Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Wild Loss to Missouri

Jackson Arnold's fumble with 30 seconds left sunk Oklahoma's return to Missouri.

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, MO — The trip to Missouri was never going to be pretty. 

With the No. 24-ranked Tigers missing starting quarterback Brady Cook and Oklahoma playing without running back Jovantae Barnes, the contest between the two banged up teams had the makings of a low-scoring affair. 

The game delivered, as both teams traded field goals in the first half, but when Missouri looked to finally wrestle control, Oklahoma dug deep.

OU leaned on a freshman running back to get back into the game late in the fourth quarter, and then safety Billy Bowman returned a fumble for a touchdown to put the Sooners back on top late at Faurot Field. 

Still, there was another dramatic turn left in the game.

Luther Burden’s 33-yard reception set the Tigers up with first-and-goal from the 10-yard line with 1:08 left on the clock. Two plays later, former Sooner Theo Wease caught his second touchdown of the night to tie the game.

It was Missouri’s defense who would make the final big play. 

While trying to move Oklahoma’s offense down the field for a walk-off field goal, quarterback Jackson Arnold fumbled the ball for the second time, and it ended in a scoop-and-score for the Tigers to ultimately punctuate a 30-23 win. 

OU (5-5, 1-5 SEC) was unable to rally with 30 seconds left, falling 30-23 to the Tigers (7-2, 3-2) and extending Brent Venables’ quest for a sixth win in 2024 for another couple of weeks. 

X-Factor

Oklahoma’s offense looked lifeless for most of the second half. 

The Sooners got the ball back down one touchdown with 8:47 left in the game needing a spark. 

Enter freshman running back Xavier Robinson. 

He gashed Missouri’s defense, rushing seven times for 48 yards to get the Sooners to the red zone. 

From there it was OU’s other true freshman running back, Taylor Tatum, who threw the ball to Arnold for an 18-yard score to tie the game with 3:18 remaining. 

Robinson flashed last week against Maine, but delivering in crunch time on the road in the SEC is an entirely different animal. 

And it was just the fourth game Robinson had played in this year. 

Robinson’s fourth quarter drive gave Oklahoma life, but the Sooners were unable to overcome a bevy of miscues to win the game.

Sooner Magic Almost Strikes

Oklahoma’s defense held off Missouri for three quarters, but it looked like the Tigers finally got into rhythm late in the second half. 

First, Missouri quarterback Drew Pyne was able to find former Sooner Theo Wease to put the Tigers up 10-9.

Then Pyne’s connection with tight end Brett Norfleet extended the lead to 16-9, but after Robinson and Tatum pulled the Sooners all the way back, OU’s defense made a massive play three plays later.

Jamal Roberts fumbled after getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, Bowman picked the ball off the turf and scurried 43 yards down the Missouri sideline to stun the crowd at Faurot Field and put OU up 23-16.

The scoop-and-score was the only turnover the defense forced on Saturday night, but it was nearly enough. 

Arnold’s fumble in the fourth quarter was the Sooners’ fourth fumble lost of the night, and OU was ultimately unable to overcome Missouri’s 4-1 turnover advantage to escape Memorial Stadium with the win. 

Special Teams Stars in First Half

When both offenses are decimated by injury, the role of special teams is that much more important.

Thankfully for Oklahoma, kicker Zach Schmit and punter Luke Elzinga came to play on Saturday night. 

Elzinga threw for as many yards as quarterback Jackson Arnold did in the first half by connecting with tight end Bauer Sharp on a fake punt. 

It was the perfect call in the moment by Venables and special teams analyst Doug Deakin, and the players delivered with great execution. 

Sharp even vaulted over Burden at the end of the run to set up the offense at the 10-yard line. 

Now, the offense couldn’t convert (it actually went 20 yards backwards), but thankfully Schmit was there to pick up the slack.

He nailed kicks of 40 and 35 yards to put OU up 6-0, and then he crushed a 56-yard kick as time expired in the first half to set a new career-high in style. 

The one special teams error, a Peyton Bowen muffed punt, could have been catastrophic but the defense held Missouri to a field goal.

Schmit wasn’t called upon in the second half as the game descend into chaos in the fourth quarter, but Saturday night should have been another chapter in this year’s redemption story for the OU kicker.