20 for 20 #2: Tigers top Sooners on the biggest stage

In an effort to look back fondly at the successes of Tiger football, the Rock M Nation football staff compiled and ranked the greatest games of the past 20 years. There’s no science or math involved here: we simply listed what we thought were the 20 best games of the past 20 years and counted the votes. We’ll start with the games getting the fewest votes and work our way up to #1.

#11 MIZZOU- 36

#1 OKLAHOMA- 27

October 17th, 1998- that was the last time the Missouri Tigers could say they beat the Oklahoma Sooners. It took 12 more years before it would finally happen again.

If you’re a fan of Missouri Tiger Football, then you surely remember this instant classic against our late BIG 12 adversary, the Oklahoma Sooners. This is one of those games you look back on and say, “Oh yeah, I remember exactly where I was when Gahn McGaffie returned the opening kickoff against the number one team in the country.” Do you remember where you were? I was 10 years old watching in my basement.

In 2010, the Missouri Tigers went 6-0 when playing at home. They started off the season red-hot, winning all of their first six games. In four of those first six games, the Tigers won by a margin of 20 points or greater, too. The Tigers’ early season success had earned them the 11th ranked spot in the polls, but all of that early triumph would be put to the ultimate test in week seven against Oklahoma.

Up to week seven, the Sooners were also perfect, having managed to win two games against top 25 opponents as well. They dominated a ranked Florida State in week two, and also had bested their forever rival, the Texas Longhorns. But on October 23rd, 2010, the sooners walked into a sold out Faurot Field.

The amount of electricity that surged through the stadium when McGaffie took the opening kickoff 86 yards to the house will forever be unmatched. It’s so iconic, it honestly deserves its own highlight. Goosebumps…

The Tigers would find themselves in a grudge match for the remainder of the evening, however. Missouri and Oklahoma would trade blows throughout the first half, but the Sooners would edge out a 1 point lead heading into the fourth quarter. In typical fashion, that’s when Gary Pinkel decided he was gonna start making some gutsy play calls. In a lighting quick manner, the tigers went 72 yards in 5 plays and took back the lead.

The icing on the cake would come two drives later, when true-freshman James Franklin stepped in and rushed in for another touchdown. That score, along with the extra point, would give the Tigers a 36-21 lead with only a little over six minutes remaining in the game. The Sooners would inevitably score again, but it wasn’t enough to get the win, and it wasn’t enough to keep the student section from rushing the field once the clock hit zero.

Though Missouri had a respectable season, finishing 10-3, there was no greater highlight to that season then besting Oklahoma on Homecoming weekend.