Staring down adversity, Mizzou delivered against LSU when it mattered the most
One yard.
One yard would lift the Missouri Tigers to a momentous upset victory or send them to another heartbreaking defeat.
LSU, armed with its punishing pass attack, had made it all the way inside Mizzou’s 1 and the seconds were ticking away.
LSU tried to punch it in on first down. Stopped. Tried to run again. Lost half a yard.
After an LSU timeout, MU linebacker Nick Bolton read the play perfectly, swatting away the third-down throw. Then safety Joshuah Bledsoe protected the end zone on a sprawling fourth-down pass break-up, LSU’s last hope for a comeback falling harmlessly to the Faurot Field turf.
MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz didn’t flinch — and neither did his team, he said. All 17th-ranked LSU needed was one yard, and Mizzou never yielded in a thrilling 45-41 win Saturday.
Those final four plays were a microcosm of Mizzou’s strength Saturday. When Drinkwitz’s defense needed a crucial stop, the Tigers emerged victorious. When the offense needed yards and scores, they turned to a balanced, unpredictable attack.
It was a physical, grinding effort on both sides of the ball as MU controlled the line of scrimmage and upset the defending national champions.
“It showed today that our guys play with unbelievable effort,” Drinkwitz said. “We just needed a few breaks. And you know what? We didn’t get that many breaks today. But we made our own breaks when we needed it. Proud of our football team.”
Mizzou needed all the breaks it could muster Saturday — and there weren’t many. The only thing going for the black-and-gold Tigers was that they were the home team because Hurricane Delta forced the relocation of the game from Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to Memorial Stadium in Columbia.
That element aside, adversity abounded for MU. The home Tigers were missing three starters because of COVID-19 or injuries. A week after getting gashed on the ground at Tennessee, three of their top four defensive tackles were out.
Then there were the self-inflicted wounds. Mizzou fumbled five times Saturday, losing three to LSU. Those errors directly set up 17 gift-wrapped points as Mizzou fell behind by double-digits before halftime.
But Drinkwitz and his squad showed resilience as they clawed their way back. When they did pick up a break — like a blocked field-goal attempt — they capitalized immediately.
Quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 406 yards and four touchdowns, completing 85.3% of his passes.
Mizzou’s offensive effort was aided by hard running from Larry Rountree III, who finished with 119 yards. The offensive line opened holes. And the protection remained stout as Bazelak completed 15 straight passes at one point.
“They did a phenomenal job,” Rountree said of the MU offensive line. “Every hole today opened up. It was wide open. All I had to do was take care of my business and make the second guy miss. As far as pass protection, too, they did a great job.”
The Mizzou defense, meanwhile, brought some extra motivation into this game. After Tennessee pummeled the Tigers last week, one of the Vols’ running backs had this to say:
“It was easy getting easy yards.”
That didn’t sit well with Bolton. The captain and preseason All-America selection said he spoke to his defensive line teammates Friday night, challenging them to stuff the run and impose their presence at the line of scrimmage.
Even missing three important players, the MU defensive line met that challenge head-on. LSU had just one yard rushing at halftime, eventually finishing with just 49. Ed Orgeron’s Tigers tried to establish the run in the second half, but they were forced to go back to the pass instead.
LSU finished 0-for-10 on third downs — Mizzou had struggled to stop opponents on third down the past two weeks — but did some damage through the air. Quarterback Myles Brennan passed for 430 yards and four touchdowns, and receiver Terrence Marshall finished with an eye-popping 235 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches.
But when LSU needed just that one final yard, Mizzou denied its visitors access to the end zone.
“I challenged the D-line to get a push, see if we can get some (tackles for a loss) this week,” Bolton said. “They did a hell of a job. They answered the message. I’m looking forward to next week.”
Drinkwitz said there were many occasions Saturday when his team could’ve flinched. Instead, Mizzou stood strong and picked up what goes down as Drinkwitz’s first victory.
A marquee victory, at that.
“It was a collective effort,” Drinkwitz said. “Next-person-up mentality. It’s not about the talent, it’s about how you function as a unit. And our unit decided to function at a high level today.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 6:02 PM.