David Pollack gives grim assessment of John Mateer after Oklahoma loss to Georgia: ‘He’s broken’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
David Pollack discussed Oklahoma‘s loss to Georgia during his “See Ball Get Ball” podcast on Tuesday.
The Sooners needed John Mateer at his best to beat the nation’s second-ranked team. He came up well short. Mateer turned the ball over three times, throwing an interception and losing a pair of fumbles, bringing his total number of turnovers for the season to 10.
Part of Oklahoma’s problem is its inability to run the ball effectively. The Sooners have the 10th-worst rushing offense in the country. That’s caused Mateer to try to fix the problem himself, but it hasn’t worked.
“He’s broken,” Pollack said. “The longer John Mateer holds the football, the more bad things happen, and now he’s at 10 turnovers, with an elite defense. … The bottom line is when you watch him, it’s kind of been like (Sam) Leavitt. It gets so fast, and it gets sped up, and ‘I don’t know where to go, and I don’t know what to do.'”
Oklahoma had hoped to take the next step after making its first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. Barring an unforeseen turnaround, it’ll miss out on the 12-team field altogether.
And with No. 1 Texas looming in the Red River Rivalry after the open week, the Sooners are looking at the possibility of an 0-2 start to SEC play.
“I learned from Oklahoma that they’re done, and they’re not coming back,” Pollack said. “Don’t doubt his competitiveness. Don’t doubt his heart. Mateer’s just got to be better.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
