If Oklahoma Sooners football coach Brent Venables gets off the hot seat in 2025 because of program wins, a partial credit would go to QB John Mateer.
The Washington State transfer is now the player carrying all the hopes of flipping the Sooners' record in 2025, and On3 analyst JD PicKell is all on board with the hypothesis.
"You put up those numbers, I'm impressed, and that's got to translate in some shape or form in competitions. So, as I said, the schedule for Oklahoma and the QB matchups they have, I think it's very, very sneaky that Oklahoma is going to have an advantage in a lot of those games," PicKell said on his podcast.
A primary reason behind the analyst's confidence is the relatively easy schedule the Sooners have. Arizona, Temple, Auburn, BYU, and LSU are some of the easier programs that the Sooners take on this season.
And for the ones that seem tough, like Texas, PicKell believes Mateer will carry a day against the Longhorns' much hyped star QB Arch Manning.
"Arch Manning, I think he's going to be really good. I think Arch Manning is going to be awesome but there's nothing there for me as of right now from a body of work standpoint to put Arch Manning ahead of John Mateer," PicKell said.
That said, the Sooners will face South Carolina's DJ Lagway right after they face Manning, which will be one of the trickiest ones in the Sooners' schedule. A trip to Knoxville for a game against Tennessee will follow, where, again, Mateer is expected to come out on top.
Another heated battle will await Mateer in Tuscaloosa against whoever Kalen DeBoer names Alabama's starter.
In a wild possibility where Mateer sizes up against Manning, the road after that would be even more precarious. How well they tackle those will determine whether head coach Venables stays or leaves.
Oklahoma hosts Arizona on August 30 for their season opener.