How Elite Oklahoma Defense, New-Look Offense will Challenge Mizzou

When Eli Drinkwitz took the podium following Missouri's win over Oklahoma last November, his opening statement was short and sweet.

"This will be real disappointing to Bob Stoops, but OU doesn't always whip Missouri anymore," Drinkwitz said. "With that, I'll open it up for questions."

The Tigers pulled off a win with backup quarterback Drew Pyne, taking a 30-23 victory. It was the first time Missouri hosted Oklahoma since October of 2010, when Gary Pinkel grabbed his first and only win over the Sooners, an upset from the No. 18 Tigers over the No. 3 Sooners.

But, for games played in Norman, Oklahoma, there's a much longer history of the Sooners whipping the Tigers. Only four Missouri coaches in the last century have ever won in Norman — Dan Devine, Don Faurot, Frank Cariedo and Gwinn Henry.

“It's our past history, it doesn't have to be our future history," Drinkwitz said Tuesday of Missouri's 18-game losing streak in Norman. "But, I think it reminds our guys that this is not a normal road trip, this is not a normal road environment. That this is a championship brand that has a history of success, and we haven't had the history of success at that place."

There won't need to be any sort of curse in play for the matchup in Week 13, however. The Sooners are the fourth top-ten team the Tigers will take on this year, being ranked at No. 8 in the latest College Football Playoff poll.

For Oklahoma, the most important thing about this game is continuing to build a resume for a playoff bid.

For Missouri, however, hopes at a spot in the playoff have been squandered. Instead, this revived rivalry presents the chance for the Tigers to get what would be the crowning achievement of their season.

11 weeks into the season, Missouri is yet to beat a Power-4 opponent that currently has a winning record. Its three conference wins have been over teams with a combined record of 12-19.

What the last two seasons have made apparent is that Missouri still has a bridge to cross in order to compete with the top of the SEC. The fact that the Tigers have gone 0-6 against ranked SEC opponents over the last two seasons has led to a narrative that Drinkwitz and the Tigers are unable to win big games.

"The next jump is going to be the hardest jump — going from good to great, is the hardest jump possible," Drinkwitz said. "I got to lean into it as the leader of this organization to what it's going to take."

What's been the biggest issue for Missouri in all three of its losses is a stagnant offense that is prone to turnovers. In the three losses, the Tigers have been out-gained by an average of 97 yards and given up an average of 1.6 turnovers.

The Oklahoma defense has thrived in both yards allowed and turnovers forced. Especially in its last two wins.

In the last two games, Oklahoma has forced six turnovers and held both offenses to under 100 rushing yards. On the season, Oklahoma is 11th in the country in yards allowed per game and eighth in points allowed per game. That's the best defense in both of those categories that Missouri will face this season.

Drinkwitz has led an offense against a Brent Venables-coached defense three times outside of the SEC, with Drinkwitz being the offensive coordinator at NC State for three games against Clemson when Venables was the defensive coordinator there.

In 2017, Drinkwitz's offense scored more points on Venables' defense than any other team that season, with NC State scoring 31.

“Being familiar with coach Venables’ defenses, at our time at NC State, going against him, they've always been very multiple, very aggressive. They do a great job of taking away what your strengths are and trying to get you to play left handed," Drinkwitz said.

Nov 1, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Oklahoma is well-suited to take away Missouri's biggest strength, the run game.

Sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy rushed for 300 yards against Mississippi State in Week 12, scoring touchdowns on rushes of 72,43 and 10. But, Mississippi State ranks at the bottom of the SEC in rushing defense while Oklahoma is at the top.

"We have to show up ready to go run the ball," offensive tackle Keagen Trost said. "Some teams haven't been able to run the ball on them, so we need to run the ball on them to win."

That comes from the emergence of sophomore defensive tackle David Stone, along with redshirt sophomore defensive end Taylor Wein. Plus, a diverse playbook from Venables.

“They rally to the ball, they cut gaps, they overlap the defense, they blitz. They got it all — whatever you can play on Madden or College Football to stop the run, they have it in the gameplan. And he's (Venables) not afraid to call it at any point," Drinkwitz said.

Offensively, the Sooners managed to bring in one of the top-rated quarterbacks available in the transfer portal, John Mateer. A hand injury in September has prevented Mateer from putting together the Heisman-quality season most were expecting out of the Washington State transfer.

But his violent rushing ability paired with his gun-slinging throwing ability still have made him a dangerous player this season.

“Mateer is a really special quarterback," Drinkwitz said. "He can make game-winning plays at any moment, and that's ultimately what you want in a quarterback.”

Nov 15, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) throws against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Oklahoma defeated Alabama 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Mateer's top target this year has been a familiar face to the Missouri defense, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III, who transferred over from Arkansas ahead of 2025. The Tigers defense has defended the redshirt junior in each of the past two seasons, holding him to a total of two receptions for eight yards across the two games.

This season has been his best yet. His 718 receiving yards are the seventh-most in the SEC.

"He's really fast," defensive back Toriano Pride Jr. said of Sategna. "I remember last year the main thing that we studied was his speed. Can't let him get on top. He's a track guy."

Outside of Mateer, the biggest addition of Oklahoma's transfer class was former California running back Jadyn Ott. But due to an injury in fall camp and on-field performance, Ott hasn't taken a single carry since Week 7 against Texas.

Instead, its been true freshman Tory Blaylock, a four-star prospect out of high school, leading the rushing effort for the Sooners. He's rushed for 402 yards and four touchdowns on 98 carries this season.

But, it seems like the top question in this game will be the same one that it has been for all of Missouri's games this season — can the Tiger offense move the ball consistently enough?

Oklahoma's defense will make that challenging enough, but so could Missouri's quarterback situation. Starter Beau Pribula has missed each of the last two games to recover from an ankle injury he suffered in Week 9.

It's been true freshman Matt Zollers filling in for Pribula since. The former four-star prospect has had undeniable bright spots, including when he nearly led Missouri on a comeback to take down Vanderbilt. But he's also had struggles typical of a true freshman quarterback, completing just 7 of his 22 pass attempts against the elite Texas A&M defense.

Drinkwitz still anticipates Zollers to start against Oklahoma, with an outside chance for Pribula to be able to return.

"Playing against an elite defense, you don't want to put somebody out there who can't compete at the highest level," Drinkwitz said. "Knowing how aggressive and attacking they (the Oklahoma defense) are, it would be a detriment to our team, and to Beau to put him out there if he's not able to play up to his level."

The stakes for Missouri and Oklahoma in this game are undeniably different. But the chance to end a 59-year streak would still be an important moment for the Tigers.

"We see everything they say about coach Drink and the Mizzou football team and just this program," wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr said. "So this is important win to go get for ourselves. ... even for the doubters that don't believe we can win big games."

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