Brent Venables praises Oklahoma's 'grimy' defense after pivotal win

The Oklahoma Soonersdefeated the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, winning 17-6 in Norman in Week 13. In a win that OU needed if they wanted to keep pace in the College Football Playoff race, the Sooners got another gritty win to get a step closer to punching their way into the bracket.

After the game, head coach Brent Venables was asked about his defense, which delivered a sterling performance again this week. His response was the perfect response to describe his football team.

"They're just grimy," Venables said. "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 team ... It's not pretty, but this is not a beauty contest. This is football."

Missouri was held to six points, despite the return of star quarterback Beau Pribula from injury this week. After getting 300 rushing yards from running back Ahmad Hardy last week in a win over Mississippi State, the Tigers were limited to 70 total rushing yards on 35 attempts against the Sooners, with Hardy accounting for just 57 of those yards.

Pribula had a good day through the air, as did Tennessee's Joey Aguilar and Alabama's Ty Simpson, but his 20-for-36 passing for 231 yards was offset by no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Sooners have picked off five passes by opposing QBs in the last three games.

Missouri went just 3-for-15 on third downs and 0-for-1 on fourth down, as Oklahoma's defense adjusted and buckled down after a lengthy first drive. With an offense that is not able to consistently move the ball, OU's defense has stepped up to the plate time and time again down the stretch of this season.

If it were a beauty contest, the Sooners would be nowhere near consideration for the playoff. But as Brent Venables said after the game, "this isn't a beauty contest; this is football." Oklahoma is one win away from likely making the CFP just one year after winning six games.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: OU's D stepped up again versus Mizzou, and Brent Venables loved it