Oklahoma has a unique opportunity, but need Mateer at his best for the final push

Contributing Writer
Oklahoma has a unique opportunity, but need Mateer at his best for the final push image

The Oklahoma Sooners have an incredible challenge ahead. Attempting to make the college football playoff with a treacherous schedule and a less than undefeated record. Oklahoma is currently 7-2 with a 3-2 record in the SEC. That is good enough for ‘middle of the pack’.

Texas A&M Aggies, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas and Vanderbilt are all ahead of Oklahoma in the standings. Vanderbilt and Oklahoma are the only teams on that list with two conference losses. However, up next for Oklahoma is No. 4 Alabama.

A win over Alabama would give Oklahoma the same overall record and would create an SEC logjam of one loss teams. Texas A&M would be the lone unbeaten (expected to win over South Carolina). With Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas as one loss teams.

SEC standings today are not necessarily how they will look three weeks from now. Texas A&M still has to face No. 11 Texas. Alabama has Oklahoma this week but could win out. Georgia faces No. 11 Texas this week and No. 17 Georgia Tech to end the season. Ole Miss should take care of business against Florida and Mississippi State. Texas still has yet to face No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M. Vanderbilt’s lone ranked remaining test is No. 25 Tennessee.

Considering as many as half of the above-mentioned teams are not likely to win out, expect to see some movement within the top half of the SEC standings by the end of the regular season. The question that remains is, can Oklahoma weather the schedule storm and give the committee something to think about.

Oklahoma has faced or will face Illinois State, Michigan, Temple, Auburn, Kent State, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU. Remove the teams that have not graced the AP top 25 and you’re left with Michigan, Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU. While that is not the literal toughest schedule in the country, Oklahoma ranks in the top 15 of every single college football power index metric.

If the Sooners can find a way to beat Alabama and then beat No. 22 Missouri and LSU, they could put together a compelling argument for making the college football playoff. Perhaps even make a strong argument for Power 4 teams scheduling a very aggressive schedule, even if it's unlikely to finish that aggressive schedule with potentially 1-3 losses.

Oklahoma confident in Mateer following SEC road wins

In order for Oklahoma to accomplish the very difficult task, they will need to rely on quarterback John Mateer, despite inconsistent production. Mateer’s first four games vs his last four games are significantly different. In the first four games Mateer was averaging over 300 yards with a touchdown and half per game.

In his last four games, Mateer is averaging just over 180 yards and 1 touchdown per game. Yet, the overall product has not taken a hit. The Sooners are 2-2 in the last four but Mateer’s play likely would not have changed the outcome of the Texas game that Oklahoma lost 23-6.

According to Sports Illustrated, Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Ben Arbuckle remains confident in his quarterback based on their two most recent SEC road wins against South Carolina and Tennessee.

"I thought he did really good things in the Tennessee game and during the bye week," Arbuckle said during his weekly press conference. "I think the South Carolina game helped because that’s not an easy place to play. That prepared John for another test. He was clean and played efficient football."

Mateer didn't light up the box score against the Gamecocks or the Volunteers. Something Arbuckle took the blame for. Oklahoma has an opportunity to upset or dramatically impact the final playoff seeding. However, they have to win the games in front of them.

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Staff Writer