Joel Klatt praises John Mateer’s resiliency during Oklahoma’s upset of Texas: ‘That was clutch’
By Sydney Hunte
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Joel Klatt shouted out John Mateer after Oklahoma‘s upset win over Texas in Dallas, snapping the Longhorns’ two-game winning streak in the Red River Rivalry.
“The two throws to (Isaiah) Sategna at the end were phenomenal throws. (With) all the hand-wringing about John Mateer, like, he showed up in those moments,” the FOX Sports lead college football analyst said on his “Joel Klatt Show” podcast. “And, you know, I’ll give him the slow clap right there because that was clutch.”
Mateer, who has received plenty of criticism in 2026, didn’t light up the Cotton Bowl scoreboard on Saturday. Despite a fumble —recovered by the Sooners — he played a relatively clean game, throwing zero interceptions and completing 18 of his 26 passes for 155 yards.
“As much as this is the most beautiful team game that we have in all of sports … there are times when it feels like you’re on an island. And John Mateer, over the last couple of weeks, has been on an island,” Klatt said.
Klatt likened it to having similar feelings while playing quarterback at Colorado. He praised Mateer for tuning out the noise and delivering during a much-needed win for the Sooners.
“I’ve been in those shoes where your fan base is on you,” Klatt said. “You’re struggling at the quarterback position. Maybe they want a change. It is incredibly lonely to be in that spot. Incredibly lonely. … It takes an incredible amount of fortitude, confidence, belief, and trust to go out there and play really well in big moments when that’s going on.”
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.
