Grades from Missouri football’s 50-48 win over Arkansas and a look ahead to Georgia
Missouri Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz was right at the 50-yard line on Faurot Field. MU kicker Harrison Mevis was lining up to attempt a game-winning field goal.
Drinkwitz didn’t actually watch the field-goal attempt, though. He looked across the field and saw his rival coach: Arkansas’ Sam Pittman.
Drinkwitz kept an eye on Pittman even as the field-goal attempt went up.
“Once he put his head down, I knew we won,” Drinkwitz said after the 50-48 victory on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. “I feel bad for them, they played a really good game.”
The Tigers overcame the Hogs in a thriller Saturday, improving their record to 5-3. That leaves just two games left in the 2020 season for Mizzou to add to its bowl resume.
Here are this week’s grades for the offense, defense and special teams, along with a look ahead to Mizzou’s next game, against Georgia.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Harrison Mevis game-winning field goal: The Tigers only had 43 seconds to get into Mevis’ range, which would’ve translated to about Arkansas’ 35-yard line. MU got a little more than that, setting camp at the Hogs’ 15, a manageable 32-yard attempt.
Mevis was swarmed by the Tigers following his successful kick. He finished Saturday going a perfect 5 for 5 on field-goal attempts.
GRADES
Offense: A. It was a stellar day as part of a season-high 50 points for the Tigers. They were 9 for 15 on third downs while Connor Bazelak was efficient at 32 for 49 passing for 380 yards. Larry Rountree III ran for 185 yards and three touchdowns as he cleaned up on Senior Day.
If there’s a nitpick, the Tigers had too many drives sizzle out into field goals. That appeared to be the difference between a win or loss before MU reeled off three straight touchdown drives. Then Mevis converted on the game-winner.
Defense: C. MU shut out Vanderbilt last week, but it was a long day against the Hogs. Starting Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks was out because of an injury, so in came KJ Jefferson.
The Tigers were gashed on the ground and the air, allowing Arkansas to score four straight touchdowns in the first half. But they settled down after halftime. They gave up the late touchdown, but key stops late allowed MU to come back.
Special teams: A. There’s not much else to add to Mevis’ stellar performance Saturday. He made his first attempt from 51 yards and never looked back from there. Punter Grant McKinniss also punted the ball twice Saturday as the offense was humming.
NEXT UP
The Tigers won their fifth game in six tries as the 2020 season soon comes to a close. They’ll have a chance to swing against one of the SEC’s best in No. 11 Georgia next week.
Rescheduled game. The Tigers and Bulldogs were supposed to meet Nov. 14, but that game had to be postponed because of COVID-19 considerations relative to MU’s program. The Tigers had fallen below the positional threshold at defensive line. Now the two SEC East foes will meet up.
Big day in Columbia. The Tigers will have a doubleheader with the football game and men’s basketball hosting Illinois for the annual Braggin’ Rights Game. MU athletic director Jim Sterk said on the pregame radio show on Saturday that the Georgia game will likely be an 11 a.m. kickoff. That’ll mean a long day for MU fans as the Tigers will likely welcome in two ranked opponents.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 8:23 PM.