It goes without saying, but Texas football fans are counting down the days for the Red River Rivalry to get here against Oklahoma. However, it's looking like the Texas defense isn't going to have to go up against Heisman contender John Mateer.
Seemingly out of nowhere, news just dropped that Mateer is set to undergo thumb surgery and he's expected to miss around three weeks. With the Texas showdown with the Sooners coming on Oct. 11, it's now pretty doubtful that the standout signal-caller is going to get healthy enough in time to suit up and make plays for the Oklahoma offense:
NEW: Oklahoma QB John Mateer has suffered a thumb injury on his throwing hand and could miss three or more weeks, per @SoonerScoop.https://t.co/9waz92M17X pic.twitter.com/pzzlQwXjDs
— On3 (@On3sports) September 23, 2025
Oklahoma QB John Mateer is undergoing thumb surgery and will miss around 3 weeks
"After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future," head man Brent Venables in an Oklahoma release. "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."
The injury suffered by Mateer is on his throwing hand, which only complicates things. He suffered the injury in the thrilling win over Auburn on Saturday. With Oklahoma on a bye this week, the decision has been made for Mateer to have his surgery on Wednesday.
Following the bye, the Sooners will take the field on Oct. 4 against Kent State and then all of the focus will move to the matchup with Texas in the Lone Star State. Everyone was pretty fired up for Mateer and Arch Manning to go head-to-head, but that now appears to be off the table.
With Mateer playing so well, the Sooners are 4-0 on the season and ranked the No. 7 team in the country. Things have been going great for Venables, Ben Arbuckle and the rest of the staff, but Mateer missing time sure complicates things, especially with the massive Texas matchup around the corner. That's nothing for Steve Sarkisian to worry about, however, as he'll still have his guys incredibly focused to win this big-time rivalry game.