{
  "id": 11058640,
  "title": "OU football coach Brent Venables stands by John Mateer: 'John's our starting quarterback'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ou-football-coach-brent-venables-stands-by-john-mateer-johns-our-11058640",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-30T23:35:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ou-football-coach-brent-venables-233501569.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Norman — Oklahoma University football coach Brent Venables has declared quarterback John Mateer as the starting quarterback for now. Venables revealed that backups Whitt Newbauer and Bowe Bentley took a significant number of practice reps on Wednesday, but at present, he is unsure if either of them will participate in the upcoming Red River Rivalry game against Texas. Venables acknowledged Mateer's improvement during the bye week following his team's loss to Georgia, where Mateer had thrown three interceptions in the first half. The coaching staff will need to work on building Mateer's confidence, which has not been at its highest level, according to Venables. He praised the response from the entire offensive unit as they prepare for the Texas game next weekend. Venables acknowledged the challenges in finding established backup quarterbacks in college football, attributing it to financial considerations and the desire for players to earn money and play for higher-profile programs.",
  "summary": "OU football coach Brent Venables says John Mateer remains the starting quarterback ahead of the Red River Rivalry against Texas.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "OU football coach Brent Venables stands by John Mateer: 'John's our starting quarterback'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ou-football-coach-brent-venables-stands-by-john-mateer-johns-our",
        "published": "2026-09-30T23:35:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}