Oklahoma QB John Mateer, OC Ben Arbuckle Share Blame for Pick Six vs. Alabama

Sooners quarterback John Mateer threw a costly pick six with under two minutes left in the first half, and it wiped away almost all of their momentum.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer signals to his offense against Alabama in the CFP. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

NORMAN — In a game that was already trending in the wrong direction for OU, one play took all the life away from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

With the Sooners holding a 17-10 lead with 1:18 remaining in the second quarter, quarterback John Mateer threw a touchdown pass — to the wrong team.

Targeting wideout Keontez Lewis, Mateer instead threw a pass into the hands of Zabien Brown, who returned the interception for a touchdown.

Brown’s touchdown tied the game at halftime, and the Crimson Tide pulled away in the second half to win 34-24 and advance to the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals.

“There was just an execution error, and the corner from Alabama made an awesome play,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.

Arbuckle and Mateer both accepted the blame for the game-altering play.

The Crimson Tide ran several zero blitzes in the first half, and Arbuckle anticipated that they would do so again on the play that Brown scored on. Instead, Alabama shifted into a cover-two defense, meaning the Crimson Tide had two deep safeties and plenty of help to cover intermediate routes.

Arbuckle said he simply made the wrong call.

“I've got to make sure everything's a lot more clear and more concise whenever something happens in that moment,” Arbuckle said. “It's not John's fault. It's not Keontez's fault. It's nobody's fault but mine. I've got to make sure I put them in a better position to be successful there.”

Mateer, though, said his instincts led him to believe that the Crimson Tide would run cover zero. Lewis ran a go route, while Mateer expected his target to run something shorter and to the outside.

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The apparent lapse in communication led to seven points for Alabama and the game’s biggest momentum shift.

“I got tricked, and it was pretty bad,” Mateer said. “You watch the tape, it was obvious it wasn't a cover zero.”

Mateer nearly made a play to stop Brown from returning the interception for a touchdown, but the cornerback swatted him away with his left hand and glided into the end zone.

While both Mateer and Arbuckle take fault for the play, Arbuckle acknowledged the outstanding play that Brown made — from the read and the catch and the return.

“Kudos to that kid from Alabama for making a great play,” Arbuckle said.

After the pick six, Alabama outscored Oklahoma 17-7. The Sooners got back within three points in the fourth quarter before the Crimson Tide scored the game-sealing touchdown with just over five minutes left.

OU coach Brent Venables sees the pick six as one of many mistakes that the Sooners allowed to snowball.

“They were able to start to slowly but surely creep back into the game,” Venables said. “And we had a couple of ill-timed mistakes that they capitalized on.”