Linebacker Owen Heinecke led the effort on defense, finishing with 10 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Heinecke graded out with a 76.3 on 42 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Joining Heinecke was linebacker Kip Lewis, fresh off of his magnificent game last week at Alabama. Lewis finished with a 62.1 grade on 50 snaps.

Oklahoma has taken a critical step in its quest to reach the College Football Playoff. John Mateer threw two touchdown passes, and the eighth-ranked Sooners defeated No. 23 Missouri 17-6 on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners got an important victory in Norman on Saturday, taking down the Missouri Tigers by 11 points in a must-win game. OU won by a final score of 17-6, improving to 5-2 in SEC play and 9-2 overall this season. If the Sooners can beat LSU at home next week, it's very likely that they'll be in the 2025 College Football Playoff.

The Sooners didn't give the ball away, but Ben Arbuckle's offense struggled to put down the Tigers with a banged-up running back unit.

Eli Bowen records his second interception in as many games, sealing the 17-6 victory for the Sooners. Oklahoma improves to 9-2 and hosts LSU at 2:30 p.m.

The Sooners will secure an at-large bid with a win over LSU next week, but is this team good enough on offense to make a run?

Oklahoma and Missouri played almost annually for a century, but this is just the second meeting between the former Big 12 rivals since 2011. The Tigers took their debut SEC showdown last season in a 30-23 win in Columbia.

Oklahoma held scoreless in two quarters against Missouri, still controls playoff fate originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.