The state of Oklahoma experienced some whiplash Saturday afternoon. Some welcomed the sudden jump in G’s, while others were … well, those people probably want the world to burn at the moment.
Around the same time that the Oklahoma Sooners were about to fall to the Michigan Wolverines in a game that was about as easy to watch as it is to listen to congressional hearings about the environmental safety of pigeon farms in upstate New York — there’s no way that’s a real thing, right? — the Oklahoma State Cowboys were in the midst of accomplishing something extraordinary. A program that had lost 21 consecutive games against FBS opponents and had just lost to Tulsa — yes, Tulsa! — the week before was suddenly on the verge of taking down No. 6 Oregon, a team that featured what many had called the best defense in the country and entered the season with legitimate national title aspirations.
A track meet ensued, with Oklahoma State piling up 554 yards of offense and completely dismantling Dan Lanning’s supposedly stellar defense. Transfer quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who was a walk-on at North Texas last year before following head coach Eric Morris to Stillwater this past offseason, threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns while adding more than 100 yards and another score on the ground. He outdueled former five-star recruit and prospective first-round draft pick Dante Moore, leading an offense that looked absolutely nothing like the one that had just lost to Tulsa. Everything seemed upside down. Everything was strange. And in the end, the Cowboys finished on top, 39-31.
Flash back a couple of hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Oklahoma, a program that used to possess powerful offenses headed by Heisman winners like Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, has since gone through a complete reimagining. Brent Venables has brought a spectacular defense to Norman, but the fun and potent offensive units that once defined the Sooners have shriveled away.
Many thought that problem was fixed when John Mateer transferred in from Washington State alongside offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, but a thumb injury in 2025 derailed whatever momentum Mateer and the offense were able to build. Entering 2026, the hope was that a healthy Mateer plus a fresh stable of weapons would finally help deliver OU back toward the promised land.
Folks, it appears that Oklahoma still has a Mateer problem, and this time it’s not because of his thumb.
Oklahoma looked putrid. Horrible. Disgusting. Sure, the defense balled out, but that was somewhat expected against a Michigan side that was lucky — extremely lucky — to come away with a win over Western Michigan one Saturday ago. As that side of the football did its job, Mateer and his offense made moving the football look about as difficult as rocket science, finishing with just 289 yards and 10 points while converting three of 13 third downs.
Then came the backbreaker. With the game tied at 10 and Oklahoma needing its quarterback to make the sort of play that would justify all of the optimism surrounding him entering the season, Mateer instead threw a pick-six. Oklahoma never recovered, and an afternoon that could have served as proof that the Sooners were ready to take another step instead produced the exact same questions that have followed this offense for years.
Meanwhile, roughly 900 miles away, Oklahoma State was apparently playing NCAA Football 14 with the sliders turned all the way down. This is a team that went 1-11 last season, fired the coach who had run the program for two decades and then celebrated its fresh start under Eric Morris by losing to Tulsa. Seven days later, the Cowboys welcomed the No. 6 team in the country — the same Oregon program that beat them 69-3 a year ago — and wrote all the wrongs of the last seven days.
By the end of it, fans were storming the field and tearing down the goalposts while Mestemaker said he couldn’t think of a better moment in his life. Frankly, I’m not sure how you top going from North Texas walk-on to beating No. 6 Oregon while accounting for more than 400 yards of offense, so I’m willing to give him that one.
And then there’s Oklahoma, which entered the day with playoff aspirations, a supposedly fixed offense and a quarterback who was supposed to be one of the best in the country. Now the Sooners are flying home from Ann Arbor after scoring 10 points against a Michigan team that barely survived Western Michigan, and the guy who was supposed to fix everything is going to spend the next week hearing about he’s the real problem that can’t be solved.
What a sport.