Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Win Over Missouri

NORMAN — Oklahoma avoided a big letdown.

The No. 8-ranked Sooners returned home after back-to-back road wins and took care of Missouri.

Brent Venables wiped away last year’s loss to the Tigers with a 17-6 victory at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

OU moved to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in SEC play while Eli Drinkwitz’s No. 22 Tigers dropped to 7-4 on the year.

Here are three quick takeaways from the victory.

Oklahoma Shakes Off Slow Start

It’s hard to say the Sooners came out of the locker room flat, as they collected a handful of head-scratching penalties for being too physical after the play, but the first quarter was certainly weird.

Missouri strung together a methodical opening drive, but ultimately, OU was able to force a field goal that Peyton Bowen nearly blocked.

While the offense struggled to get into gear early, Venables’ defense got after Tiger quarterback Beau Pribuila.

OU forced three punts on the next four drives, and Bowen did get his field goal block at the start of the second quarter.

By the time Missouri had scored again, the Sooners were on top after the offense put a pair of touchdowns on the board.

Sategna Provides the Spark

The boo birds were starting to make themselves heard as OU’s offense spent the first three drives stuck in the mud, but Isaiah Sategna quickly changed the energy in the stadium with one play.

Facing third-and-7, John Mateer connected with Sategna beyond the sticks, and the OU speedster beat everyone to the sideline, turned the corner and outran everyone to the end zone for an 87-yard score.

The defense was able to build on the momentum by pushing Missouri’s offense back, and after a bad punt, Oklahoma got the ball again on the Missouri 35-yard line.

Mateer was able to pick up 15 yards with his legs on third-and-10 to keep kicker Tate Sandell on the sideline, and on the next play, he found Javonnie Gibson for an 8-yard touchdown.

Sandell got his chance on the opening drive of the third quarter, where he nailed a 45-yard field goal, to extend the lead to 17-6, which was an insurmountable deficit for the Tigers.

The offensive outing was far from perfect. Ben Arbuckle’s unit struggled to put the game away as the game entered the fourth quarter, but OU’s defense did enough to push the team across the finish line.

Mateer completed 14-of-30 passes for 173 yards and two scores, and he added 60 rushing yards on 18 carries.

Oklahoma’s offense finished with 276 total yards.

Four Quarters Away

Oklahoma’s path forward remained simple with Saturday’s victory.

Win against LSU, and the Sooners will punch their ticket back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.

OU is also in a great position to host a first-round playoff contest in Norman.

Venables’ defense will be down a key piece in the first half against LSU as they try to get across the finish line, however.

Defensive back Reggie Powers was flagged for targeting in the third quarter, and the decision on the field was upheld after review.

Powers will have to sit out the first two quarters next Saturday.

The Sooners will take on LSU at 2:30 p.m. next weekend.

Oklahoma Shakes Off Slow Start

Read More Oklahoma 17, Missouri 6

Sategna Provides the Spark

Four Quarters Away