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Oklahoma had a difficult draw on Saturday going to Athens to play Georgia, but the first half went even worse than the Sooners could have imagined.
At halftime, Oklahoma faced a four-touchdown deficit with the possibility of the season going on life support with two losses in the first four games. At the center of the issues is quarterback John Mateer, who has had his issues with turnovers in the first month of the season.
Mateer returned to Oklahoma with hopes of leading Oklahoma back to the College Football Playoff, but the Sooners are now facing the possibility of their season getting away from them. Mateer needs to turn his play around, potentially to keep his starting job.
Here's a look at Mateer's disastrous first half.
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John Mateer's nightmare first half
Mateer had a tough go of it against Georgia in the first half on Saturday, producing three turnovers as the Bulldogs took a 28-0 lead into halftime.
First fumble
With Georgia alreayd up 14-0 in the game, Oklahoma needed a strong drive to get the offense going. In fact, the Sooners were on the goal line and ready to punch in their first score when Mateer made a crucial mistake.
On a bootleg pass attempt, Mateer let the ball slip out of his hands while Georgia's Chris Cole scooped the ball up and ran it back for six.
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 26, 2026Interception
On the very next possession, now down 21 points, Mateer turned the ball over yet again. Mateer tried to force a ball to his wide receiver on 3rd-and-9 in Georgia territory, but the Bulldogs sniffed it out and intercepted him to end the drive.
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 26, 2026Second fumble
As that interception didn't lead to points the other way, Mateer had a chance to bounce back on the next drive. However, on 4th-and-1, Mateer once again tried to do too much, resulting in a fumble and a recovery for Georgia, giving the Bulldogs the ball deep in Sooners territory.
IT GETS WORSE FOR MATEER pic.twitter.com/iRHvcoFop1
— Brandon Walker College Football Show (@BFWshow) September 26, 2026Oklahoma fans reaction to John Mateer
Mateer's struggles on Saturday might have been the final straw for some fans, who believe that Oklahoma should consider benching the quarterback moving forward.
Seeing a lot of people saying Oklahoma has to bench Mateer.
I brought up the possibility on Wednesday. You know how I feel. pic.twitter.com/KnoWhJlXWf
For his own sake and his mental health can they PLEASE BENCH JOHN MATEER
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) September 26, 2026Gotta bench Mateer man
— Jake “JBOY” Crain (@JakeCrain_) September 26, 2026I don't think Oklahoma has any choice but to bench Mateer at halftime. You can't leave him out there after that half
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) September 26, 2026Oklahoma has put much of its stock this season into Mateer, who was last year's quarterback for the Sooners while he battled injuries. It seems, though, as Mateer's struggles are getting too loud to ignore.
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