Danny Kanell understands the quarterback position better than most, having played it at a high level in the college game at Florida State.
All these decades later, Kanell is a college football analyst for CBS Sports, and he had some interesting thoughts on Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer as the Sooners got ready for Friday night’s season opener against UTEP. Mateer will lead 10th-ranked Oklahoma against the Miners in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on SEC Network+, and the signal-caller will try to put his struggles as last season went on in the rear-view mirror and start fresh in 2026.
Mateer started the 2025 season with a bang after transferring from Washington State, and there were high hopes in Norman for a national championship run that Mateer could lead. But when Mateer injured his thumb in a victory over Auburn in September, everything changed for him.
He returned 3 weeks later and finished out a season that took OU all the way to the College Football Playoff. But Mateer just wasn’t the same quarterback as the season progressed that he was early before the injury. He threw for 2,885 yards, an impressive total, especially after missing time with the injury, but he only had 14 touchdown passes and tossed 11 interceptions.
Mateer proved himself to be a running threat, too, rushing for 431 yards and 8 TDs. But his level of play dropped, and there was Kanell on Friday questioning just why as Mateer got ready to launch another season in Norman on Friday night.
“Last year, the narrative around John Mateer was that he was good early in the season, then he had the thumb injury … then it was up and down,” Kanell said. “Was that because of the thumb or because of the competition, because the schedule got much tougher?”
Kanell gave Mateer credit for returning from the injury so quickly, but he wants to see more from Mateer in 2026.
“I don’t think we’ll learn much in this game (against UTEP),” said Kanell, who also pointed to a need for the Sooners’ running game to help Mateer out more this season.
“Can they run it and how consistent is John Mateer this year?” Kanell said regarding Oklahoma’s keys to success this fall.
"He was good early in the season, then he had the thumb injury … then it was up & down. Was that because of the thumb or because of the competition?" @dannykanell on John Mateer. pic.twitter.com/Dqt2TwHEHl
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 4, 2026Mateer will be trying to lead Oklahoma back to the Playoff this season after a short-lived CFP run last year. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Oklahoma’s chances to return to the Playoff in December:
Prediction Markets College Football Playoff Qualifiers 2026 Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi Notre Dame 84% Ohio St. 73% Oregon 73% Georgia 72% Texas 60% LSU 43% Alabama 41% Texas A&M 37% Ole Miss 35% Clemson 19% PredictDanny Kanell poses crucial question for John Mateer entering Year 2 at Oklahoma Saturday Down South.
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