There’s a reason coach Brent Venables made it a priority to bring former Washington State quarterback John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to No. 18 Oklahoma this season as a package deal. He needed a spark on that side of the football, and the combo delivered in record-setting fashion to open Saturday night against Illinois State.
Mateer’s 392-yard, three-touchdown performance during the Sooners’ 35-3 victory eclipsed former Heisman winner Baker Mayfield’s previous program passing record in an opener — 388 — set in 2015.
“Found the guys in the holes. Made good decisions. Quick decisions,” Venables said of Mateer’s performance. “Had the patience when he needed to. … Outside the one ball on the scramble that was intercepted, he made a lot of good decisions. His command of everything tonight was really good. … I thought that he did a lot of really good things.”
After sputtering to open the game on their first two possessions, the Sooners scored touchdowns on their final three first-half drives. First, Mateer capped a 10-play, 94-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run for Oklahoma’s first points of the season; he then found Deion Burks from 27 yards out a few minutes later; finally, Mateer led a clock-churning touchdown drive punctuated by three chain-moving completions before the end of the second quarter.
It was a rhythmic showing alongside Arbuckle that Mateer was accustomed to last season as one of the nation’s leading passers on the West Coast. Mateer, who completed 30 of 37 attempts, said it was a “super-good feeling” to get into the record books after his first start with the Sooners.
Michigan awaits next week
Next week’s showdown with No. 14 Michigan will be a test for the Sooners and their updated offense. True freshman Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 player in the 2025 recruiting cycle, finished 21 of 31 for 251 yards and a touchdown in the Wolverines’ 34-17 win over New Mexico.
Underwood’s a featured threat, along with former Alabama transfer Justice Haynes in the backfield for Michigan. Next weekend’s game is also likely one of the final nonconference showdowns for Oklahoma with the SEC’s recent move to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026.
It’s a marquee opportunity for two programs expected to be in the thick of the College Football Playoff picture this fall.
“Obviously, Michigan is a great football team,” Venables said. “They’re a football team that has elite level success over the last several years. It’s really cool to have these two iconic programs to meet next Saturday. They are a couple years removed from the national chamiponship and playing with a lot of momentum going into the season.
“Today was the biggest game of the year for Oklahoma. Some people don’t like that. And that’s cool. This next game will be the biggest game of the year,” he continued. “I’ve coached in a lot of games that were the biggest games of my career. I’ll run out of fingers and toes that I’ve had that same attitude. … The process and preparation is all the same. Some people don’t want to live there. That’s where we live. That’s where I live. People that don’t live there, they’re not in this position.”
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