After a loss on the road to Alabama in Week 9, Missouri football had its second bye week. Following this bye, the Tigers took the field to face Oklahoma at home. 

When Missouri lost to Texas A&M back in October, they were able to respond by overcoming UMass 45-3 the very next week. This blowout win showed Missouri’s ability to prevail in the face of adversity and bounce back following a loss.

The Tigers had a similar redemption game against the Sooners. While this win was not as convincing, Missouri still did what was needed to get a 30-23 victory. 

Here’s what we learned from the Tigers’ gritty win.

Pyne shows progress

The Tigers faced the Sooners without their starting quarterback, Brady Cook. Cook suffered his second injury of the season two weeks ago and was ruled out for the Oklahoma matchup.

This meant Missouri would be starting backup quarterback Drew Pyne, who filled in for the injured Cook when the Tigers faced Auburn and Alabama. In both of these games, the backup struggled significantly.

Pyne threw zero touchdowns and three interceptions during these games. It was clear that Pyne needed to improve if Missouri wanted to find a way to overcome the Sooners.

While Pyne did not necessarily look good against Oklahoma, he improved and his performance was enough to propel the Tigers to victory.

“I just can’t say how proud I am of Drew Pyne,” Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. “He goes out there and delivers in the keyest moments.”

Pyne started slow, throwing for just 23 yards in the first half. The Tigers entered halftime trailing 9-3.

Based on how the first half played out, this game felt like it was going to be a defensive battle, with the only scores coming from field goals. Everything changed in the second half as Missouri’s offense came alive.

Pyne looked much better, throwing for more yards in a single drive than he did the entire first half. On the third quarter drive, he threw for 44 yards and 13 were from a touchdown pass to Theo Wease Jr.

This was the first of three touchdowns from Pyne. The backup’s scores were an impressive statistic, especially considering he was shut out two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa.

“He’s a warrior,” Wease said. “He had a great two weeks of practice. None of us are surprised.”

Faurot Field erupted when Pyne converted two third-and-longs on the same drive. This drive was capped off by a touchdown pass to tight end Brett Norfleet that gave Missouri a 16-9 lead.

Pyne finished the night with 143 passing yards, 101 more than he had against Alabama.

“I love these guys on this team, and they’ve given me such a great opportunity to lead,” Pyne said. “I’m just so thankful [for] it, and I tried to do whatever I could to win.”

Missouri’s defense bends but doesn’t break

Missouri’s defense has been a critical part of the team. Saturday’s game against the Sooners verified this. There were several times throughout the game where the Sooners found themselves in ideal scoring positions, but Missouri held strong.

Late in the first quarter, the Sooners gained momentum when punter Luke Elzinga threw the ball to tight end Bauer Sharp on a fake punt. This resulted in a 43-yard gain that put the Sooners at Missouri’s 10-yard line. Missouri’s defense buckled down, coming up with two sacks in a row to back the Sooners up. Ultimately, Oklahoma was forced to kick a field goal and settle for three points instead of seven.

Oklahoma found themselves in Missouri’s redzone on its very next offensive drive, but was again forced to kick a field goal. This highlighted the grit of Missouri’s defense, as the Sooners had started its drive in Missouri territory. 

In the third quarter, Missouri got flagged for kick catch interference while punting to Oklahoma. This self-inflicted error by the Tigers benefited Oklahoma by giving them better field position, but Missouri did not let them capitalize. The Tigers held the Sooners to a fourth down and when Oklahoma elected to go for it, Missouri stopped them.

“[I’m] extremely proud of our defense,” Drinkwitz said. “They never even flinched. They just kept going out there.”

The defense only allowed one touchdown the whole game. This occurred when running back Taylor Tatum completed an 18-yard pass to quarterback Jackson Arnold, tying the game with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter.

The next time Missouri’s defense took the field after allowing the touchdown, it forced a fumble that was recovered and returned for the game-winning touchdown. 

Missouri’s defense faced multiple challenges this game, but overcame them all and played a huge role in the win.

“Death Row Defense” sentences Oklahoma to a loss 

A large reason Missouri won this game was because the team won the turnover battle. The Tigers had four takeaways to Oklahoma’s one.

Early in the first quarter, safety Daylan Carnell forced an Oklahoma fumble. This was recovered by defensive end Johnny Walker Jr., setting the Tigers up at midfield.

In the fourth quarter, Carnell came up big again with a second forced fumble. This one was recovered by safety Tre’Vez Johnson and returned to the Oklahoma 30-yard line. This takeaway led to Missouri putting six points on the board.

On the drive after that, Missouri’s special teams unit recovered a muffed punt. Missouri scored a field goal off of this to cut Oklahoma’s lead to three points.

The defense faltered when it gave up its only touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter. Following this sequence, Oklahoma took a 23-16 lead with time winding down.

Missouri’s offense tied the game up after Wease caught his second touchdown pass of the day. With 1:03 left on the clock, Missouri’s defense took the field. When all the team needed was a stop to stay in the game, it did one better, causing a fourth turnover. 

Linebacker Triston Newson forced the turnover and defensive end Zion Young recovered it, giving Missouri a 30-23 lead.

“I didn’t know I made [Oklahoma] fumble,” Newson said. “I was just excited to see one of my teammates headed towards the end zone.”

Missouri faces a tough opponent next week when they travel to South Carolina. The Gamecocks are coming off two huge victories over the Aggies and Commodores.

“I think for us, we have to just be 1-0,” Drinkwitz said. “The biggest thing for us is don’t let pressure or any of that stuff matter. It’s going to be an awesome opportunity to go into Columbia and play a really good team [that is] surging right now.”

The Tigers and Gamecocks will square off at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Claire Bauer and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com 

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com