Mizzou football gashed by the Tennessee run, but Bazelak impresses in extended action
The Missouri Tigers started slow, and while they woke up with longer drives, No. 21 Tennessee ran away with a 35-12 victory Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
It was the second straight defeat for first-year Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz, who’s still searching for his first win with the Tigers.
The Vols ran it all over the Tigers’ front, rushing for 232 yards and four touchdowns. They were successful on fourth downs as well, finishing 4 for 4 and extending drives when the Tigers needed a stop.
While the Tigers showed some bits of talent and playmaking on offense, they continued to struggle to get into the end zone.
“Didn’t start fast enough on either side of the ball, offensive or defensively,” Drinkwitz said. “Really struggling in the first half to stop them and their momentum.”
Mizzou quarterback Shawn Robinson made his second straight start Saturday, but he was relieved in favor of Connor Bazelak in the second quarter. It was all Bazelak from there and the redshirt freshman was mostly impressive in relief.
MU running back Larry Rountree III posted another stellar game, racking up 18 carries for 84 yards and the Tigers’ only touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the offense failed to string together multiple scoring drives.
Mizzou next faces No. 20 LSU at 8 p.m. Oct. 10 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“Thought we were going to mount a comeback in the fourth but then the interception took the wind out of our sails,” Drinkwitz said. “Don’t like the situation we’re in. The only way we know to get out of it is to go back to work, and that’s what we’ll do as soon as we get done with this.”
Here are four takeaways from Mizzou’s loss to Tennessee.
Bazelak time
While Robinson started at quarterback, it was Bazelak who played every snap after coming in for the first drive of the second quarter. Bazelak immediately led the Tigers on their most successful series to that point, though it only produced a field goal.
Bazelak made some nice throws with touch and looked comfortable making throws from the pocket. He finished 13 for 21 passing for 218 yards.
It wasn’t all perfect, though. He threw a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter in Tennessee territory.
Robinson played two drives but didn’t get anything going. He finished 1 for 4 for no yards.
Mizzou wide receiver Damon Hazelton led the Tigers with 66 yards receiving on four catches.
Defense diced
Tennessee featured a balanced offense that had a massive advantage up front at the line of scrimmage. The Tigers couldn’t stop the Vols from running the ball down their throats.
The Vols finished with 232 rushing yards on 51 carries, a 4.5 yards-per-rush clip. Running back Eric Gray and Ty Chandler combined for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had an up-and-down game, though he did make some nice throws on long completions. He also was a quarterback-sneak specialist — Tennessee was perfect on fourth-and-short largely because of Guarantano, who rushed for two touchdowns.
Drops still problematic
Bazelak wound up and fired a strike to wide receiver Dominic Gicinto down the field. Gicinto, the junior from Raytown, was free and it looked like he had a shot at the end zone. But he dropped the ball, costing Mizzou a big play in the second quarter with the game still in the balance.
He wasn’t the only Mizzou player to have trouble catching the ball Saturday. The Tigers finished with four drops against Alabama in their season opener, according to secstatcat.com, and the trend continued this weekend.
Jalen Knox had a pass go through his hands on a ball that was tipped up and could’ve gone for an interception. He also dropped a low throw that would’ve been a third-down completion.
All in all, it was a rough showing for an offense that couldn’t afford missteps Saturday. The Tigers totaled five drops against the Vols.
Still perfect
Harrison Mevis continued to impress in his second collegiate game, knocking in field goals from 27 and 50 yards.
He’s the first MU freshman kicker to make a field goal of more than 50 yards since Jeff Jacke in 1988. Mevis has yet to miss an attempt in his fledgling college career.
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 2:21 PM.