Oklahoma is one victory from the College Football Playoff and, potentially, a home game in the first round.
The No. 8 Sooners moved to 9-2 overall with a 17-6 win over No. 22 Missouri on Saturday. After Missouri looked like the far better team for much of the first half, OU flipped the game with an 87-yard catch-and-run TD by receiver Isaiah Sategna III for a 7-3 lead.
8️⃣7️⃣ yards to the 🏠@John_Mateer4»@isaiahsategna1pic.twitter.com/AGWn2EM1GI
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football)November 22, 2025
Less than five minutes later, the Sooners led 14-3 after a short field set up an eight-yard TD catch by Javonnie Gibson.
The second half was, to put it nicely, a slog, though Mizzou had a chance to make it a game late in the fourth quarter before a potential fourth-down TD pass from QB Beau Pribula to WR Kevin Coleman fell incomplete.
That slog is a big reason why Oklahoma may be a playoff-caliber team at 10-2 but doesn't look anything like a threat for the national championship.
The Sooners have one of the best defenses in the country. Missouri QB Beau Pribula returned from a dislocated ankle suffered against Vanderbilt in October and was overwhelmed by the Oklahoma defense, especially in the second half. After Missouri put together a drive that took 8:23 off the clock to start the game, the Tigers only got a field goal and the Sooners' defense again held strong when Mizzou got into the red zone near the end of the first half.
But for as good as Oklahoma's defense is, it can't carry the Sooners to a national title if the offense can't show any sort of consistency.
Oklahoma had just 212 yards of offense and averaged just 4.2 yards a play in its 23-21 upset of Alabama a week ago. It was the fourth time OU's offense had averaged fewer than five yards a play in 2025. And even with Sategna's long TD catch, that number is five after the win over Missouri.
The Sooners had 277 yards on 67 plays before kneeldowns against the Tigers and were hapless in the second half. After an eight-play, 47-yard drive resulted in a field goal to start the second half, the Sooners punted six straight times and gained a grand total of 107 yards.
It's been an odd second half of the season for an offense that was good enough to make QB John Mateer a Heisman favorite four games in. But since Mateer has returned from a hand injury, the offense has been uneven at best and the run game has relied on him far too often.
Oklahoma beat Tennessee and Alabama in its previous two games largely thanks to forcing three turnovers in each game. The Sooners forced two turnovers on Saturday and they also blocked a field goal before Sategna's touchdown and forced Missouri into a first-half drive that totaled minus-21 yards.
The defense has been great lately even without star edge rusher R Mason Thomas. He was injured in the Tennessee game and has missed the last two games. When he comes back, the unit should be even better.
But even with Thomas back into the fold, it's unlikely that OU's defense will be able to make up for its offensive shortcomings. If Oklahoma is going to make a playoff run, the onus is on Mateer and Co. to be a lot better.
