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John Mateer plows into the end zone for a big-time OU TD (0:21)
John Mateer breaks the plane to give the Sooners a lead late in the fourth quarter. (0:21)
Jake TrotterSep 23, 2025, 04:27 PM ET
- Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at [email protected] and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.
Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman frontrunner John Mateer will miss about a month after suffering a broken hand in Saturday's win over Auburn, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The Sooners announced Mateer will undergo surgery, but did not disclose details of the injury or a timeline for return.
Mateer's injury came in the first quarter of Saturday's 24-17 win, the seventh-ranked Sooners' second victory over a Top 25 team this season.
Mateer is scheduled to undergo the surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles.
"After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future," Venables said. "He's extremely disappointed he will miss some game action but is eager to correct the issue and move forward. As he is with everything, we know he will be aggressive with his rehabilitation and work to return to the field as quickly as possible."
Mateer's injury is a massive blow to the Sooners, who are off to a 4-0 start with wins over Michigan and Auburn.
Mateer, who transferred in from Washington State during the offseason, has been the catalyst behind Oklahoma's stark turnaround after a 6-7 finish in 2024.
He's completing 67.4% of his passes for 1,215 and six touchdowns. He's also the Sooners' leading rusher with 190 yards and five more touchdowns. Mateer ranks second nationally with 351.3 yards of total offense per game.
Despite suffering the injury early against Auburn, he finished the game and passed for 271 yards.
With his hot start, Mateer had emerged as the favorite to win the Heisman at +750, according to ESPN BET Sportsbook. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (+650) is the new Heisman favorite at ESPN BET Sportsbook.
Venables said that sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr. will start Oklahoma's next game against Kent State on Oct. 4 Hawkins started four games for the Sooners last year. He passed for 783 yards and three touchdowns.
Oklahoma faces rival Texas on Oct. 11.
After a road trip to South Carolina, the Sooners close out the regular season with five straight games against ranked opponents: No. 13 Ole Miss, at No. 15 Tennessee, at No. 18 Alabama, No. 20 Missouri and No. 4 LSU.
