When it was all said and done, and the final whistle blew, Oklahoma’s 38-28 win over Missouri Saturday night was just another step in the Sooners’ chase for their eighth national championship in school history.
However, the victory did not come as easy as expected.
A 1-yard run by Missouri quarterback James Franklin capped the Tiger’s opening drive, which consisted of sevens plays for 76 yards.
Then, following a 26-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Michael Hunnicutt, Franklin completed a 45-yard pass to L’Damian Washington to make it 14-3 with six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Franklin, who completed 16 of 33 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown, gashed the Sooners’ defense in the air and on the ground, running for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
After a slow start, Oklahoma’s offense got into a groove, scoring 28 unanswered points.
[caption id="attachment_283" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images"]
[/caption]
Junior quarterback Landry Jones and senior wide receiver Ryan Broyles provided most of the scoring for the Sooners’ offense, which was without sophomore wideouts Kenny Stills (injury) and Trey Franks (suspension).
Jones completed 35 of 48 passes for 448 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while Broyles caught 13 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns.
“We started shaky on both sides of the ball, and then came back in that second quarter and really started playing some pretty good football,” Jones said. “I don't know if I can really put my finger on what was really going on. Just seemed a little flat out there. We didn't come out as focused as we needed to be.”
Oklahoma’s defense held Missouri’s offense scoreless in the second and third quarters as the Sooners led the Tigers 31-14 going into the fourth quarter.
A 48-yard touchdown run by Missouri running back Henry Josey closed the gap to 10 with 6:44 left in the game, however. Josey, who rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown, was part of an offense that amassed 532 yards on OU’s defense.
Missouri tacked on another touchdown late on Franklin’s second 1-yard touchdown run, though, that didn’t stop Oklahoma from improving to 3-0 on the season.
“There are things you wish you would have done better,” OU head football coach Bob Stoops said. “That's how it's going to be when you play another good football team. They had theirs. We had ours. Fortunately, over the long haul, we were able to come back from a deficit early, get a decent lead and finish it off.”
Back to the Oklahoma Sooners Newsfeed