Heading into Saturday’s Red River Rivalry, there remains one big question looming over every college football fan's head: Is John Mateer playing?

Prior to injuring his hand in the Sooner’s Week Four matchup against Auburn, Mateer had been playing like a Heisman candidate. Obtaining four wins over four games, all while compiling a plethora of stats and game film, it would not be absurd by any means to say that he’s been playing like an NFL-caliber quarterback. With six touchdowns, a little over 303 yards a game and a 67.4% completion rate, the stats easily speak for themselves.

Now only 17 days removed from surgery on his right hand, ESPN’s Peter Thamel is reporting that Mateer is in line to attempt to play on Saturday. But, while reports seem hopeful, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables has stressed throughout the week that Sooner fans may be getting too ahead of themselves.

“John is doing no good-on-good work,” Venables said on Tuesday. “So, it’s Michael (Hawkins) and Whitt (Newbauer) right now. If something changes, I’ll let you know. But I think if you’re gonna play, you’ve gotta do good-on-good, right? Throw some skelly. Hand the ball off. Play on third downs.”

Following the Michael Hawkins-led Sooners' 44-0 win over Kent State this past weekend, it seems as if Venables is in no rush to bring back Mateer before he’s truly ready. After all, Venables is coaching one of the best defenses in college football right now, which will be facing a Texas team coming off a disappointing loss to unranked Florida that saw its offensive line get mauled.

However, regardless of whether or not Mateer plays on Saturday, the Texas coaching staff is preparing its defense for any possible scenarios.

“We'll plan for Mateer,” Steve Sarkisian said. “We have to. He's a dynamic player. He's the heartbeat of that offense. Everything goes through him.”

While he’s still listed as probable on the injury report and Oklahoma remains uncertain if he’ll play, don’t be shocked if you see No. 10 trotting out of the tunnel in full pads come Saturday afternoon. At the end of the day, the Red River Rivalry is the sort of game quarterbacks dream of playing from the moment they decide football is their future. It’s where legends are made, history is written, and for Mateer, too good an opportunity to pass up in what may be his final year in college football.