ATHENS — Georgia might not have broken John Mateer and the Oklahoma offense, but the Bulldogs certainly put a dent in them.

Sooners coach Brent Venables said his team exits Sanford Stadium with plenty to work on after No. 2-ranked Georgia handed Oklahoma a 41-17 defeat on Saturday, and some of its mental.

“I do think there’s some confidence issues … “ said Venables, whose team dropped to 2-2 after the loss to the 4-0 Bulldogs.

Many of the questions were aimed at the Sooners quarterback, John Mateer, after the former Heisman Trophy quarterback turned the ball over three times including two fumbles that led directly to 10 Georgia first-half points.

Mateer’s first fumble was the most pivotal, as the Sooners were at the UGA 4-yard line down 14-0 and threatening to score when Mateer rolled out and, with two receivers open in the end zone, had the ball slip out of his hands and get returned 85 yards for a touchdown.

“I went to throw the inside route and then the corner jumped it, which I expected, so I went back to throw the outside route which was wide open and it came out like that,” Mateer said. “That hasn’t happened, it happened a couple times in the cold in the morning practices at Washington State (Mateer’s prior school), but it’s never happened in a game.

“It’s just weird that it happened.”

Mateer’s second fumble happened with 1:48 left in the first half after Oklahoma elected to go for a fourth-and-1 at its own 43 when UGA’s Raylen Wilson wrapped him up and spun him around, forcing a fumble that Cole recovered and returned 23 yards to the Sooners’ 11.

Two plays later, Georgia cashed in on a 6-yard Chauncey Bowens touchdown run to take a 28-0 lead into the half.

“I didn’t expect to fumble right there,” Mateer said. “I was on the sideline and the ball stayed inbounds and they picked it up and ran … “

Venables understands why his quarterback would be shaken.

“I think when you have those mistakes in a game I would say without asking John the question, how’s your confidence doing.’ man it’s bruised, it certainly isn’t sky high,” Venables said. “No one is more disappointed than John, I can promise you, it affects you rhythm, it affects your confidence, it affects your cohesion, it’s not playing complimentary football, the things you’ve got to do to have an opportunity to win.”

Mateer, who was 25-of-34 passing for 231 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and was sacked three times, did his best to stay poised when asked about his costly mistakes against the Georgia defense.

“You get punched in the face, you’ve got to go back to work, we’re not gonna quit, it’s not who we are, it’s not what we do,” said Mateer, who has a bye week before facing No. 1-ranked Texas in Dallas.

As for his confidence, Mateer said he continues to believe in himself and doesn’t believe it’s an issue.

“I think I’m still playing fast, I think I’m not questioning what I’m doing during the play,” Mateer said. “I think the process is where it needs to be, I think it’s just not working out, so I wouldn’t say so.”

Venables pointed out that Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton didn’t make the same sort of costly errors, even if he didn’t have his best statistical day completing 14 of 25 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown and interception with one sack taken.

“We held the ball some and that created some opportunities for Georgia to sack us,” Venables said. “The flip side, Georgia wasn’t going to take a sack, that quarterback took the ball and he launched it and had one of his most inefficient days that he’s had in a couple years.

“I think he led the nation in pass efficiency and I don’t think he had a great day, and that’s not a badge of honor. There’s points and references that says we played well in some spots, we just have to compliment each other.”

Mateer said he’ll look to make better decisions in the future, while stick picking his spots to be a playmaker.

“I think if you watch the film you can see that — (I need to) just get to the checkdown (receiver running the shorter route) - but I think that’s how I played football for a long time … it can be changed,” Mateer said.

“I think it’s worked sometimes, so I wouldn’t just call it a problem because I’ve made some cool things happen, but just getting the ball to the check down and play the next play, if it’s close, get to the checkdown and get to the next play.”