00:00We'll start with the matchup on December 19th.
00:02It's a rematch of the game that took place in late November
00:06where Oklahoma did pick up the three-point win, 24-21 over top-ranked Alabama.
00:12Alabama was a six-and-a-half-point home favorite.
00:15John Mateer in Oklahoma handed Alabama only their second home loss dating back to 2020.
00:22When you look at this matchup, Alabama now is a slight one-and-a-half-point road favorite in Norman.
00:28And Kalen DeBoer has lost his last two games to Oklahoma.
00:33Coach, how do you see this matchup playing out, but specifically from the quarterback matchup?
00:39Well, that's one of my favorite games.
00:41And, again, it is going to be a quarterback matchup.
00:43I think Mateer gives you a steady quarterback.
00:46I don't know if he knocks your socks off every time he plays, but he is so steady.
00:50And when you've got a great defense like they do,
00:53and a quarterback that really just manages the offense, tries to play a clean game,
00:57I think that's what you get at Oklahoma.
01:00And that's why I kind of favor them a little bit.
01:02But Alabama, their quarterback, Ty Simpson, has really been one that has impressed everyone through much of the season.
01:10He got outplayed at the end by Gunnar Stockton at Georgia,
01:13and we saw a little bit less of what he's able to play.
01:17But he's going to probably bring his best game, and most of the season, that's what he brought.
01:21They depend on the passing attack so much at Alabama.
01:24They can't run the ball.
01:25They absolutely ran for nothing against Georgia.
01:28For that reason, a lot more pressure on Ty Simpson than on Mateer.
01:33That's why I like Oklahoma in this football game, because, again,
01:37not so much pressure on the quarterback to be the guy.
01:41And, again, Alabama, unless they can fix their running game in the next two weeks,
01:45which they have some time to work on it,
01:47they're going to struggle for the same reason I thought they would throughout the season.
01:50They don't run the ball well enough.
01:51Coach, when you look at this team in terms of Oklahoma,
01:57if Mateer, let's say, wasn't 100%, and there's really no telling with that thumb.
02:02He had thumb surgery in the middle of the year.
02:06The extra two or three weeks of preparation might actually benefit him even more
02:11if he was just a little bit banged up on that hand.
02:14Do you see that being a positive,
02:16where it gives an extra time for Mateer to potentially heal up?
02:20I know he put up 300-plus yards against LSU, but did throw, in fact, three interceptions.
02:27When you look at that, give me your thoughts about the health aspect of John Mateer.
02:32I think when you have an injury to your throwing hand,
02:35every week is a positive in which you get better and better.
02:39And we don't know how much that's caused him to be off of his game.
02:42As we watched him play, I felt like he's been a good quarterback, but not a great quarterback.
02:48He runs the ball smart, but not elusive quite as much.
02:52But I promise you, every week he has off is only going to help him get closer to his maximum ability
02:58and be the best quarterback he can be.
03:01And with their football team being so dependent on a strong defense
03:05and not being able to score a lot of points,
03:08he needs to really be at the best of his game for them to progress through the playoffs.
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