Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables is highlighting the positives in John Mateer's performance against Kentucky, even though the quarterback made some costly mistakes in a tough loss.
Oklahoma lost 21-13 to the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The defeat puts the Sooners at 3-3 overall and leaves Venables and his team looking for answers after missing a chance to build on their win over Texas.
Even though the result was disappointing, Venables noticed improvement from Mateer. The quarterback played well for most of the game, but late turnovers made the difference.
“I saw improvement… Played well most of the game… I thought he battled his butt off… I thought he did really good stuff that we can build confidence from,” Venables said, according to Oklahoma insider George Stoia.
John Mateer's turnovers hurt Oklahoma's chances against Kentucky
Mateer made progress against Kentucky, throwing for 270 yards as Oklahoma's offense moved the ball more often. Still, his late-game mistakes limited that progress.
With the Sooners down 14-13 and 1:17 left in the fourth quarter, Mateer threw a pass over the middle that Kentucky intercepted and returned for a 41-yard touchdown. That play put the Wildcats up by eight and put a huge dent in Oklahoma's comeback hopes.
Mateer threw another interception in the final seconds, which sealed the loss. Oklahoma also struggled to protect its quarterback because several offensive linemen were out with injuries.
Venables still has confidence in Mateer
Article Continues BelowEven though Mateer's turnovers were costly, Venables' comments show he thinks the quarterback can learn from this and keep improving.
Oklahoma now has to figure out how to stop the mistakes that have hurt the team again and again. Mateer needs to make better decisions in key moments if the Sooners want to turn their season around.
For Venables, the challenge is to help his quarterback build on the good things and fix the mistakes that cost Oklahoma against Kentucky.