Mizzou’s two-game win streak ends in blowout loss to Florida that includes halftime brawl
The Missouri Tigers saw their two-game winning streak come to an end in a blowout loss to No. 10 Florida 41-17 on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
The game included a brawl right as the teams were going into the locker room for halftime.
It appeared multiple punches were thrown by both sides as the Gators and Tigers met at midfield after an apparent late hit by MU’s Trajan Jeffcoat on Florida quarterback Kyle Trask. Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz and Florida coach Dan Mullen talked it out afterwards, though the scuffle led to ejections on both sides.
It was an otherwise long day for a Mizzou offense that seemed to have hit its stride over the past two games. Florida was missing more than a dozen players because of undisclosed reasons — including three starters in the defensive backfield — but the Tigers couldn’t get any rhythm on offense nonetheless.
“We didn’t play well enough on the road to give ourselves an opportunity to beat a top-10 team,” Drinkwitz said after the game. “There’s no excuse for it. Didn’t play well enough offensively; weren’t able to control the line of scrimmage. Defensively, we had a couple busted coverages.”
The MU defense had a solid start Saturday, including a Jarvis Ware interception that he returned for a touchdown. It was the Tigers’ first interception of the season and gave them the lead — but only momentarily.
The Gators (3-1) pulled away, including during a disastrous stretch for the Tigers (2-3) at the end of the first half. Florida marched on a touchdown drive to take the lead. Then after a fumble on the exchange between Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak and running back Tyler Badie, Florida recovered and scored one play later.
While Florida’s highlight duo has been Trask and tight end Kyle Pitts, the Tigers couldn’t contain Kadarius Toney, who finished with three touchdowns. Trask threw for 345 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Ugly brawl
After what Mullen called a “cheap shot” to SEC Network (in reference to Jeffcoat’s late hit on Trask) the Gators’ coach ran out to midfield. While he did that, a brawl sparked between Mizzou and Florida at midfield. It appeared on the replay that multiple punches were thrown from both sides.
While Mullen said he was trying to get his guys off the field, it appeared he had to be held back by Florida personnel. He told SEC Network during halftime that “we have far too much to be playing for to be partaking in situations like that.” The Gators play Georgia in a rivalry game next week.
As Mullen was set to return to the locker room after the scuffle, he returned to seemingly pump up the crowd before entering the tunnel.
Three players were kicked out after the brawl: Mizzou defensive lineman Tre Williams, along with Florida’s Zachary Carter and Antwaun Powell.
Drinkwitz and Mullen spoke after the brawl with other coaches, referee and personnel around. They also met near midfield after the game.
Aside from the ejected players, it’s unclear how the SEC league office will handle the brawl and any ensuing penalties after it reviews Saturday’s incident.
“It’s an ugly scene, it’s an ugly scene for college football,” Drinkwitz said of the brawl. “I’m not proud of it. I don’t know who started it, but we gotta figure it out, gotta get it fixed. Like I said, it’s disappointing. I’m not for that at all.”
Mizzou offense silent
The Tigers were riding high on their two-game winning streak, the offense leading Drinkwitz’s squad to victories. It was a shootout against LSU, where the the offense put up tons of yards and points, while the Tigers dialed it down against Kentucky on the ground.
Mizzou had little answer against Florida, though, in a silent outing. It mustered a garbage-time touchdown with the game no longer in doubt, but otherwise the Tigers scuffled.
Bazelak finished 25 for 38 on passes for 200 yards as his downfield targets just weren’t open despite the Gators missing starting defensive backs. Larry Rountree III, after a career-high 37 carries last game, finished with just 14 rushes for 36 yards and the touchdown. Keke Chism finished with five catches for 68 yards.
Drops were again a problem for MU pass-catchers, including a big miscue by Jalen Knox where it appeared he would’ve had a shot to run it into the end zone.
As the Tigers couldn’t get points on the board, Florida ran away with the game from there.
Turnover robe not enough
The Mizzou defense had a stellar start despite a few explosive plays allowed to the Gators. Florida got to the red zone, but couldn’t punch it into the end zone — at least initially.
Ware even got his hands on an interception and returned it for a touchdown. That pick came with a big assist from linebacker Nick Bolton, who hit Trask as he was throwing, which allowed Ware to corral the fluttering pass.
Mizzou even busted out what seemed to be a silk turnover boxing robe, complete with “turnover champ” with an old Tiger logo on the back. And while Mizzou got two takeaways on the night — including one late in the fourth quarter — it wasn’t enough against the Gators.
The Tigers had the early 7-6 lead off the pick-six, but the Gators responded with 28 straight points. The defense appeared to lose gas down the stretch as Florida put its finishing touches on the game.
Off-week upcoming
Mizzou gets its second off-week of the season coming up Nov. 7, though this time it was the one built into the schedule and not because of any COVID-19 alterations. The Tigers had an unexpected week off Oct. 17 after Vanderbilt couldn’t meet the 53-player minimum the SEC set before the season because of coronavirus issues.
The Tigers had two weeks to think about its thrilling win over LSU last time, but this time will be different.
When Mizzou comes off its week off, it will face No. 5 Georgia in another game against a ranked SEC foe, its fifth in six games to open 2020.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 10:37 PM.