NORMAN — John Mateer played with a confidence against Mississippi State that’s been lacking so far in 2026. 

He completed 22-of-29 passes for 283 yards and two scores, and crucially, he avoided a back-breaking turnover. 

That confidence spread to other areas of his game. 

Mateer arrived at Oklahoma as a dual-threat quarterback, but his ground game has been missing in 2026. 

Though he only carried the ball nine times for 37 yards in the 23-15 win, Mateer ran as decisively as he has all year. 

“I thought he did a good job of getting downhill,” offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said after the win. “I think he made the wrong read on one. … but didn't make the wrong read a lot. But yeah, he got his foot down, went north to south.”

Any time Mateer gets going on the ground, it’s a plus for OU’s offense. But Mateer especially seems to settle into the game when he can make plays with his legs. 

“They weren’t really keying me as much as most defenses do, which was fun for me. I appreciate it,” Mateer said. “But I noticed it early.”

As a result, things opened up even more for running backs Tory Blaylock and Lloyd Avant, as the Bulldog defense had to remain aware of Mateer at all times. 

“It’s just another element that’s difficult to defend, from a defensive standpoint (when) you get anybody in the plus-one run game,” OU coach Brent Venables said. 

Mateer was sacked once, but he moved the chains on four of his other eight carries. 

Two of those conversions came on third down, including a 6-yard rush when facing third-and-5 on the final drive of the game. He also rushed for three yards on fourth-and-1 on the final drive of the first half, which immediately led to a touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna. 

“Those are big plays,” Venables said. “If he can be effective in running the football, that just opens up another element for our offense.”

The clarity that Mateer played with on Saturday was one factor in his success, but he also identified another issue that he worked to correct against the Bulldogs. 

“In the QB run game between the tackles earlier in the year, I had noticed I was kind of tiptoeing a little bit,” Mateer said. “I don’t know where that came from, but I tried to stop that recently and you saw that on the fourth down. I tried to just get in there and I kind of got hit, but I’m good. Play ball.”

The defenses that remain on Oklahoma’s schedule are all much better than Mississippi State’s unit, but for an offense searching for success in any form or fashion, the return of Mateer’s legs posing a threat would be a welcome sight. 

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