Missouri
How OU football learned ‘margin for error is small’ in SEC during loss to Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. — When OU got the football back with the game tied and 1:03 left, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise to see the Sooners play for overtime.
After all, they hadn’t had a passing play by a quarterback for more than 14 yards, so moving quickly down the field through the air seemed unlikely.
But OU coach Brent Venables decided to take a chance, especially after the pass-interference call drawn by Deion Burks in the first play of the drive.
After that, Xavier Robinson was stopped after a 5-yard gain to the OU 35 before Jackson Arnold’s fumble that was returned for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the Sooners’ 30-23 loss.
Venables said he saw an opportunity to break off a much bigger run on the call to get Robinson the ball.
“They’re in a really, really light box,” Venables said. “Added it up to get an explosive run there. … Thought it could be an opportunity to get a big run there and get them on their heels and to get them out of that concept.”
The drive before that wasn’t exactly much better.
OU’s defense had been fantastic all day, but over the last three plays melted down a bit.
Jacobe Johnson slipped just before Drew Pyne found Luther Burden for a 33-yard gain to give Missouri the ball at the 10, then former OU receiver Theo Wease made a strong play on a 10-yard touchdown pass that tied it with 1:03 remaining.
Not long before the touchdown, Woodi Washington was called for defensive holding after the Sooners looked like they’d come up with a third-down stop.
“It wasn’t like there was a big bust and somebody was wide open, you know,” defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “We just had a couple mistakes in a game in the SEC; the margin for error is small.”
Here’s a look at the rest of the OU stock report after the Sooners fell to Missouri:
OU football stock report
Stock rising
Luke Elzinga, P: Elzinga was excellent at his primary job, with three punts for 44.3 yards including one inside the 20. But he also had a 43-yard completion to Bauer Sharp on an early fake punt, and had as many passing yards in the first half as did Jackson Arnold.
Danny Stutsman, LB: Stutsman finished with 19 tackles — his career high and tied for 11th in a game in OU history — against Missouri. Just as important, Stutsman didn’t miss any tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.
Stock falling
Jackson Arnold, QB: Arnold continues to take one step forward and two steps back. He was just 15 of 24 for 74 yards against the Tigers, plus he fumbled three times — losing two.
OU’s bowl hopes: The game against Missouri seemed OU’s best chase of making a bowl game, and they seem a long shot to make one at 5-7 based on APR numbers, so now the Sooners’ hopes for extending their bowl streak rest on pulling off an upset of either Alabama at home or LSU on the road. Neither seems particularly likely.
Redshirt tracker: Xavier Robinson one game away from mark
Freshman running back Xavier Robinson hadn’t played until the loss to Texas.
But now, Robinson is looking like one of the Sooners’ most effective running backs.
That could test Brent Venables’ desire to redshirt Robinson.
With Jovantae Barnes out and Gavin Sawchuk remaining less than 100%, Robinson was OU’s leading rusher against Missouri, with nine carries for 56 yards.
Almost all of Tatum’s production — seven carries for 48 yards — came on the Sooners’ game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. He also had a 7-yard reception on the drive.
“He was fantastic,” Venables said. “Just kind of building off what he showed last week as well, got in and did well early, in the early snaps he got in, went with him because he was running through trash, great instincts, ran well behind his pads, broke a lot of tackles.”
Robinson is averaging 5.7 yards per carry on 15 carries so far this season.
Here’s a look at the redshirt tracker after the win over Maine:
- Played in five or more games: Eli Bowen, Michael Boganowski, Ivan Carreon, Jaydan Hardy, Michael Hawkins Jr., Jayden Jackson, Devon Jordan, Zion Kearney, Dasan McCullough*, Reggie Powers III, Zion Ragins, David Stone, Taylor Tatum
- Played in four games: Jacob Jordan, Xavier Robinson, Makari Vickers*
- Played in three games: Eugene Brooks, Kendel Dolby*, Jeremiah Newcombe, Danny Okoye
- Played in two games: Jalil Farooq*, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Gentry Williams*
- Played in one game: Daniel Akinkunmi, Andrel Anthony*, Isaiah Autry-Dent, Liam Evans, Wyatt Gilmore, Ace Hodges, Bergin Kysar, James Nesta, Nigel Smith II
*Non-freshman