Redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak didn’t miss a throw through the first 15 minutes against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks on Saturday. In the first quarter alone, Bazelak went a perfect 9-9, 178 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In turn, Missouri’s offense got off to a fast start and didn’t slow down. This propelled them to a 59-28 blowout victory over the Redhawks, moving them to 2-1 in the young 2021 season.
Bazelak’s first touchdown of the day came on a swing pass out of the backfield to his favorite target, senior running back Tyler Badie, for an 11-yard score. This touchdown extended the Tigers’ lead to 14-0 with 6:50 left to play in the first quarter. Badie had already scored on a long 49-yard touchdown run on Missouri’s first offensive possession.
“I think [Bazelak and Badie] got some good work in,”Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “They played really well.”
The touchdown was Bazelak’s seventh of the 2021 season, tying his total from last season.
On Missouri’s next offensive possession, Bazelak exceeded that total with a beautiful 46-yard deep ball to senior wide receiver Boo Smith in the north endzone of Faurot Field, making the score 21-0.
“I’m confident in my deep ball,” Bazelak said.
Despite being hobbled toward the end of the Kentucky game last weekend, Bazelak looked comfortable in the pocket all day against the Redhawks.
“[Bazelak is] a competitor,” Badie said. “At the end of the day, a competitor is going to get up and keep playing. He builds the whole [team’s] confidence, so him just being out there, being able to be there for his teammates, is big for our offense as a whole.”
Bazelak’s third and final touchdown came on a short pass to redshirt freshman Chance Luper, who sprinted down the sideline for a 52-yard score.
In two quarters of play, Bazelak finished 21-30 for 346 yards and 3 scores with a passer rating of 199.9. His 346 yards was his third best performance of his career behind games against LSU and Arkansas last season.
As Bazelak’s day finished, redshirt freshman quarterback Brady Cook’s day began. Cook only played one series in the third quarter, but completed all four of his passing attempts. He led the Tigers downfield, which ended in a three-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Elijah Young to put Missouri up 45-0.
Then Tyler Macon, a true freshman quarterback from East St. Louis, Illinois, entered the game.
On Macon’s first pass attempt as a Tiger, he hit redshirt freshman wide receiver JJ Hester, who burned the Redhawks’ defense for a 65-yard score. This was the Tigers’ longest completion of the season, making it a 52-7 game.
“I am really proud of both Tyler Macon and Brady Cook for leading touchdown drives,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s not really easy to do no matter who it’s against, so I am really proud of those guys.”
Macon only attempted three more passes the rest of the game, but this was because he was repeatedly handing the ball off as the Tigers were running out the clock through the fourth quarter. He finished his collegiate debut going 3-4, for 69 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought they did great and came in and played well, so I was happy for them,” Bazelak said.
Missouri’s three quarterbacks finished the day 28-38 (74%) with 440 passing yards and 5 touchdowns as a unit, and completed passes to 12 different Tigers.
“I thought it was good to get the young guys going,” Bazelak said. “A lot [of] those guys don’t get a lot of experience, so just getting that chemistry in game is really important.”
The Tigers look to build off their second win as they travel to the East Coast next Saturday to face an undefeated Boston College Eagles team at 11 a.m.
Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com
