Why Oklahoma Stuck With John Mateer Despite Calls to Give Backups a Chance

NORMAN — The chants were much less noticeable than the “Fire Arbuckle” chants that came down just before halftime but they were definitely present.

In the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 42-25 Oklahoma loss to South Carolina at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, fans weary of the ineptitude of the Sooners’ offense and the struggles of quarterback John Mateer started chanting “We Want Whitt,” pleading for the embattled offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and head coach Brent Venables to give backup Whitt Newbauer a go.

But even after the Gamecocks took a 42-16 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Arbuckle and Venables stuck with Mateer instead of giving Newbauer or freshman Bowe Bentley a shot.

Both Arbuckle and Venables said the idea was considered but ultimately decided to stick with Mateer.

“We put together a couple drives there when we were considering if we do put somebody else in, give them an opportunity, and we put together three scoring drives and had another 11-play drive that ended at the 1-yard line,” Venables said. “So know knows how everything would have finished up.”

Arbuckle’s words were nearly identical.

“I mean we talked about everything on the headset tonight,” Arbuckle said. “But then we rattled off three scoring drives and the way it was going it didn’t feel like the right time.”

Mateer’s fourth-quarter performance did little but make the final statistics more palatable.

His success didn’t come against South Carolina’s starting defense, and even then the Gamecocks were more trying to keep the clock rolling along than keep the Sooners from gaining yards.

Mateer finished 26 of 43 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 16 of 25 for 197 yards and both of those touchdowns.

Venables even admitted afterward that there was little to no positive to be taken from the fourth-quarter numbers.

“No,” Venables said matter-of-factly when asked if the fourth-quarter performance was something to build on.

If there was nothing to be gained from it — and though the Sooners were stopped on the South Carolina 1 on a drive and even tried an onside kick in the fourth, they were never really threatening to get back in the game — then it didn’t make much sense not to give Newbauer or Bentley a try.

Neither have played in a game since the season-opening 51-0 win over UTEP.

It might’ve been difficult to throw either, but especially Bentley, out there against Georgia or Texas, but though South Carolina’s defense is good, it isn’t as stacked as those two groups.

Also, with the redshirt rules no longer a reason to hold back a young quarterback, it would make sense to give Bentley at least a chance late in a blowout defeat.

Instead, Arbuckle and Venables kept Mateer out there until the bitter end.

Still, Arbuckle talked up the backup duo.

“They prepare,” Arbuckle said. “I’m confident in those two individuals, Bowe and Whit, but year, just how the game was shaking out and everything tonight just didn’t feel like that was right.”

While the Sooners are virtually certain to go after a quarterback in the transfer portal, time is running out to give either Bentley or Newbauer a shot to prove that they at least deserve a chance to compete for playing time moving forward.

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