Mizzou 30, OU 23: Quick lessons from a tough loss

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Oklahoma has hit rock bottom.

The Sooners lost to Missouri 30-23 on Saturday night in a game filled with offensive struggles and costly turnovers. The Sooners actually led the game 23-16 with two minutes to play and then allowed Mizzou to score 14 unanswered points to win the game.

It was all bad and not particularly good for the Sooners as they fall to 5-5 and 1-5 in SEC play this season. It hurts especially considering the Sooners entered the game as a 3.5-point favorite and are just one win away from securing bowl eligibility.

Here are the takeaways:

The Sooners experienced the same thing against SEC opponents. They came into the game with 11 turnovers in five conference games and had a -7 turnover margin.

By the end of Saturday evening there were four more turnovers. And as crucial and destructive as they all were, the final turnover put the nail in the coffin.

The game was tied 23:23. Jackson Arnold had the opportunity to lead the Sooners down the field for a game-winning field goal or touchdown with a minute left. Instead, Arnold was sacked on the second play and the ball was recovered by Mizzou for a 17-yard touchdown.

That gave the Tigers a 30-23 lead with 22 seconds left.

It was simply a slap in the face, especially considering the Sooners had put themselves in a position to win in the first place. Just a few minutes before Sammy Omosigho forced Jamal Roberts to fumble and Billy Bowman returned the ball for a 43-yard touchdown, giving the Sooners a 23-16 lead with two minutes left.

But the Sooners committed four turnovers, Mizzou lost one, and made the game’s most crucial mistake.

The first sales came from Jackson Arnoldwho recovered a fumble after a 12-yard run on the second play. The second loss of the ball was particularly painful Peyton Bowen thwarted a punt that was recovered by Mizzou at the OU 28-yard line. That play led to a Missouri field goal and marked the first points of the game at 3:26 of the second half. On the third turnover, Arnold found Deion Burkes over the middle that would have amounted to a third-down conversion, but instead Burks fumbled it. Missouri got the ball back at the 30-yard line, then soaked up nearly five minutes left and capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown Drew Pyne To Brett Norfleet.

In a game in which Mizzou managed 278 total yards and averaged 3.8 yards per play, they scored 16 of their 30 points on OU turnovers. One of their touchdowns came after Oklahoma couldn’t score a fourth-and-1.

Just look at OU’s revenue to find out why the company lost.

If there was any indication of how bad Arnold was in the passing game, it was this: he and Luke Elzinga had the same number of passing yards (43) before halftime. Arnold finally topped him with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

It was obvious that the Sooners would have problems on offense, especially with Jake Taylor And Jacob Kuester excluded before the game. Michael Tarquin got dressed but didn’t play and left Spencer Brown to soak up every snap at right tackle. However, the Tigers’ secondary was vulnerable in conference play, allowing over 12 yards per completion and 18 passes of 20 yards or more.

Instead, the Sooners never got anything going. Arnold completed 15 of 24 passes for 74 yards (4.9 yards per completion), his lowest performance in a complete game this season. It was particularly disappointing as the game marked the return of both players Deion Burkes And Jalil Farooqwho combined seven catches for 55 yards.

This was one of the main reasons the Sooners were inept on third downs. The Sooners converted on just five of 15 attempts and finished the game with just 14 first downs.

The Sooners’ running game was largely stagnant up to that point Xavier Robinson found a rhythm late in the game. He finished the game with nine carries for 56 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per carry. No one else on the team averaged more than 3.1 yards per carry.

The Sooners defense couldn’t have started the game better. They held Mizzou to three points, 88 total yards and six first downs, limiting them to just 2.7 yards per game. Backup quarterback Drew Pyne played no role at all, completing just six of 11 passes for 23 yards.

But in the second half, as the Sooners’ offense continued to falter, the Tigers finally found a rhythm. They totaled 190 yards in the second half — 65 more than Oklahoma — and took advantage of OU’s offensive mistakes.

But the Tigers’ playmakers also started making plays. Theo Wease He turned a wide receiver screen on third-and-goal from the 13-yard line for a touchdown that gave the Tigers a 10-9 lead. Pyne found Brent Norfleet for a five-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter after a Burks fumble, then Wease made a spectacular grab into the corner of the end zone to tie the game at 23-23.