Kentrell Brothers leaped for the ball, arms extended and in grabbing the pigskin, he helped the Missouri Tigers grab their second win of the season against Arkansas State.
It was going to be different, that’s what the players said leading up to their matchup in Jonesboro, Arkansas, at the Red Wolves’ Centennial Bank stadium. It was never supposed to be a comfortable experience.
Early on, saying that the Tigers were uncomfortable would be an understatement. After opening the game with a field goal, Mizzou junior quarterback Maty Mauk threw an interception that led to an Arkansas State touchdown.
Trailing 10-3 in the second quarter, one could guess what the fan reaction was. Gary Pinkel, sensing it, put Drew Lock in and even the freshman looked rattled. Stepping up into the pocket on his first pass, the ball was tipped and picked off by an Arkansas State defender.
Mizzou went into halftime trailing 17-10, and the Tigers’ running game was struggling mightily.
Russell Hansbrough nursed the same ankle injury he suffered against Southeast Missouri State a week ago. Ish Witter, the backup, had trouble fitting between the tackles. But Mauk?The Missouri quarterback came out and extended two plays with his legs for 69 yards in the second half.
Putting up two touchdowns and kicking a field goal, Missouri took a 27-20 lead and kicked the ball back to the Red Wolves for their final drive.
On their own 16 yard-line, with a minute and 17 seconds left, Brothers intercepted his second pass of the game.
“You never know what’s going to happen.” coach Gary Pinkel said. “As always, our team battled. There’s a lot of things we can improve on, but there were also a lot of outstanding efforts. We worked well with the defense, but the offense executed better in the second half. We utilized field position well.”
Following up a 16-tackle performance against Southeast Missouri State a week ago, you’d be farfetched to have guessed another Brothers’ 16 tackles performance could happen.
Two 4th quarter interceptions, too? That was a much-needed bonus. A bonus that was the difference on a Saturday night in Arkansas.
