NORMAN — For how good as Oklahoma’s defense has been in 2026, the Sooners have been inconsistent at finishing tackles.

Through nine games, the Sooners have missed 116 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. OU’s missed tackle percentage is 18.2 percent, which ranks 134th out of 138 FBS teams, per Cody Nagel of 247Sports.

Oklahoma’s tackling will be put to the test on Saturday, when the Sooners face off against Ole Miss and dual-threat quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

“It takes everybody,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “The discipline in our rush lanes, how we execute every call with great detail and purposefulness. Everyone needs to understand the ‘why’ of why we’re doing, how we’re doing it, situational football.”

Ole Miss gave the Sooners one of their three losses last year, as the Rebels won 34-26 in Norman — and Chambliss had a stellar performance.

The quarterback threw for 315 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 53 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry.

OU’s defenders missed 18 tackles in last year’s eight-point loss. Many of those missed tackles came when Chambliss scrambled out of the pocket.

So far in 2026, Chambliss has thrown for 2,359 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions while also rushing for 187 yards and seven touchdowns. And according to Venables, the combination of Chambliss’ talent and Ole Miss’ offensive scheme creates a formidable challenge for his defense.

“They do a good job schematically of creating a lot of stress for you,” Venables said. “If you’re going to have any opportunity to play well against a player of his caliber, it really is going to take all 11 that are on the field, understanding why it’s important for them to do their job at the level we need them to.

As dynamic as Chambliss can be, he has — at times — struggled with ball control.

Chambliss has thrown five interceptions over his last three games, and three of those picks came in the Rebels’ loss to Texas. Last week against Georgia, Chambliss made the mistake of trying to make a play when he should have thrown the ball away, and it resulted in a back-breaking interception.

OU linebacker Owen Heinecke praised Chambliss’ versatility and talent. But he is also confident that the Sooners can execute and avoid some of the mistakes that they made last year.

“He extended a lot of plays that felt like we should have been off the field on,” Heinecke said. “He’s the key — the whole offense runs through him. We gotta bottle him up, make him throw the ball down, check down, and we’ll do a really good job of that.”

The Sooners had their worst defensive performance of 2026 on Oct. 31, when they lost 42-25 to South Carolina. OU missed 25 tackles, per PFF, in that game and allowed more than 500 yards of offense.

Oklahoma responded to that dreadful defensive showing with a stellar outing. The Sooners allowed only 203 offensive yards in their 23-7 win over Florida last week and missed just 12 tackles.

That bodes well for the Sooners as they prepare to defend one of college football’s best quarterbacks.

“I thought our guys played with a great edge, a good chip on their shoulder,” Venables said. “I thought they came out swinging right away, played with great energy and played from a place of desperation, and so you know that's what it's going to take for us (against Ole Miss).”