Oklahoma QB John Mateer In Danger Of Missing Red River Rivalry vs. Texas

The 2025 edition of the Red River Rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is still well over two weeks away, and both teams are ranked in the top 10 of the AP's Top 25 rankings, making this game one for the ages.

The matchup between two new quarterbacks in Texas' Arch Manning and Oklahoma's John Mateer has been the talk of the conference ever since the two were confirmed as the starting quarterbacks of their respective teams at the beginning of the 2025 season.

However, it seems as though only one of them will actually see the field at the Cotton Bowl on October 11.

Mateer to Undergo Surgery on Throwing Hand, Could Miss Red River Game

In Oklahoma's 24-17 victory over the Auburn Tigers last Saturday, it was revealed that Mateer, the current Heisman Trophy favorite, had suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand during the first quarter of play, and Tuesday afternoon, it was announced that the quarterback would be undergoing surgery on the hand Wednesday and would be expected to miss at least three or more weeks, putting his role in the upcoming rivalry game as well as his Heisman odds in serious jeopardy.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) is brought down by Auburn Tigers safety AnQuon Fegans (21). — Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) is brought down by Auburn Tigers safety AnQuon Fegans (21) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Auburn Tigers at Gaylord Family Ð Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday,Sept. 20, 2025. Oklahoma won 24-17. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN's Pete Thamel's report read that Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said that Mateer is simply expected back at "some point this season."

On3's Pete Nakos reported that there is some hope that Mateer could recover in time to head to Dallas, but that the recovery process would be critical in his situation.

The Sooners other options at quarterback are sophomores Michael Hawkins Jr. and Whitt Newbauer.

However, this situation with quarterbacks, especially this close to the rivalry game with the Longhorns, should not come as any new news to the Sooners' fanbase.

In 2022, Dillon Gabriel had to sit out of the game with an injury, and it resulted in a very long day for the Sooners team, with Gabriel's backup Davis Beville completing only half of his pass attempts, and one of them even getting intercepted as the Longhorns shut out their rivals to the north by a score of 49-0.

And just last year, Oklahoma again went through a quarterback fiasco that saw now-Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold benched in favor of Hawkins Jr., and it again resulted in a big win for the Burnt Orange, this time in a 34-3 affair.

The Longhorns and Sooners are expected to compete for the Golden Hat Trophy in Dallas on October 11 at 2:30 PM, their 121st meeting on the gridiron.