LEXINGTON, Ky — Facing third and eight from its own 27 yard line, Missouri had a choice as the clocked ticked down to 30 seconds left in the first half. It could hand the ball off, keeping the time running and head back to the locker room down by 15 points, or it could call timeout, pass, and try for a first down and take one last shot at scoring before halftime.
Missouri chose the second option. The result was disastrous.
Kentucky defensive end Jordan Wright came off the line and hit quarterback Kelly Bryant from behind, jarring the ball loose. Wright hopped on the fumble to set Kentucky up in the red zone, leading to a ten-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. shortly after. It was a backbreaking sequence as Missouri’s (5-3, 2-2 SEC) hopes to bounce back after its second loss of the season unraveled into an ugly, rain-soaked nightmare. Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC) won 29-7.
“I wanted to give it an effort there to get some points,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “That obviously, looking back now, shouldn’t have taken [the timeout].”
Both offenses started the game conservatively, throwing for a combined 16 yards in the first quarter while running for 90. Kentucky had its first play longer than ten yards early in the second when Bowden hit receiver Bryce Oliver over the middle for a 44-yard connection. The Wildcats got on the scoreboard two plays later when running back redshirt freshman Kavosiey Smoke dove over a pile of linemen to poke the ball over Missouri’s goal line.
The UK offense got right back to work on its next possession. Taking advantage of good field position, a result of an 18-yard punt return by freshman receiver Josh Ali, Kentucky used seven plays to go 45 yards, punctuated by a touchdown run by sophomore running back Asim Rose from 20 yards out.
Missouri’s attempt to respond was derailed by dropped passes. Receivers Jonathan Nance and Kam Scott both saw balls bounce off their hands. Those kinds of misplays were an issue all night for the Tigers, with a slippery ball, a result of heavy rain throughout the game.
“It was just a little wet,” sophomore running back Tyler Badie said. “It made it a little difficult to catch the ball, but it’s no excuses. We need to catch the ball.”
Kentucky kicked a field goal on its next drive, getting into range on a 46-yard run by Bowden. The converted receiver threw for just 54 yards, but ran for 204 and two touchdowns.
“We got out of our gaps sometimes from here and there,” sophomore linebacker Nick Bolton said. “Some parts of the game, he had a couple big runs, that kind of helped that, but I give the most respect to them. They came in here and executed at a high level.”
Incredibly, despite being outplayed in every quantifiable way in the first three quarters, Missouri found itself not completely out of it as the fourth quarter began. Having gotten on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a 74-yard screen pass to Badie, Missouri stopped Kentucky on third and seven, seemingly set to get the ball down 22-7. It could have been only a two possession difference if Missouri could score two touchdowns with one two-point conversion.
The Tigers never got the chance. As the Missouri punt team ran down the field to set up its blocking, Kentucky punter Max Duffy took off into a wide-open abyss of a right side of the field for 26 yards and a first down. The fake extended a drive that fittingly ended with a 33-yard Bowden touchdown run.
“Great play by them,” Odom said. “Bad design by us.”
As the Missouri offense took the field midway through the third quarter, Bryant remained on the sideline. He had grabbed his hamstring after a first quarter run. The prized graduate transfer insisted to Odom for the next two quarters that he could play until it became apparent that he “couldn’t move the way he needed to, to function,” Odom said.
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Powell finished the game, completing 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards in his limited action.
“Obviously [there’s a] difference in dual-threat quarterbacks,” redshirt junior tight end Albert Okwuegbunam said. “Taylor’s not as athletic, not as many QB-designed runs, but other than that, I think Taylor did a pretty good job.”
The loss is Missouri’s second consecutive and third straight on the road. After an undefeated five-game homestand, the Tigers now find themselves reeling with No.10 Georgia looming after a bye week.
“I’m not gonna make excuses,” Odom said. “It’s not gonna be easy. We’re 5-3 and we’ve earned 5-3, and it’s not where anybody wants to be. But right now that’s who we are.”
_Edited by Leah Glasser | lglasser@themaneater.com_
