
The Oklahoma Sooners now find themselves one game away from the College Football Playoff after defeating the Missouri Tigers 17-6 on Saturday in Norman, a game that turned into an SEC rock fight.
All it took was three scoring drives by the offense — they were consecutive scoring drives (save for the end-of-half kneel-down by the Sooners) — to reward the defense with a win. As OU has shown for most of its post-September run, it doesn't have to be pretty.
As coach Brent Venables said after the game, "It ain't a beauty contest."
The Sooners, ranked No. 8 in last week's CFP rankings, can now secure their first playoff bid since 2019 this week if they handle unranked LSU in a home game at Owen Field. The 2025 season finale unfolds at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday.
Pro Football Focus on Sunday morning published its grades and snap counts for the Sooners' win over Mizzou. Here's the rundown:
Following an opening drive of nearly 8 1/2 minutes by the Tigers, the Oklahoma defense stifled Missouri and removed any hope that there would be any late-game heroics like there was in last year's meeting in Columbia.
Linebacker Owen Heinecke led the effort on defense, finishing with 10 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Heinecke graded out with a 76.3 on 42 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Joining Heinecke was linebacker Kip Lewis, fresh off of his magnificent game last week at Alabama. Lewis finished with a 62.1 grade on 50 snaps.
Defensive back Peyton Bowen's biggest play came on special teams when he blocked a field goal attempt that kept the Tigers from extending their 3-0 lead. The blocked field goal led to Oklahoma's first touchdown, when wideout Isaiah Sategna (64.9 on 57 snaps) scored on an 87-yard touchdown catch and run. Bowen finished with a 66.5 grade on 65 snaps.
Here are the snap counts and PFF grades for the Sooners' defense:
It seems like the Sooners are unable to generate consistency — whether that is stringing together consecutive drives or explosive plays. Missouri's defense is stout (16th in ESPN's SP+), but OU could not put the game away despite numerous drives set up by their defense.
Quarterback John Mateer struggled for most of the game for the second week in a row. Despite a handful of second-half drives — with a few of those starting anywhere between the 35- and the 45-yard lines — Mateer was unable to score that final touchdown to truly slam the door on Missouri.
Mateer finished with 55.7 grade on all 63 snaps of offense.
The three freshmen on the offensive line had an up-and-down performance. They surrendered two sacks and six tackles for loss. It seemed like each play made behind the line of scrimmage killed the momentum of any drive.
Freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi led the offensive line's efforts with a 63.3 grade on 63 snaps.
Here are the snap counts and PFF grades for the Sooners' offense:
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