How Mizzou’s defense led stunner over Oklahoma: ‘Whatever it takes to win this game’
In a showdown dominated by defense, Missouri’s “Death Row Defense” provided just the right ingredients for an improbable rivalry win.
The Tigers forced four turnovers, including a go-ahead scoop-and-score touchdown from defensive end Zion Young, that sealed a 30-23 win against Oklahoma on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
“They kicked (butt) tonight,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said of the defense’s performance.
Mizzou held the Sooners’ offense to just three field goals until the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. That was when Oklahoma used a double-pass trick play to tie the score at 16-all with 3:18 remaining.
Then, in a true illustration of the theme of the game, Tigers running back Jamal Roberts fumbled, allowing Billy Bowman Jr. to scoop up the loose ball for a 43-yard return for a touchdown; that put the Sooners up 23-16 with just two minutes to go.
It seemed like hope was quickly diminishing for the Tigers, but quarterback Drew Pyne found Theo Wease Jr. in the corner of the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown pass to pull Mizzou even at 23-23.
The game-tying score provided the Tigers’ defense with an opportunity to return the favor, something that Drinkwitz emphasized to his team with just 1:03 remaining.
“Coach (Drinkwitz) came over to the sideline (and) told us that it’s not over,” linebacker Triston Newson said. “When our offense was driving back downfield ... that’s when we knew it’s time to go back out, play aggressive (and know that) anything can happen.”
That aggressiveness paid off when Newson strip-sacked Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold for an 18-yard loss, forcing a fumble that defensive end Zion Young scooped up and carried 17 yards into the end zone for the Tigers’ go-ahead score.
“I didn’t know I made him fumble,” Newson said, “and when I (saw) that he fumbled, I was actually going to go block. But our coaches teach us not to block behind the ball. I was just excited to see one of my teammates have it, running toward the end zone.”
Newson logged 10 tackles against Oklahoma, six of which were solo tackles and another being the game-changing sack. He also had 2½ tackles for loss.
Drinkwitz said he thought Newson played relentlessly, and that tenacity paid off to set up Young’s game-winning return.
The 17-yard recovery into the end zone secured Young’s first touchdown since he was a fullback in ninth grade. It also earned the Michigan State transfer the game ball, something that meant more considering Young provided a speech to the team heading into the renewed rivalry showdown.
“I was just telling them, ‘This game right here, it’s brutal,’” Young said. “’It’s a rival, and whatever it takes to win this game, bro, we’re going to have to do it.’”
Drinkwitz said the team perfects its scoop-and-score operation in practice during what he’s coined the “Bolton Drill.”
“We do a drill every Monday and Tuesday called the Bolton Drill, and it’s specifically a step over, ball comes out and we scoop and score,” Drinkwitz said. “Practice (plus) execution equals game-day reality. And that’s exactly what happened with Zion Young.”
The Tigers’ defense forced four turnovers, the most Oklahoma has had in a game since it turned the ball over five times in a 36-10 win against Baylor on Nov. 18, 2006.
Safety Daylan Carnell played a key role in the takeaways, forcing a pair of fumbles and making three tackles.
Carnell forced his first fumble on a second-and-8 early in the first quarter, when he knocked the ball loose from Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold. Johnny Walker Jr. pounced on the loose ball for the recovery.
The junior safety also forced a fumble early in the fourth quarter, when he punched the ball out from Sooners wideout Deion Burks. Tre’Vez Johnson scooped up that fumble, and Mizzou responded with a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Linebacker Caleb Flagg Jr. led the Tigers with 14 tackles, while fellow linebacker Chuck Hicks had two sacks.
“Our defense, they pick up so hard in practice,” Pyne said. “Every single guy on (that side of the) ball came up to me after this game, came up to me after the Alabama game. It doesn’t matter. Like, this team is special, and those defensive guys, they help our offense. And then our offense helps them.”
Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published November 10, 2024 at 10:23 AM with the headline "How Mizzou’s defense led stunner over Oklahoma: ‘Whatever it takes to win this game’."