Mizzou got its starting quarterback back from injury in Norman, Oklahoma, but another stilted offensive performance proved damning, as the Tigers fell to 7-4 with a 17-6 loss to the likely College Football
Playoff participants.
Here are your five takeaways.
1. Beau Pribula’s disappointing return
The biggest question leading up to this game? What would Eli Drinkwitz do at QB? With Beau Pribula seemingly primed to start for the first time since his ankle dislocation, would Drinkwitz give his QB1 another week to get back up to speed?
In the end, Drinkwitz opted to go with his senior captain. And while Pribula was technically healthy enough to play, his performance belied the rust that comes from being off the field for a month. Pribula never got into a rhythm against the Sooners’ aggressive defense, leaning heavily on his run game early on. And when Oklahoma began to bottle up Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts, No. 9 never had an answer. His accuracy was lacking, his arm strength looked shaky, he looked hesitant to use his feet and his decision-making was questionable at best, throwing two back-breaking interceptions in the second half. You can argue that his production matched what Zollers would’ve given the Tigers, but there’s no arguing that Pribula wasn’t the factor Drinkwitz might’ve hoped for when he brought him back.
2. Another wasted defensive performance
In what’s becoming a disappointing re-occurrence, Mizzou’s sterile offense wasted another productive day from the defense. Apart from one explosive play – which we’ve come to expect from Batoon’s unit – the Tiger defenders did a great job of bottling up the Sooners, putting constant pressure on John Mateer and keeping Oklahoma’s momentum stalled for the vast majority of the game. The defensive line kept Oklahoma’s running game in check while the secondary did a great job of putting the clamps on the Sooners’ speedier receivers. Mizzou fans should be proud of this defense, which continues to put in elite efforts despite getting little to no help from their counterparts on the other end of the ball.
3. Did Eli Drinkwitz let Oklahoma back in the game?
Just a few minutes into the second quarter, Mizzou had driven into the Oklahoma red zone with a 3-0 lead. The Sooners were able to force a 4th-and-3, which Drinkwitz had the Tigers read to go for after a time out. Venables, however, seemingly iced Mizzou’s head coach by calling a time out of his own. Drinkwitz opted to go for another field goal after Robert Meyers’ shaky (but successful) first attempt. The kick was blocked, and three plays later Oklahoma was in the end zone with a lead they would never relent.
Mizzou’s kicking game has been a coin toss all season since Blake Craig’s injury, and Mizzou’s offense has responded by being one of the best in the country at converting in 4th-and-short situations. Drinkwitz’s conservative decision-making not only let Oklahoma’s struggling defense off the hook, it stunted the momentum his offense had built through the better part of the first half. He’s been a much better in-game decision maker through his sixth season, but Drinkwitz got a big one wrong against Oklahoma.
4. Hey, Kirby Moore… what gives?
This is one of those things that fans and writers love to complain about, often with little-to-no knowledge of what exactly goes into the in-game processes. So that should be noted before we get into this. But what in the world was going on with Kirby Moore’s play-calling today. The Tigers looked fluid early in the game, with Hardy averaging six yards per carry early on and Pribula linking up with his receivers early and often. But once the Sooners started keying in on Hardy (and Drinkwitz opted for the eventually-blocked field goal), the offense screeched to a halt. The run game couldn’t find any room up front, while Pribula often looked lost looking for receivers who couldn’t get open.
Credit needs to be given to Oklahoma’s excellent defense, and certainly individual execution plays into the success of the offense. But too often it looked like Moore was ringing up the same calls over and over and over, waiting for something to work. And apart from a mid-fourth quarter drive that ended in a turnover on downs, it never did. It’s hard to rediscover your offensive spark when your senior quarterback is returning from a month injured, but Kirby Moore wasn’t creative or aggressive enough to help his players get going. It’s been an unfortunate trend that has dominated much of the season’s second half.
5. Back on the road
Mizzou won’t have much time to hang its head, as they’ll be back on the road in the next few days to finish off the regular season against Arkansas. While the Razorbacks are a program in transition, they’re still playing hard under interim head coach Bobby Petrino. And like all of his teams, they’ll put up points. A win in the Battle Line rivalry would salve some of this season’s disappointment, but it’ll require the offense to put in an effort that we haven’t seen much of in the past few weeks.
