Missouri’s Zion Young returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in the final minute to lift the No. 24 Tigers to a 30-23 win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Young’s touchdown capped off a wild finish, with four touchdowns between the teams in the final 3:18.
The Tigers (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive while the Sooners’ bowl hopes took a major hit.
Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) needs one more win in its final two games — against Alabama and LSU — to extend its bowl streak to 26 seasons.
Missouri tied it on Theo Wease Jr.’s 10-yard touchdown catch from Drew Pyne with 1:03 left.
It didn’t take long for the Tigers to come up with another big play.
Triston Newson hit Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold in the backfield, knocking the ball free, and Young picked it up and returned it for the score.
Not long before Wease’s touchdown, it looked like the game had turned disastrous for the Tigers.
Billy Bowman returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown with 2:00 left to put Oklahoma in front 23-16.
But Pyne quickly directed an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it and set up Young’s late heroics.
The teams combined for just 535 total yards, with Missouri outgaining the Sooners 278-257.
Pyne finished 14-of-27 for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
Arnold finished 15-of-24 for just 74 yards as the Sooners turned the ball over four times.
Wease had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Oklahoma tied the game with 3:18 left on a bit of trickery.
Running back Taylor Tatum took a handoff from Arnold on third down then turned to throw it back to Arnold, who caught it and ran in for an 18-yard touchdown.
On the third play of the next drive, Sammy Omosigho hit Missouri’s Jamal Roberts, popping the ball free. Bowman scooped it up and took it in for the score.
Pyne threw three touchdowns in the second half, including a 5-yard touchdown to Brett Norfleet with 8:47 left. But the point-after attempt was missed, keeping Missouri’s lead 16-9.
That’s when the Sooners finally answered, with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game.
Oklahoma’s Zach Schmit hit three field goals, including a career-long 56-yarder as time expired in the second quarter, to send the Sooners into halftime leading 9-3.
–Field Level Media
