It wasn’t simply that the Oklahoma Sooners lost to Missouri on Saturday night. It was the way they lost. They watched a lead at halftime disappear. Then, the Sooners tied it up late and took the lead on a fumble returned for a touchdown.
It was a miraculous turn of events that quickly turned into disaster as the Sooners allowed the game-tying touchdown 57 seconds later on a drive that allowed a third-and-16 conversion.
It couldn’t have ended any worse for the Sooners. Jackson Arnold, on second-and-five, couldn’t find anywhere to go with the ball and lost the football when hit, which Missouri took the other way for a game-winning touchdown.
After their disappointing loss, the Sooners were among Paul Myerburg’s losers of the week for USA TODAY Sports.
Hello, rock bottom. That’s where you’ll find Oklahoma after a stunning 30-23 loss to Missouri that got wild in the final minutes. The Sooners scored twice in 78 seconds to go up 23-16 with two minutes to play only to see Missouri respond to tie the score with a minute left. Then, Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold was sacked and fumbled, with the loose ball scooped up by defensive lineman Zion Young and returned 18 yards for the game-winning score. In a nightmare season, this is about as bad a loss the program has suffered in years and years and it’s likely to end without a bowl game for the first time this century. – Myerburg, USA TODAY Sports
There have been too many comparisons between this Oklahoma team and the 1998 squad. The Sooners are in danger of missing bowl season for the first since the final year of the John Blake era.
It’s never good when your team gets compared to one of the lowest periods in program history.
Brent Venables will likely get another year to figure it out, but he’ll be on the hottest of seats moving forward.
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