bye of Oklahoma’s season.

But for OU quarterback John Mateer, it felt like the first.

Mateer, who transferred to Oklahoma from Washington State before the 2025 season, underwent hand surgery during the Sooners’ first off week, between games against Auburn and Kent State in September.

With four games under his belt since OU’s first bye, Mateer said it was a relief to have a “normal” week off.

“I didn’t get to chill for a long time before this weekend, so I valued it a lot, didn’t take it for granted,” Mateer said. “But back to work.”

Mateer experienced a wide array of highs and lows in his four games since his surgery.

He led Oklahoma to road wins against South Carolina and No. 14 Tennessee, but he struggled in the Sooners’ losses against Texas and No. 8 Ole Miss. Altogether, Mateer threw for 734 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions on 59.7 percent passing during that span.

In this 14-day gap between games, Mateer didn’t have to travel to Los Angeles and undergo a significant surgery like he did in September.

Instead, Mateer got additional time to evaluate both the good and the bad from his last four outings.

“It’s a couple extra practices to get more reps,” Mateer said. “Got good reps last week and also just settled in and watched film, not having to perform the next week. I focused on the self scout a little bit and looked at what I really need to work on, so it was good.”

Not only does a bye week come at an ideal time for Mateer, it’s a much-needed reprieve for the entire team.

Oklahoma, despite dropping two of its last four games, is still in the mix for the College Football Playoff. The Sooners were ranked No. 12 in the initial CFP rankings, and a new edition of those rankings will be unveiled Tuesday.

OU plays its final road game of the season at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday before hosting Missouri and LSU to close out the regular season.

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Mateer hasn’t been perfect since returning from his injury. But in the Sooners’ two true road games since his surgery, the quarterback stepped up, leading them to two valuable conference wins.

The Crimson Tide are no slouch, having won their last eight contests. But OU’s coaches have faith in Mateer’s abilities to execute against high-level opponents on the road.

“For John, just built a little bit of confidence that, ‘Hey, if I do my job and I go execute, I can put us in a position to win the football game,’” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.”

OU head coach Brent Venables added, “I think it's important for any player — for the team — as you develop your identity and guys start to gain confidence as the season goes on from improving and going through the challenges of gameday and everything that presents, you learn from it.”

In addition to last week’s practices, Mateer said he spent “about 24 hours” back home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and watched football “all day” on Saturday.

The simplicity of this bye week has prepared Mateer to battle one of the nation’s top teams in a hostile environment.

“We don’t have to do anything we haven’t done,” Mateer said. “It’s a good team, there will be some resistance. And the fans bring another element. But no game is like another. We have to go in and start from Play 1.”