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On3 analyst Oklahoma has a quarterback advantage in 2025

On3 analyst Oklahoma has a quarterback advantage in 2025

USA Today31-05-2025

On3 analyst Oklahoma has a quarterback advantage in 2025
When the Oklahoma Sooners made the offseason addition of former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, they made a massive upgrade at one of the most important positions on the team.
In 2024, for the most part, OU was at a QB disadvantage against almost every team they played, especially in the SEC. That's extremely uncommon for a program that is used to having the better player under center. J.D. PicKell, who covers college football for On3 Sports, believes that the script has flipped in Norman, due to the presence of Mateer.
"The schedule for Oklahoma and the quarterback matchups they have, I think it's very, very sneaky that Oklahoma, I think, is gonna have the advantage in a lot of those games," PicKell said on his podcast, "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell.
Going through OU's 2025 schedule, PicKell proceeded to say which games he believes the Sooners have the QB edge in, excluding matchups against lesser competition like Illinois State, Temple, and Kent State.
PicKell believes Oklahoma has the quarterback advantage against Michigan (Bryce Underwood), Auburn (Jackson Arnold), Texas (Arch Manning), Ole Miss (Austin Simmons), Tennessee (Joey Aguilar), Alabama (Ty Simpson/Austin Mack/Keelon Russell) and Missouri (Beau Pribula). He declined to say the Sooners have the QB edge against South Carolina (LaNorris Sellers) and LSU (Garrett Nussmeier).
"We just went through that entire schedule and there's two games that you're talking about a superior quarterback for the opposite side, as we sit here right now," PicKell said.
By all reports, the Sooners look to have a quarterback in the saddle again who can change games for them in a positive way. Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are trying to make sure that Year 2 in the SEC goes differently than Year 1 did for Oklahoma and head coach Brent Venables.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.

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