Jordan-Hare Stadium was the site of Missouri football’s first road battle of the year, a Tiger-on-Tiger night game against Auburn. The contest came fresh off Missouri’s first defeat of the season, a 27-24 loss to Alabama.
Missouri entered the game hoping not to replay its performance in the first road game of the 2024 season, where they traveled to Texas A&M with high hopes and left with a crushing 41-10 defeat.
Auburn was in the midst of an underwhelming season and a three-game losing streak to ranked Southeastern Conference teams. Despite Auburn’s unimpressive resume, Jordan-Hare is known for being one of the toughest places to play in the entire country and always remains a challenge for visiting teams.
The home Tigers showed it early. Quarterback Jackson Arnold plunged into the end zone for a 7-0 lead to cap off a 12-play, 75-yard drive after the opening kickoff. Missouri fans are familiar with Arnold — he was the quarterback for Oklahoma when Missouri linebacker Triston Newson forced a game-winning scoop-and-score against the Sooners in 2024.
The expectation coming into the game was for Missouri’s defense to overpower the struggling Auburn offense, and after the surgical first drive from the home team, that script began to write itself as expected. An interception from senior Toriano Pride Jr. and a third down sack by senior Chris McClellan held Auburn down, and the first quarter ended with Missouri trailing 7-3.
While the beginning of the game was all Auburn, Missouri controlled most of the second. After Auburn punted the ball away, running back Ahmad Hardy was finally able to have a statement drive, rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown to cap off a 10-7 lead.
Missouri’s defense held strong again, forcing a three-and-out, but it was not able to capitalize, with quarterback Beau Pribula throwing his sixth interception of the season, preventing a potential two-possession lead. With a missed field goal on the other end at the half’s close, Missouri went into the break leading 10-7.
The slow offensive day continued for both teams well into the third quarter. Another missed field goal from Auburn kicker Alex McPherson kept the lead in Missouri’s favor, but again, it failed to capitalize. Too many unconverted chances on the road will eventually hurt any team, and Auburn running back Omar Mabson II capped off the drive by dashing into the end zone for a 14-10 lead as the clock ran down in the third quarter.
With Hardy at only 52 rushing yards through the first three frames and the offensive line unable to consistently string together quality plays, the visiting Tigers had to find a way to generate offense in the final 15 minutes.
But there was no progress. Missouri was forced to punt. Hope was at a low point for the white and gold as the Auburn Tigers marched down to Missouri’s one-yard line, a touchdown away from a likely insurmountable 21-10 lead. Enter defensive lineman Marquis Gracial, who blew through the Auburn blockers to force a four-yard loss and a field goal, making the score 17-10.
Missouri marched once more. Aided by two 15-yard penalties, the visitors moved down to the opposing goal line, tying the game at 17 apiece by way of Hardy’s second rushing touchdown of the day.
Auburn’s offense stagnated again, and Missouri was given the ball with a chance to go down the field and win the game.
With the ball at Auburn’s 30-yard line — a little bit outside the range of true freshman kicker Robert Meyer — Missouri lost 18 yards by way of three negative plays before eventually throwing an interception. Jordan-Hare Stadium was heading into overtime.
The extra period came, and the game-long struggle of McPherson continued. When a sack from defensive end Zion Young, right on the heels of an expletive-filled moment during the coin toss where he proclaimed that “everybody knows what time it is”, forced Auburn to kick a 50-yard field goal, McPherson could not convert. Missouri ended up with a chance of its own, but Meyer could not put it away from 38 yards out, and the game went to a second frame of overtime.
Eventually, Missouri broke through. A three-yard touchdown rush by Pribula gave Missouri a 23-17 lead, and pressure on Arnold during the ensuing drive sealed the game for Missouri. Despite the uncertainty that loomed large all game, Missouri came away with a win in its first away game of the year to advance to 6-1.
Missouri will stay on the road at Vanderbilt on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2:30 p.m.
