On a day when there weren’t a lot of marquee matchups, Oklahoma knew it had to be on upset alert as it returned home to take on a No. 22-ranked Missouri team that got injured quarterback Beau Pribula back.
After back-to-back road wins at Tennessee and Alabama put the Sooners in prime position to make the playoffs, they came back to Norman to play a losable game, but coach Brent Venables had them ready.
OU’s dominant defense remained so against the Tigers in a 17-6 win. Despite another sputtering performance by quarterback John Mateer, he did enough to win, hitting Isaiah Satenga III on an 87-yard scoring slant to post points, then finding JaVonnie Gibson on another touchdown pass on the next drive.
That’s all the Sooners would need, thanks to a defense that, at one point as Mizzou tried to come back, didn’t allow a third-down conversion on nine consecutive tries. Star Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy never got going, either, finishing with just 57 yards.
Despite being out-gained by a large margin in those two massive road wins against the Vols and Crimson Tide, Oklahoma found a way. They continued that formula, getting out-gained 301-276 but controlling the game from a defensive perspective.
They may not be the most impressive team on track for the playoffs, but if the Sooners close the year with a win over LSU next week, they’re going. They may be in, regardless.
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