Oklahoma to Lean on 'Brotherhood' After Tough Missouri Loss

The Sooners will have a bye week to try and regroup before meeting Alabama after a crazy outing in Columbia, MO.

Oklahoma defensive end Ethan Downs makes a play on Missouri quarterback Drew Pyne. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Oklahoma’s defeat to No. 24 Missouri was a gut punch. 

The Sooners lead by a touchdown with two minutes left, but allowed the Tigers to completely flip the result by allowing a quick touchdown and the Jackson Arnold surrendered a scoop-and-score.

The 30-23 defeat not only cost the Sooners (5-5, 1-5 SEC) the game, but it was OU’s best shot to extend the season by qualifying for a bowl game. 

Now, the locker room will have to pick up the pieces following the heartbreaking loss. 

Oklahoma won’t be able to get right back on the horse, however, as the Sooners are off this week while the team prepares to take on No. 11 Alabama in the home finale on Nov. 23. 

“(We) just take it day by day,” Arnold said on Saturday night of trying to rebound. “Go into the bye week, clear our heads, get a great week of work in and have a great week of preparation for Alabama.” 

While the locker room is hurting and disappointed in the loss, receiver Jalil Farooq said he has faith that the group will be able to come together and try to mentally attack the final two games of the regular season. 

"We've got a lot of great leaders on our team,” Farooq said. “We have a lot of guys that... win, lose or draw, we have a real brotherhood in our locker room. We just have guys bringing guys up continuously, making sure we have our head up and focusing on getting better. 

“We've dealt with a lot of adversity. We've just gotta get better day by day. That's our focus every day in the locker room."

A few of those voices, like Farooq, lived through the ups-and-downs of 2022’s 6-7 finish. 

The remaining players from that roster are now veteran leaders of the 2024 Sooners. Most of those players are on the defensive side of the ball this year, as linebacker Danny Stutsman, safety Billy Bowman, defensive back Woodi Washington and defensive end Ethan Downs all play key roles within the locker room. 

That leadership has shown through at various times throughout the tough season, defensive coordinator Zac Alley said, which is why he has confidence his unit will be able to bounce back against Alabama. 

“We go into every team meeting, Coach (Brent) Venables has a windshield up there and talks about having a windshield mentality,” Alley said on Saturday. “And man it's about what's coming in front of you and what's next and you can't look behind or you'll crash, you know? You can't be looking at the rear view mirror. 

“And so, man, we'll grade this things tonight, we'll flush it Monday, correct everything we can and go right back to work, 'cause that's just who we are and the culture of this team.”

For Arnold, who had a pair of fumbles in the loss, he’s just focusing on trying to move forward and improve with the entire offense over the final two games of the season. 

“Just keep on working,” he said. “I wouldn’t say this is a low point, it’s just something to build off of.”