Mizzou Football’s best moments against Oklahoma

Nov 8, 2024 | Uncategorized

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NCAA Football: Oklahoma at Missouri
Scott Rovak-Imagn Images

Despite the Tigers sporting a not-so-great all-time record against the Sooners, some of the program’s most memorable moments have come against the Crimson & Cream.

The morning before each Mizzou football game in 2024, Rock M’s Quentin Corpuel will look back at MU’s best moments versus that week’s opponent. This week: Oklahoma.

Opponent: Oklahoma Sooners

Gametime: Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6:45 p.m.

Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Record versus Oklahoma: 67-24-5

Country music star Luke Combs once said that there ain’t no love in Oklahoma. Mizzou would probably agree.

Since these two teams first met in 1902, the Tigers haven’t found much love in or against Oklahoma. They’ve gotten caught in the warpaths of Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops; the three coaches combined to face Mizzou 42 times and only lost four of those games. Plus, OU was the lone spoiler in Mizzou’s dream 2007 season; not only did the Sooners represent MU’s only regular season defeat, they denied Mizzou’s best chance at a national championship appearance when the Sooners knocked off the top-ranked Tigers in the Big 12 title game.

However, the few wins over the Sooners have been some of the best and most memorable in school history. The 97th battle between the two former Big 6/8/12 rivals doesn’t seem glamorous on paper considering how the season has gone for both squads, but perhaps an old vibe could show up in Faurot Field on Saturday night.

Honorable mention: A historic shutout (11/5/1983)

Hosting No. 11 Oklahoma, Mizzou didn’t seem to have any business taking down the Sooners.

That was until the Tigers won 10-0, handing OU its first shutout loss since 1966. Mizzou would go onto finish 7-5 with a Holiday Bowl loss to BYU, but the win over Oklahoma proved to be the one major bright spot in Warren Powers’ final season as Mizzou’s head coach.

#5: Wartime victors (11/17/1945)

With a roster made up of mostly of underclassmen due to World War I, Mizzou struggled under head coach Chauncey Simpson, who’d replaced Don Faurot, who went to coach Iowa Pre-Flight during the war.

The Tigers endured two losing seasons in 1943 and 1944 before somewhat turning things around in 1945. Mizzou entered its game against No. 14 Oklahoma sitting at 4-3.

Somehow, a Tiger defense that’d been extremely weak played exceptionally against an OU offense that’d scored a combined 80 points over its previous two games. Mizzou won 14-6 in front of a record crowd in Columbia, overcoming the obstacles that came with wartime to knock off a vaunted rival.

#4: Brad Gaylord cannot be stopped (11/14/1981)

1981 was another “almost” year for Mizzou. The Tigers started 5-0 and shot up to No. 8 in the AP Poll, only to lose their next three games.

Mizzou got back on track with a win over Colorado before hosting No. 15 Oklahoma. It was on that day where the Tigers turned into the ‘85 Chicago Bears, holding OU star all-purpose player Buster Rhymes to 35 yards. MU’s Brad Gaylord went ballistic, recording 12 solo tackles, five tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries. Mizzou forced eight turnovers en route to a 19-14 win that snapped an eight-game OU winning streak in the series. Utterly incredible stuff.

#2b: The first Big 6 title (11/18/1939)

As you may be able to tell from the number, I couldn’t decide whether to put this game or the next one at No. 2.

And that’s a little annoying! I get it. Decisiveness is a key trait to possess in many real-life scenarios. But since I’m in charge, indecisiveness will not be taboo.

1939 was almost a banner year for Mizzou. Entering its Week 8 contest against No. 5 Oklahoma, the only blemish on its record was a 19-0 loss to Ohio State in Week 2. The Tigers were riding high, having knocked off No. 10 Nebraska and No. 17 New York University in back-to-back weeks.

The game was a slog. The great Paul Christman wasn’t so on this day – he finished 7/15 for 49 yards. But like several big-time MU victories from decades ago, the Tigers were able to overcome an anemic passing performance with other facets of the game stepping up.

The biggest play of the game came on special teams. In the shadow of its own end zone, Oklahoma lined up to punt. MU’s Charley Moser was able to get a hand on the punt, and the pigskin went straight up into the air. As the ball made its descent, Bob Orf leapt over a crowd of men and came down with the ball for the first score of the game. Ron King converted the extra point to put Mizzou up 7-0 in the third quarter.

OU was able to respond not too long after, but the extra point missed, and the Tiger defense held strong to preserve a ceremonious 7-6 victory. Mizzou clinched its first Big 6 title, ultimately making the Orange Bowl, where the Tigers would fall to No. 16 Georgia Tech 21-7.

#2a: One win away (11/12/1960)

41-19. No. 2 Mizzou had dismantled Oklahoma, moving to 9-0 and snapping a 14-game OU winning streak in the series. Norris Stevenson ran for 169 yards in the team’s first victory in Norman since 1936. It also fulfilled a prophecy head coach Dan Devine laid out two years prior. From Connelly’s “Mizzou’s Greatest, #7: The 1960 football season”:

In 1958, Dan Devine’s first season as Mizzou head coach, the Tigers traveled to Norman in mid-November with a chance at a conference title. They got mauled, 39-0, and Oklahoma won their 13th straight conference crown. After the game, however, an emotional Devine made a proclamation. He jumped onto a training table in the visitors’ locker room and announced that Mizzou would beat the Sooners on their next trip to Norman, and they would dedicate the win to the 1958 seniors who wouldn’t be around to take part.

With No. 1 Minnesota’s loss to unranked Purdue, Mizzou would take the torch as the top team in the AP Poll. Now, only Kansas stood in the way of MU’s first national championship in football. This was the pinnacle, with only one more step to take for immortality.

Today, the post-Oklahoma feelings remain the pinnacle.

#1: When Columbia was the center of the universe (10/23/2010)

In terms of stakes, 1960 probably beats out 2010. The 36-27 win over Oklahoma 14 years ago didn’t vault Mizzou one game closer to a national championship.

But I believe the collective awesomeness of the 2010 win puts this one at the No. 1 spot. For one day, the pinnacle of the day’s college football action resided in Columbia, Missouri. College GameDay visited MU for the first time ever, Francis Quadrangle was packed, and campus was alive like never before on Homecoming, the tradition that the university claims to have invented and holds dear to its heart.

Then, unlike many instances where the Tigers melted under a national spotlight, they did the opposite. Gahn McGaffie returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and nearly caused an earthquake in the middle of Missouri. A few hours later, civilians flooded Faurot Field, a dog was hoisted in the air and a goalpost was outside of Harpo’s, all because Mizzou actually did it. No. 1 Oklahoma had fallen into an ocean of black and gold; so many had been able to swim out of it, but not these Sooners.

Sure, 2010 may not be in the pantheon of all-time Mizzou seasons. But it had a moment unlike most others. Bill Connelly’s diary from the day is an epic documentation of a historic day in Columbia. This win will forever be a member of Mizzou’s greatest.

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