COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Remember the last time Missouri and Oklahoma played on Faurot Field?
It was Oct. 23, 2010, the homecoming game, and Oklahoma was ranked near the top of polls. 鈥淐ollege GameDay鈥 came to town for the clash of undefeated Big 12 teams. And Gahn McGaffie鈥檚 return of the opening kickoff for a touchdown set the tone in one of Mizzou鈥檚 all-time great victories.
Things will be different Saturday when the Tigers and Sooners rekindle relations. Now, MU and OU are playing in the Southeastern Conference after separate migrations from the Big 12 to the SEC.
The history between the programs will still be there, padded by recent tension on the recruiting trail and among players who鈥檒l face their former teams.
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Here are three things to watch for in Mizzou鈥檚 game against Oklahoma, which will kick off at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.
Pyne鈥檚 preparation
Quarterback Brady Cook started the week as questionable on the MU injury report with separate injuries to his right ankle and hand/wrist. Whether he plays may very well come down to pregame warm-ups.
Underneath that layer of uncertainty, one thing is clear: If Cook can鈥檛 play, the Tigers will turn to Drew Pyne as their quarterback.
Pyne played uninspiringly when he filled in for Cook during Missouri鈥檚 Oct. 19 game against Auburn, then disastrously with a three-interception performance last time out, at Alabama.
He鈥檚 now had a bye week to prepare for potential starts in Mizzou鈥檚 final four games, and the Tigers seem confident that Pyne can get the job done聽鈥 though he鈥檇 had a week of first-team reps heading into the 鈥楤ama debacle, too.
鈥淗opefully it was a learning opportunity,鈥 coach Eli Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 mean, we put him in some bad situations. We got to protect better, we got to establish the run better and we can鈥檛 turn the ball over. Look, quarterback is not a position without errors. We鈥檝e all had tough days at that position, but we have confidence in Drew and Drew鈥檚 practiced well. Our team鈥檚 behind him if that鈥檚 what it needs to be.鈥
And as for what Pyne鈥檚 bye week looked like:
鈥淗e just went back to work like anybody else would,鈥 wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. said. 鈥淢ost of us on the team have had bad games before, so we don鈥檛 look at him no different.鈥
Putting the Sooners under pressure
Oklahoma has used multiple starting quarterbacks聽鈥 Jackson Arnold, Saturday鈥檚 projected starter, and freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. 鈥 at different points in the season. But they鈥檝e had something in common: facing a lot of pressure.
Only Arkansas鈥 quarterbacks have experienced more dropbacks under pressure than the Sooners鈥 duo. Arnold has been under pressure on 81 dropbacks, while Hawkins has been on 53. Combined, that鈥檚 38% of their dropbacks.
It鈥檚 part of OU鈥檚 broader offensive struggles that led to the firing of its offensive coordinator a few weeks ago. It鈥檚 also the sign of an opportunity for Missouri鈥檚 defense.
But Oklahoma鈥檚 penchant for allowing pressure to reach the quarterback doesn鈥檛 mean the Tigers will be going all out in hopes of adding to that pressure rate. Drinkwitz suggested the defensive game plan will be a little more conservative, which has been a theme under first-year defensive coordinator Corey Batoon.
鈥淵ou got to defend the play that they run. It鈥檚 not like you know when it鈥檚 going to be run or pass and you can decide what you got to do. We鈥檝e got to stop the run first, in my opinion. The difference in the past two games is their willingness to try to establish the run game and then have plays off of it. So for us, it鈥檚 going to be about stopping the run first and then reacting to the pass. Obviously the weather potential changes the way all of that plays out.鈥
As for the weather: Early forecasts are calling for scattered showers around Columbia on Saturday, but they suggest that rainfall could clear before the evening kickoff.
Burning redshirts?
This has nothing to do with Oklahoma鈥檚 uniforms but rather with some of Mizzou鈥檚 youngest players.
Three MU freshman have already played in enough games to be using a full-year of eligibility: Defensive back Trajen Greco, linebacker Jeremiah Beasley and linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez.
Greco and Beasley have become special teams mainstays right off the bat, while Rodriguez earned a much bigger role following Khalil Jacobs鈥 season-ending injury.
Two key freshmen have appeared in four games, according to MU鈥檚 participation tracking stats, which is the most regular season contests a player can appear in while maintaining their redshirt.
Playing a snap against OU would mean running back Kewan Lacy and defensive end Williams Nwaneri lose their ability to redshirt this season and preserve a year of eligibility.
Given the projected ceilings for Nwaneri, a five-star prospect, and Lacy, a positive surprise contributor, they may eventually be moving on to the NFL before an extra year of eligibility comes into play.
And while several other freshmen remain on track to redshirt, that discussion is back of mind for the MU coaching staff when it comes to Nwaneri and Lacy.
鈥淲e鈥檙e at the point in the season where we鈥檙e playing to win the game,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚f those guys are called upon to play to win the game, both of them are in the rotation, depth chart. I would anticipate the both of them play this week. Not worried about that part.鈥
