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Oklahoma football is trying to make the most of a season that got away from it a little bit during the month of October. Three consecutive uncompetitive losses — against Texas, South Carolina and Ole Miss — took Brent Venables and the Sooners out of SEC title contention and left them battling just to become bowl eligible.
A win over Maine in Week 10 was much-needed in the schedule, and allowed Oklahoma to steady the ship and get back on track a little bit. That win got Oklahoma within one win of bowl eligibility at 5-4, so it just needs to find one more victory to qualify for the postseason.
It remains to be seen if that break from the SEC schedule was what Oklahoma needed, but it will quickly find out on Saturday when it takes on No. 24 Missouri on the road. That is already a very tough task for the Sooners, but it got even tougher on Friday when it was announced that starting running back Jovantae Barnes is going to miss the game due to an ankle injury that he suffered against Maine, according to Josh Callaway of Sooners Illustrated.
“Just in: Oklahoma will be without RB Jovantae Barnes for tomorrow’s game against Missouri, per source,” Callaway reported on X, formerly Twitter. Barnes has been nursing an ankle injury since Saturday’s game against Maine and didn’t make the trip to Columbia.”
Barnes is Oklahoma's leading rusher this season with 577 yards on 122 carries with five touchdowns. He also has 123 yards and a touchdown as a receiver, so Oklahoma will have to make things work without one of its best offensive weapons.
Can Jackson Arnold turn his season around for Oklahoma?
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Brent Venables made headlines earlier this season when he benched former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. Arnold was erratic and turnover-prone at the start of this season, and Oklahoma's offense was suffering as a result.
The results with Hawkins Jr. behind center weren't much better, so Venables decided to go back to Arnold. Since being reinserted in the lineup, Arnold hasn't thrown an interception, which is a very good sign. However, there have been other problems.
In two losses against South Carolina and Ole Miss, Arnold took a combined 17 sacks, which is just way too many. Of course, some of the fault for that falls on the offensive line, but Arnold needs to do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands.
Arnold wasn't sacked against Maine, but the caveat there goes without saying. Saturday's game against a Missouri defense that has been gettable this season will be a good litmus test to see how far Arnold has come since the beginning of the season. If he can play a clean game and avoid the negative plays, the Sooners will be in a strong position to clinch bowl eligibility against a Missouri team that is playing without starting quarterback Brady Cook on Saturday night.
