The Oklahoma Sooners have a chance to get back to the College Football Playoff in 2026. They’re a talented team with a defense capable of winning them games, and they have one of the best quarterbacks in college football, according to Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt.
On the Joel Klatt Show, John Mateer came in at No. 6 behind Dante Moore of Oregon at No. 1, Arch Manning of Texas at No. 2, Julian Sayin of Ohio State at No. 3, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss at No. 4, and C.J. Carr of Notre Dame at No. 5. Mateer came in just in front of USC’s Jayden Maiava and Miami’s Darian Mensah.
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“I was really high on him again last year, and everything was all systems go before the hand injury,” Klatt said. “That obviously derailed his season and derailed their offense for a time. The need to run the football better. I don’t love the fact that he had to be everything to that offense. As dynamic as he was, and certainly we saw that against Michigan, that was unsustainable. So they need to get better and more efficient around him, specifically at O-line and specifically at running back.”
In the first four games of the season, Mateer averaged 35.3 passing attempts and 10.8 rushing attempts per game. He was awesome in those games, averaging 303.8 passing yards and 47.5 rushing yards per game to go along with 11 total touchdowns. It wasn’t that Mateer wasn’t good; he was. It was that he had to do everything.
Oklahoma can win a lot of games with the way they play defense, but the Sooners need to find a running game to provide balance and take some pressure off of the Sooners quarterback.
“If they can run the football more effectively with their running backs, he’s going to really flourish and certainly could make a push to the Heisman Trophy,” Klatt continued. “He’s that dynamic as a player. Not just a runner. Before he got hurt, he was leading the country in 20-yard completions.”
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Prior to his injury against Auburn, Mateer was a Heisman frontrunner. After the injury, he had a hard time gripping the ball and pushing it down the field. But he’s healthy now and things are looking up for Oklahoma’s offense.
Mateer and the Sooners’ offense have a chance to be better this year, not only because Mateer will be healthy, but because they’re better around him.
This is year two starting for the OU offensive line for Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis, and Jake Maikkula. Ryan Fodje, who started six games for the Sooners as a freshman, could also be in the mix at right guard or right tackle. They bring back Heath Ozaeta, who started a number of games for Oklahoma over the last two years and added an experienced right tackle in E’Marion Harris to help provide some veteran support for their underclassmen.
They added impact players at wide receiver and tight end who, combined with improvements along the offensive line, should help the run game take a significant step forward from the group that ranked No. 113 in the nation in rushing yards per game in 2025.
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Klatt highlighted Mateer’s experience in Ben Arbuckle’s system. Mateer’s now been with his offensive coordinator for four years, one as a backup at Washington State, one as the starter, a year as the starter at Oklahoma, and now going on his second year leading the way for the Sooners.
Mateer’s experience, his health, and the improvements around him should put him and the Oklahoma Sooners in a much better position on offense in 2026.
Joel Klatt’s Top 10 Quarterbacks for 2026
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer inside Joel Klatt’s top 10 for 2026
