Missouri Tigers football claimed a 23-17 victory against Auburn Oct. 18, winning its first overtime game of the season. The Tigers showed they have the clutch gene, but interceptions and the rushing game left more to be desired.
Clutch play
This game brought Missouri into unknown territory –– its first road test of the season and first overtime game since Sept. 21, 2024. Coming into the game, it was unclear if the Tigers could perform under pressure after their close 27-24 loss to Alabama last week.
Missouri silenced these worries by tying the game 17-17 with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter, and the defense held Auburn to push the game to overtime. While the game wasn’t finished in the first frame of extra play, both teams missed potential game-winning kicks; it was eventually graduate quarterback Beau Pribula and the defense that sealed the win.
Pribula threw for 12 yards, rushed for nine yards and took the touchdown himself on the eventual game-winning drive. The Tigers failed on the ensuing two-point conversion, but the defense stonewalled Auburn to win the game, not allowing a single first down on the final drive.
Pribula’s interception problem
Following Week 8, Pribula has now thrown an interception in the last five games and has back-to-back outings with two interceptions. His second throwaway was essentially an arm punt, but the first came at the end of a 12-play drive where Missouri was in scoring position at Auburn’s 17-yard line.
The giveaways are starting to make games too close for comfort.
Of the top 10 passers in the Southeastern Conference in terms of passing yards per game, Pribula leads the group with seven interceptions this season. There are three ranked opponents left on the schedule, and the Tigers can’t continue to squeak by if their quarterback has a serious turnover issue.
Run game concerns
Worries started in the Alabama game when Missouri’s rushing attack ran for a season-low 163 yards, but immediately stooped lower against Auburn, totaling 91 yards on the ground.
The main issue against the Crimson Tide was a lack of volume, but the Tigers were simply shut down against Auburn. On 44 carries, the team averaged 2.1 yards per carry.
Sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy took 24 carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns. He is still second in the nation for rushing yards despite having back-to-back games with less than 60 rushing yards.
The offense’s identity has been in its run game, opening up the passing game early in the season. Missouri will have to come up with better schemes now that defenses seem to have figured out offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s system.
The Tigers will stay on the road for their Week 9 matchup with No. 10 Vanderbilt. The Commodores are coming off a big win against, at the time, No. 10 Louisiana State. The ranked SEC matchup will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 25.
