SOONER WIRE - It was a rough outing for Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer in the Sooners’ 34-26 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. He was just 17 of 31 (55% completion) for 223 yards and a touchdown. Not terrible numbers, but 76 of those yards came on one play, when Mateer directed Sategna across the formation on the fly to create the big play.

Mateer wasn’t bad, but the passing game left a lot on the field, and the Sooners’ offense just wasn’t very efficient.

The Sooners were just 4 of 14 on third downs and 1 of 3 on fourth downs. Hard to move the ball when you can’t convert on the most important downs of a drive. There were opportunities for the Sooners, but Oklahoma couldn’t capitalize because Mateer was mostly unsettled, even when the protection was there.

So, what does Mateer have to do to right the ship ahead of a big road test against Tennessee? Well, Ben Arbuckle spoke to the foundation of success for any quarterback when he met with the media on Tuesday.

“That’s the biggest thing, is being disciplined with your eyes and your footwork,” Arbuckle said Tuesday. “Your eyes and your footwork, they win, and that’s in any offense. That’s my system, anybody’s system, eyes and footwork at the quarterback position, they always win, and timing wins. But that goes back to your eyes and footwork, and the best way that I can help him is at practice, and it’s just demanding it out of him and demanding perfection.”

Mateer doesn’t have to be perfect for Oklahoma to win but he does have to be better than he was on Saturday.

Oklahoma’s defense, which wasn’t great on Saturday, gave the Sooners’ offense opportunities to retake the lead or tie the game in the fourth quarter. The offense just couldn’t capitalize because Mateer’s eyes and feet weren’t right against Ole Miss.

Now with more balance in the offense as the Sooners find more success in the running game, Oklahoma needs their quarterback to return to the form that helped OU beat Michigan and Auburn earlier in the season and South Carolina a week ago.

Rest of the Season

There’s no rest for the weary as the Sooners get set to take on the No. 1 offense in the SEC, the Tennessee Volunteers. It’s a pivotal road game that will have huge College Football Playoff implications once again. The Volunteers have just two losses on the season, just like the Sooners. The winner will keep their playoff hopes alive while the loser will be on the outside looking in with one month to go in the regular season.

The Sooners have three ranked games remaining and will need to be better on both sides of the ball to finish better than their 6-6 regular season record a season ago.

Ranking the next four games Nov. 1 at Tennessee Volunteers Predicted Winner: Tennessee Sooners Win Probability: 36.7% (Down from 41.7%)

Nov. 15 at Alabama Crimson Tide Predicted Winner: Alabama Sooners Win Probability: 25.7% (Down from 27.5%)

Nov. 22 vs. Missouri Tigers Predicted Winner: Oklahoma Sooners Win Probability: 57.5% (Down from 57.8%)

Nov. 29 vs. LSU Tigers Predicted Winner: Oklahoma Sooners Win Probability: 65.3% (Up from 62.2%) Strong Finish, but No College Football Playoff

After Oklahoma’s loss to Ole Miss at home, the Sooners have no margin for error over the final five games. To make sure their spot in the playoff is solidified, Oklahoma has to win out. To be in the conversation, they’ll have to win their remaining home games against Missouri and LSU and steal one of their remaining road trips. With road trips to Knoxville and Tuscaloosa up next on the agenda, Oklahoma will have to put it all together in hostile territory to set themselves up for a strong finish to the 2025 season.

Saturday night’s game will be broadcast from Knoxville, Tennessee in the iconic Neyland Stadium on ABC at 6:30 p.m. CT.

The matchup gets the primetime Saturday Night Football slot, with ESPN’s lead crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call. This game is a massive one in the SEC, and for the hopes going forward of both programs.

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