Sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk stepped up behind center with the game on the line. He snapped the ball, dropped back into the pocket and scanned the field for an open target. Mauk spotted senior running back Marcus Murphy and fired a bullet his way. Murphy reeled it in and turned upfield before being swallowed up in the teeth of the Indiana defense.

Game over.

Senior wide receiver Bud Sasser did not get the ball on the final play of Missouri’s 31-27 loss to Indiana on Saturday. He didn’t touch the ball at all on the Tigers’ final drive.

Instead, Sasser did something much more significant: He carried his team there.

Sasser hauled in 12 receptions for 153 receiving yards, both career highs for the senior. He more than doubled the receptions and yardage of every other Missouri receiver. But something about the performance did not seem right; something was off.

“It’s not too fun,” Sasser said. “Even if I had a career day, we took an L.”

Sasser wasn’t ready to steal the spotlight in the shadow of a disappointing loss. But his quarterback was willing to talk about his teammate’s consistency despite the offense’s overall struggles.

“Bud and I aren’t even close to being where we should yet,” Mauk said. “Like I’ve said in previous weeks, we’ve been at 60 percent on our offense. We still have time and we’re going to get that stuff right. But he’ll continue to have a good year.”

Despite his big game against Indiana, Sasser is still a little jealous of Mauk’s special connection with fellow senior receiver Jimmie Hunt. Mauk and Hunt have hooked up for multiple touchdowns when the quarterback has run out of the pocket and freelanced.

“He’s ahead of the game right now,” Sasser said of Hunt. “He’s playing really well. He and Maty are really connecting now, so I’ve got to get on that level.”

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he was pleased with Sasser’s play Saturday and the strides he’s made this season. Last season, Sasser caught 26 balls for 361 yards. He already has more receiving yards this season.

“It’s great to see him, as a senior, perform the way he is,” Pinkel said. “He’s doing a great job. It’s great to see him at the level he’s playing.”

Pinkel told Sasser earlier this week, “we probably should have played you more last year.”

As humbly as he could, Sasser agreed that he should have seen the field more.

“I wasn’t bugging him, but it’s something we definitely joked about,” Sasser said. “He brought it up yesterday at practice and I definitely told him ‘Yeah, you definitely should have played me some more last year.’”

Now that the loss to Indiana — and Sasser’s performance — is in the books, a huge game at South Carolina is up next. The contest will be broadcast in primetime on ESPN. With the national spotlight looming, Sasser is only concerned with remaining consistent.

And he described it the only way he knew how.

“Hopefully I can find that zone again,” Sasser said. “I just have to make sure I’m catching every ball that comes my way. Not too much special for me.”