Joel Klatt expresses worry in Oklahoma's College Football Playoff chances after loss to Texas

Oklahoma had everything going its way heading into the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners were undefeated, quarterback John Mateer was back from a hand injury and Texas was reeling after a loss to Florida.

Then, everything changed inside the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns dominated, getting their season back on track while handing Oklahoma its first loss of the year. Now, Brent Venables’ team faces an inflection point heading into the heart of the schedule.

It all has Joel Klatt worried about Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff chances. The FOX Sports analyst evaluated where the Sooners go from here on the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show.

“This is always what I was worried about with Oklahoma. You guys have known on this program, I have been very slow — much slower than others — to just kind of crown Oklahoma and be like, ‘Oh yeah, definitely one of the best teams in college football,’” Klatt said. “Listen, I like their defense. I really do. It’s not as good of a defense as Texas. It’s not as good of a defense as Ohio State. It might not be as good of a defense as Indiana. And the more concerning part for me is that they have to have their quarterback put a cape on. If Mateer is not brilliant, what else goes on there?”

Evidently, Klatt believes Oklahoma’s lack of offensive balance is a glaring weakness for the Sooners. With no consistent ground game and an overreliance on their quarterback in Mateer, the team’s margin for error is razor-thin — especially as their schedule stiffens in the second half of the season.

“They can’t run the football. I’ve been saying that for a long time. If you’re not balanced and all of your eggs are in one basket, it becomes really difficult if that guy has an off day — which Mateer did,” Klatt continued. “He came back from the hand surgery, and it wasn’t that he looked bad throwing the ball — it’s that he didn’t make good decisions.

“So if your quarterback is just off a little bit — a little bit — then OU is going to have a really difficult time the rest of the way. Because look at their remaining schedule. If you look at their remaining schedule, it’s one of the most difficult in the entire country. In fact, from this point on, it’s absolutely the most difficult in the entire country.

“If Mateer is not Superman in any of these games, they’ll lose. … The evidence was last Saturday, because it wasn’t that close. Texas beat them up pretty bad. They could not gain yards. They just couldn’t do it. And so from an Oklahoma standpoint, I’m worried. I know that they’re only a one-loss team — and I totally understand that. And you could be saying, ‘Oh, we’ll be fine.’

“This is why I’m worried for Oklahoma at this point in the season. Texas with two losses, and Oklahoma with one loss — I would put money, if I had to, on Texas making the playoff and not Oklahoma, because of the balance, or lack thereof, and the remaining schedule.”

Klatt’s concern is clear moving forward in Norman — Oklahoma’s offense lives and dies with their quarterback. If the Sooners can’t establish the run or protect Mateer better in the coming weeks, their Playoff hopes may vanish before November even begins in a cruel twist.