“This kid is unbelievable”: Greg McElroy lauds significant praise on Oklahoma QB John Mateer after big win on Michigan

Oklahoma’s redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer proved his toughness in Saturday’s win over Michigan. Mateer outperformed five-star Michigan freshman QB Bryce Underwood as the No. 18 Sooners defeated No. 15 Wolverines 24-13.

Mateer brought life to an Oklahoma offense that had struggled through a 2024 season marked by injuries and inconsistent play, earning him high praise from ESPN analyst Greg McElroy.

"We've been trying to tell you, this kid is unbelievable," McElroy said on his "Always College Football" podcast (via SI). "He's just so much fun to watch. He was composed, he was super effective, making tons of plays not just through the air but also with his legs. He immediately extends this Oklahoma team to the point where I do think they're a Playoff contender.

"They're a team that could be in the mix for the national championship, just because of the quarterback spot, his unique ability to extend plays and keep drives alive. It allows Oklahoma to kind of dictate the tempo of the game, dictate the pace of the game."

NCAA Football: Michigan at Oklahoma - Source: Imagn

On Saturday, Mateer delivered key completions of 34, 31 and 21 yards on Oklahoma’s first two drives. He finished the game completing 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards, one touchdown and an interception, while rushing 19 times for 74 yards and two more scores.

Mateer's 19 rushes were the fourth-most of his career, and he joined Lamar Jackson and D’Eriq King as the only FBS players since 2015 to record at least one passing and one rushing touchdown in eight straight games, according to ESPN.

Brent Venables heavily praises John Mateer following Week 2 win

Following Saturday's win, John Mateer is emerging as an early Heisman Trophy contender, aiming to become the eighth player in Oklahoma history to capture the prestigious award.

With the Sooners now holding a 21% chance of making the 2025 playoffs (according to The Athletic’s projections), Oklahoma coach Brent Venables had nothing but praise for Mateer.

"You saw what he can do," Venables said (via ESPN). "He falls forward a lot. He's got great strength and great skills. Tough guy. He's fearless. He attacks everything without fear."

The pairing of Mateer with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle appears to be paying off. Their collaboration will face another test when the Sooners travel to Temple on Saturday, before returning home to face Auburn in a challenging Southeastern Conference stretch on Sept. 20.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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