The No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners host the No. 22 Missouri Tigers for a Week 13 matchup on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Sooners are listed as 7.5-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 41.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction, and best bet for this matchup between these two SEC opponents.
Missouri vs. Oklahoma prediction, preview
Missouri Preview
The Tigers’ season came to an end after losing their third game to Texas A&M. However, they showed that they are still playing hard by blowing out Mississippi State last week. This is a much tougher game against Oklahoma, but if Missouri continues to compete, it can keep this game close. There is a chance Beau Pribula returns this week, although he is listed as doubtful on the injury report. Even if it is Matt Zollers again, Missouri will lean on its elite running game. Ahmad Hardy rushed for an astonishing 300 yards last week against Mississippi State. Hardy is now the nation’s leading rusher and has had a special season for Missouri. The Tigers would love nothing more than to knock Oklahoma out of playoff contention in this one to get a signature win on the season.
Oklahoma Preview
Oklahoma is coming off one of the biggest wins in recent program history. The road win over Alabama is certainly Oklahoma’s biggest win since entering the SEC, surpassing last season’s win over Alabama. John Mateer has never gotten back to his Heisman level from earlier in the season since returning from injury. However, he is still capable of scrambling around and making great plays for the Sooners. That being said, the Oklahoma defense is the star of the show. It is one of the best defenses in the nation, leading the SEC with only 14.8 PPG allowed. If Mateer has a good game, this team is capable of beating anyone in the country. However, the offense is so inconsistent that the Sooners could also lose any given week.
Missouri vs. Oklahoma pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for Missouri to cover the 7.5-point spread. The Tigers have one of the best defenses in the SEC as well. Oklahoma leads the SEC in points per game allowed, but Missouri leads the conference in yards per game allowed. This should be a low-scoring defensive battle between the two SEC opponents. Oklahoma has everything to play for, but last season, multiple SEC teams fell in similar spots. Alabama lost to Oklahoma to get knocked out of playoff contention, and Ole Miss lost to Florida to take its third loss, both in this penultimate week of the regular season.
There is a chance Oklahoma is riding too high after the big win over Alabama and doesn’t come fully prepared for this game. If Mateer makes a couple of mistakes, Missouri has a real chance to pull off the upset. On the other side, Ahmad Hardy can break a couple of big runs that flip this game in Missouri’s favor. In a slugfest of a game, I’ll back Missouri to keep it within a touchdown.
