Oklahoma escaped with a 17-6 win over No. 22 Missouri on Saturday. Now, they’re inching closer to a College Football Playoff berth, which now requires just one more victory against LSU. But beneath the celebration of a ninth win lurked a troubling reality. The offense looked lifeless, except for one explosive play. But one play doesn’t make an offense. And if this is what Oklahoma looks like against Missouri’s defense, what happens when they face elite competition in the playoffs?​

Steve Muench, an analyst on Todd McShay’s podcast, watched the Missouri game and came away deeply unimpressed with what he saw from the Sooners.

“And on the flip side, it was the John Mateer show for Oklahoma, and really not a lot else. I mean, the Sategna 87-yard catch and run was great. That was a nice play. But I mean, it was punt after punt. I mean, it was not my kind of game. I didn’t love that. I don’t love that style,” Muench said on the podcast. 

His assessment cuts to the heart of Oklahoma’s problem. They recorded four three-and-outs against Missouri and managed only two plays exceeding 15 yards all game. Yes, it was John Mateer’s show on the highlights. But in reality, Mateer’s completion rate dropped to a season-low 47 percent. The Sooners have now held Mateer under 200 passing yards in four of the last five games. 

The rushing attack ranks 99th nationally at 3.82 yards per carry. Muench’s comment about hoping “Oregon-USC is better than this” speaks volumes. This was supposed to be a showcase for an elite playoff team. And instead, it looked like a program limping toward the finish line, hoping its defense can carry it through.​

Brent Venables knows it too, even if he’s trying to stay positive publicly. “Offensively, we’ve got to be better. There’s more there. We missed some opportunities to stay on schedule. We’ll learn from those,” Venables said after the Missouri win.

The opportunities were there, but Oklahoma couldn’t capitalize on them. The offensive line remains a disaster in Year 3 of Venables’ tenure, and the lack of development up front has crippled everything the Sooners try to do. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has John Mateer playing cautious football designed to avoid mistakes rather than attack defenses.

“And again, I told the team we were 8-2 last week, we’re 9-2 this week. And I’m proud of our guys for a body of work and a relentless commitment. But nobody’s handing out trophies. There’s no badge of honor other than playing the game a certain way,” Venables added, trying to keep his team focused.​

Venables has one more regular-season game to figure this out before the playoff committee makes its final judgment. A win over LSU likely gets Oklahoma into the 12-team field. But then what? The offense ranks 99th in rushing, and Mateer has been held under 200 passing yards on multiple occasions. The playcalling has been so conservative that players aren’t even getting chances to run deep routes. 

The verdict is bleak. This team can beat Missouri 17-6, but they’re not built to hang with the Alabama, OSU, or Georgia teams they’ll face if they make it to the playoffs.​

Grimy wins

Brent Venables stood at the podium after beating Missouri and used a word you don’t often hear describing championship-caliber football: “grimy.” “They’re just grimy,” Venables said, beaming like a proud father whose kid just showed up covered in dirt after winning a schoolyard fight. 

“It’s a grimy group of guys, and that’s the way I love it. They’ve got a relentless mindset, incredible intensity, and they’re together—you can feel it. They know how to play together, and that really personifies this football team. It’s not pretty, but this is not a beauty contest. This is football.” His defense absolutely earned that praise, holding Missouri to 70 rushing yards when they came in averaging 186 per game as the SEC’s top ground attack. 

But his offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. And at some point, that’s going to cost Oklahoma everything they’ve worked for. The Sooners gained just 276 total yards, had negative-seven yards in the first quarter, and punted nine times, including six straight to end the game. He needs the offense to match the defense’s intensity because grimy only works when both sides of the ball are doing the dirty work.​​