University of Oklahoma (4-0 straight up, 3-1 against the spread) quarterback John Mateer will have surgery Wednesday to repair a right-hand injury sustained in the first quarter of Saturday’s 24-17 win over Auburn as a 6.5-point home favorite, the school announced Tuesday.
“After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future,” said OU head coach Brent Venables. “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.”
According to On3, it’s a thumb injury that occurred on this play and could keep the veteran signal caller out for about a month. However, On3’s Pete Nakos is reporting that there is hope that Mateer could possibly return for the Red River Rivalry showdown vs. Texas on Oct. 11.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports is reporting that “the current hope is that Mateer will be back before the end of October.” So obviously, the timeline for the QB’s return will depend on his recovery process.
Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Dr. Steven Shin will perform the surgery tomorrow in Los Angeles. Shin is the same doctor who has conducted procedures on the likes of Mike Trout, Steph Curry and Drew Brees.
Before this news broke, FanDuel had Texas installed as a 3.5-point favorite against the Sooners earlier today.
FanDuel has taken Mateer’s Heisman odds off the board. The betting shop now has Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza as the +650 ‘chalk’ to win the award. Oregon QB Dante Moore and Ohio St. WR Jeremiah Smith share the next-shortest odds (+1100 or 11/1). Miami QB Carson Beck has 12/1 odds, while Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, USC’s Jayden Maiava, TCU’s Josh Hoover, UGA’s Gunner Stockton and Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar share 14/1 odds.
On Sunday morning, FanDuel had Mendoza as the 8/1 ‘chalk’ and Mateer had 9/1 odds to win the Heisman.
In four games for the Sooners, Mateer has completed 95-of-141 passes (67.4%) for 1,215 yards with a 6/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also has 190 rushing yards, five TDs and a 4.4 yards-per-carry average.
True sophomore QB Michael Hawkins will take over for Mateer as OU’s starter for an Oct. 4 home game vs. Kent St. after the open date. Hawkins started four games last year, connecting on 76-of-120 throws (63.3%) for 783 yards with a 3/2 TD-INT ratio. He added 204 rushing yards and one TD (3.0 YPC).
“We have all the confidence in the world in Michael and are excited for his opportunity to lead our offense while John recovers,” said Venables. “He had some big moments for us last season as a true freshman and has just gotten better and better. I’m proud of the work Michael’s put in and the progress he’s made and know he will attack this opportunity to help lead our football team.”
Hawkins has only played once this year during OU’s 42-3 season-opening win at Temple in Week 3. He completed 1-of-3 passes for five yards and had 25 rushing yards on six attempts.
FanDuel had the Sooners with 18/1 odds to win the College Football Playoff early Sunday morning. That number has been adjusted to 22/1.