Three-minute preview: Missouri football at Tennessee

When/where: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

TV/radio: CBS; KMBZ (98.1 FM)

The series: Missouri leads 3-1

The line: Tennessee by 15

What’s at stake

The SEC East division, maybe. Florida plays at LSU and can clinch the division title with a win, but a win by the favored Bayou Bengals opens the door for Tennessee. The Volunteers need to beat Mizzou and Vanderbilt (plus get help from LSU) to reach the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

Cheers if ...

Missouri’s defense proves the last couple weeks aren’t a mirage. After allowing 348.3 rushing yards per game in losses to LSU, Florida, Middle Tennessee and Kentucky, the Tigers have only coughed up 166.5 yards on the ground on average against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Is that a reflection of Mizzou or weak opposing run games? Tennessee should provide an answer.

Jeers if ...

Drew Lock continues to progress. After struggling at LSU and Florida, Lock has rebounded in the last four games. He’s averaged more than 7 yards per attempt each game while posting a completion percentage of at least 57.5 in the last three. Lock’s thrown two touchdowns with no interceptions in three of the last four games (Middle Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt). He’s been solid and consistent, if unspectacular.

Tod Palmer’s pick: Tennessee 38-20

Mizzou’s defense has shown relative improvement in recent weeks, but there’s a big difference between not getting completely shredded by tepid South Carolina and Vanderbilt offenses and containing senior quarterback Josh Dobbs and Tennessee. If it turns into a shootout, the edge goes to the Volunteers, especially at rowdy Neyland Stadium and especially on senior day.

Three things about Tennessee

1 Junior defensive end Derek Barnett leads the Southeastern Conference with 10 sacks this season, putting one ahead of Auburn’s Carl Lawson and LSU’s Arden Key. He also leads the conference with 16 tackles for a loss and his 42 total tackles are the most among Volunteers defensive linemen. He projects as a first-round pick if he declares for the 2017 NFL Draft as anticipated.

2 As good as senior quarterback Josh Dobbs has been during a sterling four-year career at Tennessee, he’s never had much luck against Missouri. During three previous meetings, Dobbs has completed 66 of 103 passes for 524 yards (a 5.1-yard average) with one touchdown and three interceptions. He’s only managed 34 carries for 112 yards (a 3.3-yard average) with one touchdown rushing during that span.

3 Tennessee has never beaten Missouri at Neyland Stadium. The Tigers won a 51-48 quadruple-overtime thriller in 2012 and staved off the Volunteers 29-21 in 2014 during the only previous meeting at the fabled 102,455-seat stadium.

Key matchup

Tyler Howell vs. Derek Barnett: Howell, a 6-foot-8 and 320-pound Bonner Springs graduate, has played well in his first season as Mizzou’s starting left tackle, but he’s yet to face a pass-rusher like Derek Barnett. His 30 career sacks are two shy of Reggie White’s Tennessee record and his 49 career tackles for a loss are four behind Leonard Little’s record with the Volunteers.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Missouri football at Tennessee."