Game report: Mizzou 61, Eastern Michigan 21

First quarter

The key: It only took 91 seconds for Missouri to get on the board with a 36-yard touchdown bomb from Drew Lock to Emanuel Hall — the longest Tigers’ TD pass to a wide receicer since a 73-yarder from Maty Mauk to Jimmie Hunt during a 29-21 win Nov. 22, 2014, at Tennessee.

Second quarter

The key: Lock was 14 of 19 for 289 yards with three touchdowns in the first half. The yards and touchdowns were single-game career-highs, but he wasn’t close to finished.

Third quarter

The key: Lock put yet another deep ball on the money as sophomore wide receiver Ray Wingo split a pair of Eastern Michigan defenders for a 52-yard touchdown reception.

Fourth quarter

The key: Junior linebacker Joey Burkett intercepted Eagles quarterback Todd Porter in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:51 remaining, icing the win and giving Missouri 60 points in a game for the first time since the 2012 season-opener against Southeastern Louisiana.

Offense

A-

Missouri totaled 647 yards, the most since the 2013 season-opener against Murray State. It’s 477-yard passing performance was the second-most in program history. If not for a goal-line fumble, the grade is perfect.

Defense

C

Mizzou gave up 428 yards, which is still exceedingly high, and Eastern Michigan was 11 of 21 on third down. The Tigers managed only one sack, by senior Josh Augusta after sniffing out a double pass.

Special teams

C+

Missouri missed two extra points, but freshman Johnathon Johnson’s punt return for a touchdown came at a critical time.

Coaching

B+

Missouri put up more points and wasn’t afraid to switch up the struggling kicking game. It had to be nice for Barry Odom to get his first win at Memorial Stadium.

Player of the game: Sophomore quarterback Drew Lock completed 24 of 37 passes for 450 yards, the third-most in program history, and matched the school record with five touchdowns.

Reason to hope: Five different players caught at least three passes and five players caught their first career touchdown pass, providing much-needed playmakers in the passing game.

Reason to mope: The defense only had four tackles for a loss and got gashed for 428 yards, including 287 passing yards.

Looking ahead: Missouri opens conference plays against a Georgia team that picked up a nice win against North Carolina to open the season but struggled Saturday to put away Nicholls.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 12:11 AM with the headline "Game report: Mizzou 61, Eastern Michigan 21."