Transfer quarterback, John Mateer, made a big first impression, in leading the 18th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 35-3 win over Illinois State on Saturday night at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. Mateer passed for a record-setting 392 yards and three touchdowns in his first game at Oklahoma.
Mateer set the record for most yards passing in a Sooners debut, breaking Baker Mayfield’s mark of 388 yards in his first game against Akron in 2015.
“Oh, it’s awesome,” Mateer said. “It’s a blessing. You go in the record books in game one, it’s a super good feeling.”
Mateer is a transfer from Washington State, where his career high was 390 passing yards. Against Illinois State, he completed 30-of-37 passes and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said his quarterback did a lot of things right.
“He found the guys in the holes, made good decisions,” Venables said. “Quick decisions. Had the patience when he needed to. Outside the one ball on the scramble that was intercepted, he made a lot of good decisions. His command of everything tonight was really good. I thought that he did a lot of really good things.”
OU receiver Keontez Lewis had nine receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Deion Burks added seven catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. Jaren Kanak, a tight end who has been converted from a linebacker position, caught five passes for 90 yards.
“Great response by him [Kanak],” Venables said. “He didn’t go in the tank, which is no surprise. He’ll learn from that. Great job. He’s very athletic. Really explosive. Smart football player. He understands defense. That’s why he’s able to get open.”
Overall, the Sooners gained 495 yards of total offense while allowing Illinois State to cover only 151 total yards, including 34 yards passing.
V. enables was happy with the play of true freshman Cortland Guillory, what starting in his first game for the Sooners at defensive back.
“Confident, long, physical, sure of himself,” Venables said. “He’s a fearless guy, respectfully. He puts in the work. He spends a lot of time with the details…He understands where his help is. He had a lot of maturity, mentally, not to get spooked out in the moment. That’s easier said than done. He looked like he was in a great position. I think they called him on an interference, and I thought he was in a good position.”
The leading rusher for the Redbirds was Wright Wenkers with 50 yards on seven carries. Illinois State’s only points came on a field goal in the third quarter after Mateer threw an interception deep in his team’s territory.
“I wasn’t too enthralled with how we played the pass defen. sively and how we threw the ball offensively,” said Illinois State coach Brock Spack after the game. “We lost that game in the passing game on both sides of the ball.”
The Sooners will host No. 14 Michigan on Saturday in Norman for a 6:30 p.m. start on ABC. ESPN’s College Gameday announced that it would be in Norman for the contest. Michigan is coming off a 34-17 home win over New Mexico.