Missouri football fell to SEC East rival Tennessee 62-24 at Faurot Field in a game that was one-sided throughout. The loss dropped the Tigers to 2-3 on the year, while evening the all-time series between the schools. It was the most points allowed by Missouri against a conference opponent since the Tigers lost at Tennessee in 2016.
It sounds like a broken record: the same mistakes hurt the Tigers on defense as the Volunteers gashed the Tigers for 452 yards on the ground. Making matters worse, the offense didn’t produce as they had in the first four games, only finding the end zone twice.
“To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. It is my responsibility to have this team prepared and ready to play. This was uncharacteristic of this football team — this football team has been a team that fights and we weren’t ready today.”
The Volunteers determined the tone of the game early. On Missouri’s first offensive possession, it ran three plays resulting in a loss of 4 yards. After a 37-yard punt from graduate punter Grant McKinniss, Tennessee drove 57 yards in 1:15, striking first with a 35-yard touchdown pass from redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker to senior receiver JaVonta Payton.
Penalties stalled the Tigers’ next offensive possession, forcing them to settle for a 43-yard field goal taken by sophomore kicker Harrison Mevis. It was the closest the Tigers got to the Volunteers.
Former Missouri offensive coordinator and current Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel brought in a fast-paced, no-huddle offense that worked to perfection. Tennessee scored on its first nine offensive drives, and only one lasted longer than four minutes. The Volunteers’ game plan didn’t surprise the Tigers, but failing to execute the defensive game plan proved costly.
“We did not execute the game plan well,” sophomore defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine said. “They did everything we thought they were going to do.”
The Volunteers totaled 677 total yards of total offense. Junior Tennessee running back Tiyon Evans accounted for 156 of those yards, including a 92-yard touchdown run toward the end of the first quarter, to fake it a 21-3 game.
Senior running back Tyler Badie made it a 28-10 game with a six-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but it was not his best day, as he finished with 41 yards on 21 carries (2 yards per carry) and 27 receiving yards on three receptions. The Volunteers got into the backfield with 8 tackles for loss.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak finished the day with zero touchdown passes, the first time he did so since last season’s 49-14 loss against Georgia. Drinkwitz didn’t consider taking his quarterback out of the game despite the score.
“We need every rep we can get right now,” Drinkwitz said. “The quarterback needs every rep he can get.”
After Badie’s touchdown run, the Volunteers scored 17 unanswered points, building a 45-10 halftime lead. Tennessee added a field goal coming out of the locker room, making it 48-10, but the Tigers added some positivity as Abrams-Draine returned the kickoff for 100 yards.
Another bright spot came after a stop on fourth and goal when the Tigers offense drove 99 yards downfield, which ended in a touchdown run by senior receiver Boo Smith.
While a difficult result, Drinkwitz hopes his team takes a lesson or two away from Saturday’s game.
“We took a step back today,” Drinkwitz said. “But, it doesn’t have to define us and we keep moving forward, and that is what we are going to do.”
The Tigers look to even their record next week when they welcome North Texas next week for Homecoming at 3 p.m.
Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com