
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, Missouri looks to take advantage of a reeling Sooners team at home. We previewed Mizzou vs Oklahoma via a Q&A with John E. Hoover from Sooners on SI.
Coming off their bye week, the Missouri Tigers (6-2) look to finish the regular season strong as they host the Oklahoma Sooners (5-4) in a rivalry renewed from the old Big 12 days. OU visits Columbia for the first time since 2010, where Mizzou pulled off the 36-27 upset win over the BCS top-ranked Sooners.
Kick-off on Saturday in Columbia is set for 6:45 p.m. CST on SEC Network with MizzouMade’s Tom Hart (pxp), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), and Cole Cubelic (sideline reporter) on the call.
To get a perspective on the struggling Sooners, we talked it over with John E. Hoover of Sooners on SI to preview the upcoming matchup.
Here’s the Q&A to get you ready:
- Sammy Stava: After being picked to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason poll and being ranked No. 16 in the AP Preseason Top 25, Oklahoma finds themselves in the middle of a disappointing season with a record of 5-4 (1-4 SEC). What are some of the biggest reasons for the Sooners’ issues this season?
John Hoover: “It’s really two-pronged. All five starters from last year’s offensive line departed in the offseason. One of those was a three-year starter at center who went to the NFL with eligibility remaining (and wasn’t drafted), and another was a shocking departure to the transfer portal — you may have heard of him, a kid named Cayden Green. Two years of signing short o-line classes, and three other backups hitting the portal left o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh with no option but to go full portal. He landed five guys who were all starters at other schools — Michigan State, USC, North Texas, SMU and Washington — but they’ve all been slow to either learn the offense or play well. Meanwhile, injuries have cost multiple games at center, right tackle and left tackle. That’s why Oklahoma has allowed more sacks than any team in the country and is only averaging 3.7 yards per rush.”
“The other prong is at wide receiver, where the top four returning wideouts from 2023 — Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jayden Gibson, and Jalil Farooq — have all missed the entire season. That’s 124 catches, 2,296 yards and 18 touchdowns. That quartet has played a grand total of 24 snaps this season due to various injuries. Farooq, who got hurt on the second play of 2024, has been practicing and could actually be back this week. The return of Purdue transfer Deion Burks could be huge, too, as Burks sustained a “soft tissue” injury against Tennessee on Sept. 21 and hasn’t played since. Even though he only played in 2 1/2 games, Burks was the Sooners’ leading pass catcher this season prior to last week’s win over Maine.
2. Sammy Stava: What is the vibe around this Oklahoma fanbase right now considering the disappointing season in their first year in the SEC? How warm is head coach Brent Venables seat right now?
JH: “The fan base is fracturing — a little more each week, it seems. Venables fired his defensive coordinator last January (Zac Alley has been a great hire), but then this fall had to fire his new offensive coordinator, Seth Littrell, after just seven games. After going 6-7 in Year 1 and 10-3 with two stunning upset losses in Year 2, it’s fair to say Venables needs to hire an OC that could very well save his job in 2025. Even with the misfortune at wide receiver, this season has been a massive underachievement, and Venables will be coaching for his job next year. A faction of fans are screaming to stay the course, but another faction thinks Venables has clearly shown that he’s not the guy and wants him gone yesterday.”
3. Sammy Stava: Oklahoma still has a strong defense led by senior linebacker Danny Stutsman, who ranks third in the SEC with 71 tackles. Do you expect him to have success and wreak havoc on this struggling Mizzou offense?
JH: “Stutsman is the heart and soul of Venables’ vastly improved defense, and it’s entirely likely he cranks out 16 tackles, two TFLs and a takeaway. But the thing about this Oklahoma defense is the d-line thrives on penetration and disruption in the backfield, the linebacker corps is fast and extremely active, and the safeties love to come up and support the run. OU’s defense this year is predicated on 11 guys flying to the ball, so Stutsman doesn’t necessarily have to have a huge game for the defense to perform well.”
4. Sammy Stava: We’ve seen both Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. in at quarterback for Oklahoma this season. Who do you expect to start under center on Saturday?
JH: “Jackson Arnold will start. He inherited the starting job when Dillon Gabriel went to Oregon prior to the bowl game last year, but the former 5-star recruit has had problems with turnovers — nine in his first five starts. That’s why he was benched after three backbreaking giveaways against Tennessee. Hawkins came in and beat Auburn on the road, but a couple weeks later against South Carolina, it was Hawkins who was giving the football away — three times in the first quarter as South Carolina led 21-0 just five minutes in — and it’s been Arnold’s show ever since. Arnold has only committed one turnover in his two starts since (a fumble on a sack), and he said getting benched opened his eyes a little and was like a weight off his shoulders. Now he’s playing more free and looks more like a big-time quarterback again. It also helps that new quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns — elevated from his analyst position — actually has built a career out of coaching QBs, a position Littrell had never coached before.”
5. Sammy Stava: Oklahoma came in as a 2.5–point underdog. How do you see this game going on Saturday? Have a final score prediction?
Of note: Oklahoma is now a 3-point favorite.
JH: “That’s an interesting question simply because I’m not sure we’ve seen a line move quite like this one did earlier this week. The Sooners opened a 4-point underdog on Sunday evening, and by 3 p.m. Tuesday they were a 3-point favorite. Vegas seems to think Mizzou QB Brady Cook isn’t playing this week, and if he and RB Nate Noel are unable to go, I think Oklahoma can win the game. No way I would have said that 2-3 weeks ago as the Sooner offense couldn’t even get first downs, much less points. But with Missouri’s injury problems, noticeable improvements on the offensive line these last two weeks, the possible return of Farooq and Burks this week and more growth from Arnold, an OU win is starting to look more likely. I’ll say Oklahoma 21, Missouri 20.”
A big thanks to John for a fun conversation. Follow him and Sooners on SI on Twitter (X) for all things Oklahoma coverage leading up to the game this week.
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