The Sooners just shut down No. 23 Missouri 17-6 in Norman, holding the Tigers to just 221 total yards and never letting them sniff the end zone all afternoon. The scoreline was modest, the yardage limited, and the style far from flashy. It wasn’t going to wow anyone. But for Brent Venables, who’s spent three years trying to rebuild this program in his image after taking over from Lincoln Riley, this was exactly the kind of football he wants Oklahoma playing.

“They’re just grimy,” Venables said after the game, and you could tell he meant it as the highest compliment. “It’s a grimy group of guys, and that’s the way I love it. They’ve got a relentless mindset, incredible intensity, and they’re together—you can feel it. They know how to play together, and that really personifies this football

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