A blocked field goal and a long touchdown pass in the second quarter shifted momentum as No. 8 Oklahoma defeated No. 22 Missouri 17-6 on Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Missouri, now 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the Southeastern Conference, started strong with a 14-play opening drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal by Robert Meyer. The Tigers controlled play early and advanced to the Oklahoma 17-yard line in the second quarter, but Peyton Bowen of Oklahoma blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt. Three plays later, John Mateer connected with Isaiah Sategna III for an 87-yard touchdown pass, giving Oklahoma a 7-3 lead after having gained only 20 yards up to that point.
“Disappointing result as well as we played at times defensively and as well as we started offensively,” said Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz. “There were four third downs in the second quarter defensively that we gave up a big play, and then two in the red area. Then offensively our inability to score touchdowns in the red zone or have any type of conversions in the third quarter. Defense gave us every chance in the world. Just didn’t get it done.”
After Missouri went three-and-out, Oklahoma took over at the Missouri 35-yard line following a short punt. On third-and-10 from the 23, Mateer ran for a first down and then threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Javonnie Gibson with just over two minutes left in the half, extending Oklahoma’s lead to 14-3.
Quarterback Beau Pribula returned for Missouri after missing four weeks due to an ankle injury. He led a late first-half drive by completing all four of his passes for 63 yards before Oliver Robbins kicked a short field goal to bring Missouri within eight points at halftime.
Oklahoma added a field goal on its first possession of the second half, while both defenses limited scoring opportunities for the remainder of the game. Each team forced three three-and-outs, and Oklahoma intercepted two Pribula passes.
Missouri had another opportunity late in the fourth quarter when Pribula completed several passes to Kevin Coleman Jr., but his fourth-down throw into the end zone was incomplete. Another interception by Eli Bowen ended Missouri’s final drive.
Pribula finished with 231 passing yards on 20 completions out of 36 attempts. The Tigers’ running game was held to just 70 yards against Oklahoma’s highly ranked rushing defense, which also recorded four sacks. Ahmad Hardy was limited to under his season average with only 57 rushing yards on 17 carries; Coleman led receivers with seven catches for 115 yards.
On defense, linebacker Josiah Trotter led Missouri with thirteen tackles as they held Oklahoma to just 276 total yards—138 per half—and sacked Mateer twice.
Missouri will finish its regular season against Arkansas on Nov. 29 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas; kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., with television coverage on SEC Network.
For more information about Missouri Athletics visit MUTigers.com or follow Mizzou football (@MizzouFootball) and Coach Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or Facebook.
