The Oklahoma Sooners are 3-3 on the season after falling 21-13 to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats in Week 7. It's been a roller coaster of a campaign, as that's pretty much what you get with John Mateer at quarterback. While speculation has grown that it may be time for the Sooners to switch things up, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is seemingly humming a different tune.

Arbuckle responded to a question asking why Oklahoma continues to play the redshirt senior. He claimed that he and the program fully believe that Mateer gives the Sooners their best chance to win on Saturdays, according to George Stoi III of Sooner Scoop, an affiliate of On3 Sports. The 31-year-old playcaller admitted that offensive mistakes have to be limited and took full blame for those errors.

“We believe John Mateer gives us the best chance to win,” Arbuckle said… “We have to eliminate the catastrophic errors… Ultimately, it falls back on me.”

The Sooners' backup quarterbacks are junior Whitt Newbauer and true freshman Bowe Bentley. Newbauer played at Mercer for one year before transferring to Oklahoma in 2025. However, he's only played four games for the program. So, the backup situation simply lacks experience, as Mateer has 42 career games under his belt (24 with Washington State and 18 with Oklahoma).

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That lack of experience behind John Mateer is likely why the coaching staff is sticking with him. But at some point the up-and-down play may have to force their hand. Through six games this season, the 22-year-old has thrown for 1,308 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 65.1% of his pass attempts.

We'll see if the Oklahoma offense can cut down the big mistakes in Week 8. The Sooners are scheduled to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road.