Mizzou football report card: Grading the Missouri Tigers’ loss at Oklahoma
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mizzou’s College Football Playoff path closed with a 17-6 loss and two interceptions.
- Offense controlled time of possession and yardage but failed to convert in red zone.
- Defense performed well; special teams errors surrendered field position.
Missouri’s road to the College Football Playoff officially ended in Norman.
It was a long shot, of course, but it wasn’t necessarily impossible— a 0.4% chance, but a chance, nonetheless.
Despite the return of Beau Pribula, that pipe dream came to a halt in Mizzou’s 17-6 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma.
Pribula, just one month after dislocating his ankle against Vanderbilt, made the start for the Tigers but was mostly unremarkable outside of leading an eight-minute scoring drive to start the game. Pribula went 20-of-36 for 231 yards while throwing two interceptions.
Mizzou’s biggest weapon on the ground, Ahmad Hardy, wasn’t a factor either with just 57 yards.
“Disappointing result with as well as we played at times defensively, and as well as we started on offense,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
Here’s how we graded Mizzou in the loss...
Offense: F
Drinkwitz picked two phrases to describe the offense.
Zero rhythm, zero creativity, he said.
It’s interesting, though, because Mizzou actually won in terms of total yardage — 301 to Oklahoma’s 276. The difference, of course, was Mizzou didn’t do nearly enough with its chances.
Mizzou only went to the red zone three times all game, without any trips in the second half. The Tigers were 3-for-15 on third down, Pribula threw two interceptions. The Tigers ran for just 70 yards.
Grade: F
Missouri defense: B
Outside of an explosive 87-yard touchdown run, Mizzou’s defense did as much as it could Saturday in a low-scoring game, especially considering OU’s sub-300-yard day.
“Defense gave us every chance in the world,” Drinkwitz said. “Just didn’t get it done.
Grade: B
Missouri special teams: F
This unit has been a particular struggle for Mizzou all season, and Saturday wasn’t an exception at all.
Robert Meyer had a field goal blocked from 35 yards, and Connor Weselman booted a 31-yard punt that gave the Sooners excellent field position; they turned it into a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Grade: F
Area for improvement
Where do we begin?
So much went wrong for the Tigers in Norman, but the biggest takeaway is this: When you lead in time of possession and total yardage, you have to turn those into points. Not just field goal attempts either, like the Tigers opted for in all three red-zone trips.
Player of the game: Josiah Trotter
Trotter was disruptive against the Sooners’ offense on Saturday, leading Mizzou in tackles with 13 (five solo) and recording a quarterback hurry against John Mateer.
