Win and you’re in.
That’s the scenario in which No. 8 Oklahoma finds itself following Saturday’s 17-6 win over No. 22 Missouri. The Sooners have 1 game left in the regular season, and while the SEC title game is out of reach, a win over LSU at home next weekend would be OU’s 10th of the year and all but ensure the Sooners are involved in the College Football Playoff.
Brent Venables obviously can’t just chalk up a win over LSU. The Sooners will need to bring it. But they certainly brought it on Saturday against a reinvigorated Mizzou team and helped their Playoff odds.
Oklahoma was outgained in the game (301 to 276), but that didn’t matter. The defense made game-changing plays all throughout the day. Missouri made 3 trips to the red zone on Saturday and did not come away with a single touchdown.
Missouri snapped the football 18 times inside the OU 40-yard line and came away with 6 total points.
Quarterback Beau Pribula made his return from a 2-game absence for Mizzou and stepped right back into the starting lineup. He threw for 231 yards, but he was picked off in the third quarter — a frame that saw the Tigers gain only 2 first downs — and then picked off again late in the fourth to seal the result.
He threw just beyond Kevin Coleman Jr.’s fingertips on a fourth-and-2 play late in the fourth that might have otherwise produced a touchdown. Coleman had a step on his defender, but he couldn’t haul the pass in and Mizzou turned it over on downs at the OU 21.
Missouri also had a field goal attempt from the OU 17 that was blocked in the second quarter. The Tigers had a 3-0 lead at that point and were facing a fourth-and-3. For a brief moment, it looked like Eli Drinkwitz would go for the first down, but he changed his mind after a timeout and sent out the field goal unit.
The Sooners got a hand on the kick. John Mateer hit Isaiah Sategna for an 87-yard catch-and-run 3 plays later to give the Sooners their first lead of the game.
And OU never looked back.
Ahmad Hardy, the nation’s leading rusher entering Week 13, ran for 57 yards on 17 carries Saturday. He had 42 yards on Mizzou’s first 2 drives of the game and looked like he’d be a factor. OU stiffened up from then on and held the Tiger star in check.
Saturday’s outing was just the fourth time this season Hardy failed to rush for 100 yards. He was coming off a 300-yard, 3-touchdown day his last time out.
Oklahoma, which has dominated the all-time series, beat Mizzou in Norman for the 19th consecutive time. The Tigers haven’t won a game in Norman since 1966.
No. 8 Oklahoma XX, Missouri XX
Here’s the Oklahoma-Mizzou box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
