Oklahoma Sooners vs. Missouri Tigers Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 9th 2024

Stadium: Faurot Field Columbia
Logo Oklahoma Sooners
VS
Logo Missouri Tigers
42.5
OPENER
-2.5

42.5o -109
CURRENT
3.5 -112

-156
MONEYLINE
+138

23
SCORE
30

Preview and Prediction

When discussing the essential components, Missouri has been uncertain as of late about the availability of a crucial element in their recipe for success.

In the past two games, Tigers quarterback Brady Cook has been forced to leave due to separate injuries.

However, after a bye week, head coach Eli Drinkwitz is optimistic that Cook will be able to return for No. 24 Missouri's upcoming game against Oklahoma on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

Cook is expected to be listed as either "likely" or "unlikely" for the matchup with the Sooners, as he was prior to the 34-0 loss to Alabama on Oct. 26.

Although he did play in that game, Cook suffered a possible hand injury after completing 7 of 12 passes.

With Cook at the helm, the Tigers' offense has been explosive.

"He's got great energy and he's fearless," said Oklahoma coach Brent Venables of Cook. "I don't know his entire background, but he's a winner. I think he brings out the best in the players around him... You can see the bravery and toughness."

If Cook is unable to play, Drinkwitz has stated that Drew Pyne will start for Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC).

Pyne has stepped in for Cook in both the Auburn and Alabama games, throwing three interceptions in the loss to the Crimson Tide.

"We put him in some tough situations," Drinkwitz said of Pyne. "We need to protect him better, establish the run game, and limit turnovers."

This Saturday's game will be the first time the Tigers and Sooners have met in the SEC.

The two teams were long-standing rivals in the Big 12 and Big Eight conferences, facing each other 96 times in their history, with Oklahoma leading 67-24-5.

They also met in back-to-back Big 12 Championship Games in 2007 and 2008 before Missouri joined the SEC in 2012.

Venables was the Sooners' defensive coordinator for those games.

Two former Oklahoma players, wide receiver Theo Wease and Luther Burden, are now on Missouri's roster. Wease has recorded 37 catches for 482 yards and a touchdown, while Burden has 40 catches for 450 yards and four touchdowns, making them a formidable duo.

"He's one of the top players in all of college football," Venables said of Burden. "They find creative ways to get him the ball in open space."

Oklahoma's offense has shown improvement in the last two games since Jackson Arnold regained his starting quarterback position and Joe Jon Finley took over as offensive coordinator following the firing of Seth Littrell.

In the past two games, Arnold has completed over 71% of his passes and thrown for four touchdowns with no interceptions.

Arnold had thrown three interceptions in the first four games before losing his starting job to freshman Michael Hawkins Jr.

The Sooners are hoping to have some key receivers back in the lineup after being without five important options for most of the season.

Jalil Farooq, who suffered a foot injury in the season opener, is close to returning, as is Deion Burks, who hasn't played since the Sept. 21 loss to Tennessee.

"It definitely adds an explosive aspect to our offense, as well as leadership," Arnold said of the duo.

The Sooners (5-4, 1-4) have lost three consecutive conference games and are coming off a 59-14 victory over Maine last week.

PREDICTION
Oklahoma Sooners
23
19
Missouri Tigers

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Missouri Tigers Recap NOV 9TH 2024

Missouri's Zion Young returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in the final minute to lift the No. 24 Tigers to a 30-23 win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

Young's touchdown capped off a wild finish, with four touchdowns between the teams in the final 3:18.

The Tigers (7-2, 3-2 SEC) kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive while the Sooners' bowl hopes took a major hit.

Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) needs one more win in its final two games -- against Alabama and LSU -- to extend its bowl streak to 26 seasons.

Missouri tied it on Theo Wease Jr.'s 10-yard touchdown catch from Drew Pyne with 1:03 left.

It didn't take long for the Tigers to come up with another big play.

Triston Newson hit Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold in the backfield, knocking the ball free, and Young picked it up and returned it for the score.

Not long before Wease's touchdown, it looked like the game had turned disastrous for the Tigers.

Billy Bowman returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown with 2:00 left to put Oklahoma in front 23-16.

But Pyne quickly directed an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it and set up Young's late heroics.

The teams combined for just 535 total yards, with Missouri outgaining the Sooners 278-257.

Pyne finished 14-of-27 for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Arnold finished 15-of-24 for just 74 yards as the Sooners turned the ball over four times.

Wease had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma tied the game with 3:18 left on a bit of trickery.

Running back Taylor Tatum took a handoff from Arnold on third down then turned to throw it back to Arnold, who caught it and ran in for an 18-yard touchdown.

On the third play of the next drive, Sammy Omosigho hit Missouri's Jamal Roberts, popping the ball free. Bowman scooped it up and took it in for the score.

Pyne threw three touchdowns in the second half, including a 5-yard touchdown to Brett Norfleet with 8:47 left. But the point-after attempt was missed, keeping Missouri's lead 16-9.

That's when the Sooners finally answered, with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game.

Oklahoma's Zach Schmit hit three field goals, including a career-long 56-yarder as time expired in the second quarter, to send the Sooners into halftime leading 9-3.