Missouri’s 38-21 win over No. 24 Kentucky was a textbook example of a team win. None of the Tigers three units played a perfect game, but all showed up in crucial moments en route to the team clinching bowl eligibility.

“We played complementary football,” quarterback Brady Cook said after the win. “It really started with defense and special teams tonight[…]. We (the offense) didn’t do anything super special. But when they needed us, we put the game away.”

Late in the third quarter, the momentum was tilting in the hands of Kentucky. After an offensive lull where Missouri only came away with a combined three points on two offensive drives, the Kentucky offense only trailed 20-14 with the opportunity to take the lead. 

Kentucky received the ball with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter with a drive that initially looked like it would be a crucial stop for the Missouri defense. On the second play of the drive, junior cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine dived for what was originally ruled as an interception. The turnover that would’ve given Missouri the chance to extend its lead to two possessions, was reviewed by officials and turned over to be an incomplete pass. The Wildcats would go on to put together a seven play, 71-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-20 lead.

The game now rested in the hands of the Missouri offense. Another offensive drive with no points would’ve allowed Kentucky to capitalize and possibly take a two-score lead heading into the final quarter. The Tigers offense responded with a methodical 70-yard drive, capped off by Brady Cook rushing into the endzone and graduate running back Cody Schrader scoring a two-point conversion, giving Missouri a 28-21 lead.

The Missouri defense then did its part by stopping the Kentucky offense from tying the game. On the next drive, Schrader would find a lane to the endzone on a 19-yard rush to effectively secure the win for Missouri. As blistering rain poured down, and hopes for a comeback drained away, Kentucky fans began to head for the exits at Kroger Field. 

Kentucky fans were carrying a different tone in the first quarter when Kentucky had outgained Missouri with 150 yards of offense compared to the Tigers 16. Graduate running back Ray Davis alone had 72-yards of rushing in the quarter. Offensively for the Tigers, the Wildcats defense had successfully shut down the usually explosive unit.

A spark would be ignited in the Missouri offense early in the second quarter from an unexpected hero. Trailing 14-0, Missouri sent its punting-unit out on a 4th-and-10 at Kentucky’s 39-yard line. Instead of booting the ball away, sophomore punter Luke Bauer gracefully delivered a pass through the air to freshman wide receiver Marquis Johnson, who stumbled  into the endzone for Missouri’s first score of the night. 

“We just needed something to believe in,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said of the momentum swinging fake-punt.

The touchdown pass from Bauer did plenty to motivate the Tigers, as Missouri would go on to outscore Kentucky 38-7 in the final three quarters. 

A 25-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis and a 18-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead heading into halftime. Kentucky’s 17 unanswered points caused the sold out crowd in Kroger field to boo as the team walked into the tunnel. 

“I knew that when their fans were booing their home team going into half that we were going to win,” Drinkwitz said.

A slow start followed by a scrappy comeback from Missouri in the pouring rain in Lexington pushed the Tigers to a 6-1 record, earning them eligibility to play in a college football bowl game. The last time the Tigers went to three straight bowl games was from the streak of 2008-2011, during the days of Coach Gary Pinkel. Missouri will return to Faurot Field next weekend to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks for the 112th annual homecoming game for Missouri.