Mizzou football hunts for first win in Norman, Oklahoma since 1966
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team will look to snap a 59-year drought with a road trip to Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday, as the Tigers will face the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners. MU will roll into Norman with hopes of finding their first win at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since 1966.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company will have a behemoth of a task on their hands, as the Sooners will come into the matchup 8-2 on the season and fresh off of big wins over No. 4 Alabama, No. 23 Tennessee and No. 7 Ole Miss.
"It's definitely a huge opportunity to go there and win. Coach [Drinkwitz] just told us [that we haven't won there since 1966], yesterday. But, another thing is that we see everything they say about Coach Drinkwitz, the Mizzou football team and just this program, so this is an important win to go get for ourselves, but also for the support we have, like the Mizzou fans and just everyone, even including the doubters that don't believe we can win big games," wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. said.
You can watch the full press conference with Coleman Jr. in the video player below.
Ahead of that game, Coach Eli took some time to address the rumors around the status of injured quarterback Beau Pribula, during Tuesday's press conferences. Following the quarterback's non-fracture ankle dislocation at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago, Drinkwitz said that Pribula is still on the rehab track, but has been able to participate in practice in a limited capacity. He added he does expect true freshman quarter Matt Zollers to make the start against the Sooners.
It'll be a battle of the defenses in Norman, as both Mizzou and Oklahoma will come in as a couple of the Top-15 defenses in the land.
The Tigers rank No. 10 in total defense in the entire country, followed closely by the Sooners, who ranked No. 11. Head coach Brent Venables' team has been stifling opponents, only allowed about 14 points and 278 total yards per game. The crew down in Norman has really honed in on stopping the run in 2025, as teams are only averaging 82.2 rushing yards per contest.
"They rally to the ball, they cut gaps, they overlap the defense, they blitz. They got it all," Coach Drink said. "Whatever you can play on Madden or College Football to stop the run, they have it in their game plan and [Venables is] not afraid to call it at any point."
You can watch the full press conference with Drinkwitz in the video player below.
On the other side, the MU defense will have to contend with quarter John Mateer, who averages about 231 yards per game and has thrown eight touchdowns on the season, along with seven interceptions.
The team talked about what challenges he will present, during Tuesday's weekly press conference.
"He's really good, he can throw. He had the injury earlier in the season, but he's come back like he'd never even had an injury. He can run and he really kind of checks off a lot of the boxes," cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. said.
You can watch the full press conference with Pride Jr., as well as defensive end Zion Young in the video players below.
However, the Mizzou football team is coming in with some momentum of its own, after putting forward its most complete effort of the season in a dominating win against Mississippi State.
Offensively, running back Ahmad Hardy stole the show, as he earned Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors, as a result of his performance. The sophomore delivered just the sixth 300-yard rushing game in Southeastern Conference history, adding on three touchdowns, including a 72-yarder.
Coach Drinkwitz said that performance came as a result of some great running by Hardy, but also thanks to some tremendous blocking.
"We had some explosive plays and the offensive line was getting movement around the ball for a lot of yards, so that felt good," offensive lineman Keagan Trost said.
You can watch the full press conference with Trost in the video player below.
Mizzou will look to bring that momentum with it to Norman, on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m.
