Why Oklahoma WR Isaiah Sategna Believes Sooners Will ‘Go Really Far’ in CFP

NORMAN — Holistically, one could say that Oklahoma’s offense struggled in the back half of the regular season, and they would be correct.

In the Sooners’ last seven games, they averaged just 309.7 offensive yards and 21.1 points per game. OU scored only 13 offensive touchdowns in that span.

Still, Oklahoma’s offense came up clutch in big moments regularly, helping them win five of their last seven games to finish 10-2 and earn the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Wide receiver Isaiah Sategna believes the offensive grit stems from quarterback John Mateer’s leadership.

“The fourth quarter, that’s when I feel like is his best time,” Sategna said. “That’s when I feel like he really comes alive.”

The moment that best exemplifies Sategna’s sentiment is the throw that Mateer made against LSU in the Sooners’ regular-season finale.

With OU trailing 13-10, Mateer found a wide-open Sategna in the middle of the field. The quarterback hit Sategna — once the nation’s No. 5 track and field prospect — in stride to give his team the go-ahead touchdown.

That throw to Sategna against LSU was Mateer’s only fourth-quarter passing touchdown in OU’s last four games. But Mateer helped the Sooners generate momentum in other moments in each of the Sooners’ three prior contests.

In OU’s 33-27 win over Tennessee, he hit Sategna on an out route for a gain of 25 yards in the third quarter, and that set up Xavier Robinson for a rushing touchdown. Robinson broke off a 43-yard run in the final two minutes before Mateer used his legs to score the game-sealing touchdown one play later.

Mateer took advantage of a short-field situation in the Sooners’ 23-21 win at Alabama, rushing for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter. That was OU’s lone offensive score in that game, but it loomed large in a game decided by just two points.

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And against Missouri, Mateer threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter after Oklahoma had minus-7 offensive yards in the first quarter.

From a numbers perspective, Mateer’s production in the second half of the regular season wasn’t anywhere near his production in OU’s first four games.

Mateer was the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy after Week 4, as he had registered 1,215 yards, 11 total touchdowns and just three interceptions at that point. The quarterback underwent surgery on his right hand in late September before returning for the Red River Rivalry game against Texas on Oct. 11. Since that game, Mateer has completed just 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,363 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Still, Mateer’s presence allowed the Sooners to finish the regular season the way that they did, per Sategna.

“He shows up whenever we need him the most,” Sategna said. “He’s a really clutch player.”

While Sategna prefers to credit his quarterback for the offense’s grit, the wide receiver has been instrumental to the unit’s ability to create big plays in must-have situations.

Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas before the 2025 season, compiled 948 yards and seven touchdowns on 65 receptions during the regular season. He led the Sooners in receiving in five of their last six games and earned All-SEC honors.

“I just tell John, whenever you need me, I’m gonna be there,” Sategna said. “Just so he knows that whenever he needs me, whenever he needs somebody, whenever we need a play, like, I’m there. I’m available.”

More than ever, it’s necessary for the Sooners to generate more big plays in key moments, as Oklahoma will host No. 9 Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday.

And while the Sooners’ offense hasn’t consistently been a high-flying, explosive unit, Sategna believes OU’s offensive players will continue making big plays in crunch time.

“We're not done here,” Sategna said. “We’re not just showing up for first-round games. We’ve got a special team. We’re gonna go really far.”