It will be a vintage Big Eight clash in Columbia on the second Saturday in November when the Oklahoma Sooners visit the Missouri Tigers.
It will be the 96th matchup between the two teams. Oklahoma holds the series lead 67-24-5 and has won 19 of the last 21 dating back to 1984; however, the two teams have not met since 2011.
Brent Venables enters his third year at the helm in Norman after serving as the defensive coordinator at Clemson. His second season was a resounding success after a disappointing 6-7 year in 2022 as the Sooners went 10-3 last season including a dramatic win over rival Texas.
While his trademark is on the defensive end, his challenge this year will be rebuilding an offense that was top five in the nation last season after losing his offensive coordinator, his quarterback, and eight other offensive starts including his entire offensive line.
Offense
The blueprint will remain similar as Seth Littrell takes over for Jeff Lebby as play-caller. This offense utilizes wide splits for receivers to run the ball and blazing up-tempo speed to throw defenses off balance.
Jackson Arnold served as the backup quarterback last season after arriving on Oklahoma’s campus as one of the most highly-touted freshmen in the country.
His dual-threat ability and arm strength make him a tremendous player; however, in his one start (the Alamo Bowl against Arizona) he also showed his inexperience as he threw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns but also turned the ball over four times.
He returns two dynamic receivers to aid him in Jalil Farooq and Nic Anderson who combined for over 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Deion Burks Jr. brings electric speed after transferring in from Purdue. He will be a dangerous weapon in the slot.
In the backfield, Gavin Sawchuk should be the workhorse for Oklahoma. He came on strong at the end of last season running for over 100 yards in each of his last six games.
The offensive line in front of Arnold will need to step up massively. The group features transfers and former rotation players but no starters from last year’s offensive line.
After starting last season at USC, Michael Tarquin will protect Arnold’s blindside in his sixth year of college football Branson Hickman was a sought-after center transferring into Norman after playing last season at SMU and Fabechi Nwaiwu, a Freshman All-American guard at North Texas, joined the unit as well.
Rotation players will seek to aid this offensive line but none have a great amount of playing experience. Longtime offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh might have the toughest test of his time in Norman preparing this group for SEC defensive lines.
New offensive coordinator Seth Littrell comes from the air raid tree but has converted to the new offshoot of that system which seeks to spread the field to run the ball. This scheme was the one that Lebby used last year and the same one that Lane Kiffin and Josh Heupel employ that has torched the SEC over the past several years.
Littrell spent last year as an offensive assistant, calling plays in the Alamo Bowl against Arizona after Lebby’s departure, where the Sooners racked up over 500 yards of offense but turned the ball over five times.
Before returning to Oklahoma where he played, Litrell spent six years as the head coach at North Texas. He consistently guided his offenses to being ranked top of the league, especially in his final three years where they ranked top two in rushing in the conference.
Defense
Throughout his career, Brent Venables’s defense has been known for its complex blitzing schemes and aggressive mentality. During his first year at Oklahoma, his defense finished eighth out of ten teams, they saw a remarkable improvement last season jumping to fourth in the conference.
Coaching linebackers has always been his bread and butter and they showed out in a big way last season. Kip Lewis, Danny Stutsman (a preseason All-American), and Desan McCollough all return from last year’s terrific unit.
Each fits the mold of a modern-day linebacker: quick, multiple, and solid in coverage. The front seven is anchored not only by the linebacking core but by returning edge rusher Ethan Downs who returned 6.5 sacks and 4.5 sacks last season. He finished as an All-Big 12 Second Team player last season.
The interior of the defensive line should be difficult to run against this season. Damonic Williams, who transferred in from TCU, plays at 6’2”, 320 pounds and will look to stuff the inside run alongside fellow 320-pound lineman Dajan Terry.
The front line is not only spectacular but the depth at this spot for Brent Venables is formed in his third year at the helm.
If one thinks the secondary will be a weakness, think again. Billy Bowman will almost certainly be playing on Sundays and he returns after a prolific season at safety where he had six interceptions (three of which he took back for touchdowns) and finished on the Big 12 First Team.
Gentry Williams will be the top corner after starting last season before a November shoulder injury cut his season short. His mirror will be Dez Malone who spent the past two seasons as a starting corner at San Diego State.
Venables did not need to dip into the transfer portal to fill the other spots in his secondary. Peyton Bowen and Robert Spears-Jennings have both played in rotation roles but should feature more heavily this season.
Venables’ defense will not only present problems with their personnel but also with their scheme. Disguises, rotations, and non-traditional rushes will attempt to confuse Brady Cook on offense. He will see a very different picture pre-snap and post-snap.
Summary and Prediction
Oklahoma has had Missouri’s number historically. The long layoff between matchups, however, likely means that simply seeing the crimson and cream jerseys with that patented interlocking “OU” may not carry with it the same sense of dread and doom to Missouri as in years past.
Perhaps most importantly, Missouri has a bye week to prepare for this massive home game that should have playoff implications. Oklahoma will play Missouri after a home game against Maine but that game comes off the back of three straight heavyweight SEC tilts.
The game has already been announced as a sellout and this game will be circled on every Mizzou fan’s calendar as a chance to get back at their rivals to the south. This game will be absolute madness.
Both of these teams are in similar spots coming off successful seasons with one having all their questions on the defensive end and the other on the offensive end.
If this game was earlier in the season then I would lean toward Missouri, but with the experience that Jackson Arnold will have by this point in the season, the road crowd will not intimidate him to the extent it would have earlier in the year.
With the talent he will have at receiver, I think this offense has a chance to hurt Missouri in the passing game and I think this is one of the few SEC defenses suited to give Missouri problems.
With their excellent defense and an offense that should round into shape by this point in the season, I give Oklahoma the slight edge to hand Missouri a heartbreaking loss once again.
Oklahoma 30, Missouri 28.
