OU QB John Mateer Celebrates Victory over Auburn with Wild Johnny Manziel Take

John Mateer threw one touchdown and rushed for one to spoil Jackson Arnold's return to Oklahoma.

OU QB John Mateer Celebrates Victory over Auburn with Wild Johnny Manziel Take

John Mateer and Johnny Manziel (Image via IMAGO)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

John Mateer’s game-winning drive against the Auburn Tigers was reminiscent of Johnny Manziel’s rookie season. Drawing comparisons to a Heisman Trophy winner will bring out a smile on any quarterback’s face, but not Mateer’s. In fact, he believes that there’s a distinct difference between him and the Texas A&M legend.

OU trailed the Tigers four minutes before the end. Mateer, who already recorded one passing touchdown in the game, orchestrated a 75-yard drive to reach Auburn’s end zone.

On the sixth play, Mateer snapped the ball and rushed home for a nine-yard touchdown score. The drive lasted a little over two and a half minutes.

Mateer’s fifth rushing touchdown in just four games tipped the balance in OU’s favor. Former Sooners starter Jackson Arnold (now Auburn’s QB) took consecutive sacks in the final drive, and the OU defense forced a safety to kill the game off.

The media described Mateer’s final TD play as something out of Johnny Manziel’s playbook. Despite the flattering comparison, the 21-year-old starter shot down the Manziel talk with a wild reply.

I’m going to church in the morning.

John Mateer said via Eddie Radosevich of On3

Ironically, Manziel is a devout Christian of Lebanese-Italian heritage. Regardless, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback no longer plays football. His career ended after failed stints in the CFL and Indoor Football League.

Unlike Manziel, Mateer could have a bright future ahead of him. Mateer is among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy alongside South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and LSU’s Grant Nussmeier.

John Mateer remains undefeated in his Oklahoma career

OU brought Mateer in from Washington State after Arnold entered the transfer portal following a 6-7 season. Mateer won the quarterback battle in the offseason and was named the starter.

OU QB John Mateer Celebrates Auburn Victory with Wild Johnny Manziel Take
John Mateer (Image via IMAGO)

In his first game, Mateer threw 392 yards and 3 touchdown passes. The following week, OU beat ranked Michigan, with Mateer contributing 270 yards and one touchdown through the air and two scores on the ground.

Week three was away at Temple. The Owls succumbed to a 42-3 blowout loss. Mateer had 282 yards and two overall TDs.

Auburn came to the den of the Sooners on Saturday. If Michigan posed a tough challenge, then the Auburn fixture carried emotional value.

Arnold wanted to win against his former team. His plans went down the drain after taking 10 sacks from the Sooners’ defenders.

Mateer capitalized by completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna III, while kicker Tate Sandell converted 3 of 3 field goal attempts.

Auburn took a slender one-point lead with seven minutes left on the clock. Mateer took six plays and 75 yards to score a rushing TD.

As a quarterback, to be able to do that drill—two-minute drill or game-winning drive—that’s what you dream about. And doing it in the first SEC game is pretty cool.

John Mateer said (H/T: Associated Press)

Mateer finished the Auburn tie with 24 completions from 36 attempts (66.6% pass completion) for 271 yards and one touchdown, along with 10 carries for 29 yards and one score. Sategna logged 9 catches for 127 yards and one score.

OU will now observe a bye week in week 5 before hosting Kent State in the first week of October, before playing Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama in back-to-back games.

Also Read: