The biggest game of college football's Week 2 was in Norman, Okla. between No. 15 Michigan and No. 18 Oklahoma. The Sooners took care of business at home, defeating the Wolverines 21-13.
While Oklahoma’s defense did a solid job containing Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, the star of the night was new Sooner quarterback John Mateer. Mateer, who transferred to OU last offseason from Washington State, finished with 266 passing yards, including a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for 76 yards and two scores while completing 60 percent of his passes.
Playing in his first primetime game as a Sooner, Mateer shined under the national spotlight. He helped Oklahoma, which has struggled to find its footing in the SEC, secure a big home win.
Let’s take a closer look at Mateer’s roots, how he ended up at Oklahoma, and more.
More: John Mateer enters the college football spotlight as Oklahoma hosts Michigan
Where is John Mateer from?
Mateer played high school football in Little Elm, Texas, which sits about 170 miles south of Norman. Although Texas is a recruiting hotbed, Mateer wasn't exactly a highly-touted recruit. Per 247Sports, he was just a three-star recruit out of Little Elm, Texas from the class of 2022. Washington State was his only offer from a power-conference school.
After redshirting as a true freshman, Mateer spent the 2023 season backing up Cam Ward at Washington State. He was named WSU’s starter in 2024 and threw for 3,139 yards with 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also rushed for 826 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
When Cougs head coach Jake Dickert left Wazzu to take the Wake Forest job, Mateer entered the transfer portal. His decision to head to Oklahoma became easier when his former offensive coordinator at WSU, Ben Arbuckle, joined Brent Venables’ staff in Norman.
"They were throwing some freaking money at me, man -- oh my god," Mateer told ESPN this offseason. "But it wasn't about that. The money was always going to come. The scheme and the fit had to be right."
Mateer's new teammates at Oklahoma appear to love their new quarterback. He was named a captain for the Sooners prior to the 2025 season. During OU's Week 1 win over Illinois State, Mateer broke Baker Mayfield's record for passing yards in a Sooner debut:
John Mateer has broken Baker Mayfield's record for passing yards in an OU debut with 392 📈 pic.twitter.com/N8mrDHQh58
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 31, 2025
“John’s always been a gamer," Arbuckle told The Athletic of his quarterback. "And the best thing about him is that he’s never lost that mentality and that gamer style of play, but he’s just gotten smarter about when to use it.”
John Mateer NFL Draft projection
Mateer also appears to be getting some pre-NFL draft buzz, as well. CBS Sports' Mike Renner placed Mateer in his college football preseason 2026 NFL draft big board. Here's why Renner is high on the Sooner quarterback:
A big reason I'm excited about Mateer's development is because we already saw it over the course of his first year as a starter. The bouts of inaccuracy and head-scratching throws, which were frequent early on in the year, dwindled down the stretch. In fact, his final three games of 2024 were his three highest-graded of the season, according to PFF. While that carried over into Week 1 against Illinois State, we'll need to see it carry over against SEC competition before NFL evaluators buy in.
One mock has Mateer going as high as No. 13 overall to Pittsburgh:
Latest mock draft from CBS has John Mateer going 13th overall👀 pic.twitter.com/0PiMhdYHNn
— The Main Line Podcast (@TheMainLinePod) August 28, 2025
Per NFLMockDraftDatabase, another popular destination for Mateer is the Los Angeles Rams late in the first round.
After Saturday night's win, Mateer talked about Oklahoma's ability to utilize him in the run game:
Oklahoma QB John Mateer’s thoughts on using the QB in the run game 👀
— Jake Franklin Football (@JakeFranklinFB) September 7, 2025
“It’s dangerous. Plus one run game is not good for defensive coordinators and they don’t like it.”
Moral of the story… Don’t be afraid to run your QB! pic.twitter.com/cHieNwMUtp
Oklahoma's remaining schedule
Sure, this is just one game against a Michigan team that finished 6-6 last season. We'll learn just how far Mateer can take this Oklahoma team as the schedule rolls on:
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept. 13 | At Temple |
| Sept. 20 | Vs. Auburn |
| Oct. 4 | Vs. Kent State |
| Oct. 11 | Vs. No. 11 Texas |
| Oct. 18 | At No. 10 South Carolina |
| Oct. 25 | Vs. No. 20 Ole Miss |
| Nov. 1 | At No. 22 Tennessee |
| Nov. 15 | At No. 21 Alabama |
| Nov. 22 | At Missouri |
| Nov. 29 | Vs. No. 3 LSU |