John Mateer, Oklahoma grind out upset win over No. 24 Florida in The Swamp
By Andrew Olson
Published:
In Jason Witten’s debut as offensive coordinator, Oklahoma did not quite light up the scoreboard, but it got the job done against No. 24 Florida, knocking off the Gators in The Swamp 23-7.
John Mateer was clearly comfortable with Witten as the new Sooner OC. The legendary NFL tight end was calling plays for the first time, and it was smooth sailing for the Sooners. Mateer and the Sooners played turnover-free football, as he was 21-of-33 from 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mateer was also the game’s leading rusher with 56 yards on the ground.
Mateer spread the ball to 8 OU receivers. Rocky Beers was the leading pass-catcher with 4 receptions for 72 yards. Hayden Hansen, a Florida transfer, had a 3-yard touchdown against his former team.
It was a 13-7 game at the half in Oklahoma’s favor. Florida certainly hoped to mount a comeback, but the Gators had a painful second half on offense.
In between two 3-and-outs, Florida had a 9-play, 52-yard drive that took the Gators inside the Oklahoma 20-yard line. Facing 4th-and-2, Jon Sumrall opted to keep the offense on the field instead of kicking a field goal to try to cut the score to 13-10. The Gators did not get any points, as Tramell Jones Jr. was picked off in the end zone.
After the interception, Oklahoma and Florida traded punts. It was the next Sooner possession that broke Florida’s back.
Oklahoma took over with 2:41 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The Sooners held the ball for 12:45 of game time as they drove 89 yards on 20 plays for a touchdown that made it 20-7. The long drive meant the Florida offense did not get on the field in the 4th quarter until there were under 5 minutes to go in the game (4:56).
OU won time of possession by more than 15 and a half minutes (37:50-22:10). The Sooners were 10-of-18 on 3rd downs, while Florida was just 2-of-9. Oklahoma outgained UF 351-203.
Jones, making his second career start in favor of Aaron Philo, turned in a disappointing performance. He was 10-of-22 passing for 133 yards with 2 interceptions and no touchdowns. OU made the Gator ground game a non-factor, holding Jadan Baugh for 35 yards and Duke Clark to 28.
Brent Venables‘ Sooners improve to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in SEC play, with Ole Miss up next. Florida falls to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in conference contests. The Gators travel to Kentucky in Week 11.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
