Greg McElroy previews key to Missouri vs. Oklahoma with stakes for CFP

No. 22 Missouri will travel to Norman on Saturday for a noon kickoff against No. 8 Oklahoma. And, after the results of the last week, Greg McElroy says it’s a game with big implications for the College Football Playoff.

McElroy previewed the game, one that he’ll be on the call for this weekend, between the Tigers and Sooners on ‘Always College Football.’ He sees it as massive for both sides, as Oklahoma tries to follow up their “program definer” of a win and stay within the field for the CFP, while Missouri tries to gain some respect by going on the road and ruining the playoff hopes for OU.

“The Oklahoma Sooners, after last week’s victory, now find themselves squarely in the College Football Playoff conversation. And now has new life in this team, both offensively and defensively, and they’re riding that emotional high,” McElroy said. “In one afternoon, Oklahoma goes from, eh, kind of a bubble team, to now a team that’s a playoff lock if they can take care of business at home against Missouri and LSU. And, the path is very clear. There is no margin for error. This is a College Football Playoff elimination game for Oklahoma…And, also for Oklahoma too, this is kind of a trap-game scenario, is it not? Just a little bit.

“And, for the Missouri Tigers, this is about validation for them, because, if you look at the Tigers, and they’ve had a pretty good year? I mean, there’s some hollow points to what they’ve accomplished under Eli Drinkwitz. So, this trip to Norman? This is Missouri’s last big opportunity to really legitimize the season and earn some, I think, very reasonable respect.”

As for breaking down the game, McElroy put a lot of emphasis on the offense for Mizzou. With how the Sooners’ defense has played this season, namely as of late, the Tigers will need to ensure that the run is established, being one of the nation’s best teams on the ground, so that they don’t put the pressure of the game onto Matt Zollers, the true freshman who is likely to start due to the doubtful status still of Beau Pribula.

“Can Missouri’s rushing attack generate success against an elite defense?” McElroy asked. “Now, this is a classic, strength-on-strength confrontation here, on paper at least, because, if you look at Missouri’s offense, they’re a top-six rushing attack. They average over 240 yards a game. They have a super elite running back in Ahmad Hardy, who’s already, this year, surpassed the 1,300-yard mark…This is an elite rushing offense now that’s set to collide with a super elite defensive front. I guess you could call them kind of a brick wall along the front. They’re a top-four rush defense that gives up just over 80 yards a game. They are fundamentally dominant. And, on a per-carry basis, there’s few better than the Oklahoma Sooners.

“If the run game is ineffective, can Matt Zollers get it done? Now, Oklahoma? You know they’re going to sell out against the run. That’s what Brent Venables does. Their run defense is going to neutralize Ahmad Hardy. That’s going to be A1 when it comes to them putting this plan together, which is going to put a lot of pressure on the true freshman quarterback in Zollers, who’s 19 years old. And, this will probably be as hostile of an environment as he’s seen in his young career. And I think Eli Drinkwitz, the Missouri coaches and his OC probably know that.

“They know their quarterback is going to have some limitations. Guess what? All true freshmen quarterbacks do. It’s to be expected. The goal of this plan is probably going to be to create some easier opportunities for him, to get him into a bit of a rhythm, and to put him into really favorable situations where he doesn’t feel the mounting pressure that this Oklahoma pass rush will likely bring…But, if you’re putting it all on his shoulders, that’s asking an awful lot to go against a defense that is known for harassing the opposing quarterback.”

Then, on the opposite side, McElroy also had an emphasis on the Sooners’ offense, with them having won several games of late off of defense and special teams play. Now, with their season on the line, the next two weeks with them back in playoff contention, Oklahoma will need more from that unit to play a more all-around game.

“Can the Sooner offense get things going against a great defense? Now, by the numbers, you look at this offense and it’s not statistically very impressive…I think this offense is capable of more, and it might need to be in a game like this,” McElroy said. “This is the age-old question when it comes to Oklahoma’s offense. Is it that they can’t, or is it because they haven’t put an offensive plan together that is built to exploit what the defense is doing? … I do think that they can be better than what they’ve shown up to this point.”

Being on the call on Saturday on ABC, McElroy didn’t make a pick or prediction for this one in looking over the schedule for Week 13. He’ll be in the booth for a big one, though, between Missouri and Oklahoma.