COLUMBIA, MO – Oklahoma got really good at beating Oklahoma.

This time, the Sooners (5-5, 1-5 SEC) allowed Missouri backup quarterback Drew Pyne to lead an eight-play, 75-yard drive in 57 seconds to tie Saturday’s game between the former enemies of the Big 8.

Next, OU quarterback Jackson Arnold lost his second fumble of the night – a fatal blow.

Young Zion picked up the ball and ran 17 yards to put the Tigers ahead 30-23and Missouri (7-2, 3-2) closed out the victory from there.

“Heartbreaking loss. I feel so bad for our players,” OU coach Brent Venables said after the match. “…We definitely had our moments and had a great opportunity at the end. we were down with two minutes to go and Missouri did a great job executing… Our guys fought with everything they had. It wasn’t good enough. We need to do a better job of helping them.

The Sooners lost the turnover battle 4-1, with Missouri outscoring the visitors 21-7 on those takeaways.

Arnold lost two fumbles, safety Peyton Bowen muffled a punt and a wide receiver Deion Burks was stripped because all four errors occurred in Oklahoma’s half.

“Turnovers have always been a major problem,” Venables said. “They are great if you can force them on defense. They make you beat on offense.

Arnold actually put the ball on the field at Faurot Field a third time, having just dropped the ball while scrambling on the first possession, although he may have fallen on that fumble.

The back-breaker came as the Sooners tried to march down the field and set up the kicker. Zach Schmit in place for a potential game-winner after OU’s kicker made a 56-yard field goal to end the first half.

“It’s unfortunate. I was just trying to take it out of the pocket and throw it away – I probably should have thrown it away a little bit earlier and just put a new coin in it,” Arnold said. “…It sucks. It could happen at any time, and it happened at the worst possible time, but I just have to be better.

Before the deciding possession, interim play-caller Joe Jon Finley said there was only one goal in mind.

“We are going to be aggressive. We wanted to win,” Finley said. “I felt very confident…the last 3-4 weeks of practice, we ran the field in practice (during the two-minute drill), and we expected to do it.

“Obviously it didn’t work. I just have to take care of the ball, at all levels. Not just Jackson. But the whole football team… It starts with me, running this offense. We have to take care of it.

Turnovers were a problem for the second-year signal-caller in his first season as OU’s starter.

His three turnover days against Tennessee in Week 4 put him on the bench.

Arnold’s return to the lineup came after Michael Hawkins Jr. committed turnovers on each of the first three possessions against South Carolina, meaning there was no obvious answer to rectify the problems on the bench.

For Arnold, the answer to shoring up turnovers – especially fumbles – can be found during the week.

“We do a turnover circuit at the beginning of practice,” he said. “It’s running through the blasters or trying to get other teammates to hit the ball and stuff.” Continuing to focus on that, emphasizing getting both hands on the ball in traffic – little things like that can help us secure the ball better.

Oklahoma shot itself in the foot repeatedly Saturday night, and had its best shot to extend the program’s streak to 25 years.

The Sooners now head into a bye week with No. 11 Alabama looming on the other side, then-OU will close out the year in Baton Rouge against No. 15 LSU.

Venables extended the streak into 2022, although he couldn’t avoid a losing season after the Sooners fell to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Now, it will take an even more improbable set of circumstances for Oklahoma to claw its way to six wins in Venables’ third year at the helm.

“(The goal) doesn’t change now,” Venables said. “That’s not exactly popular to hear. Go back, keep your head down, eyes forward, get back to work, find a way to achieve victory #6. “Take ownership and accountability for all of this, coaches and players. »