Grades from the Missouri Tigers’ loss to Tennessee and looking ahead to North Texas
.JPG "Tennessee running back Jabari Small, right, runs past Missouri’s Jaylon Carlies, center, and Martez Manuel during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)")
The Missouri Tigers suffered a 62-24 blowout loss to Tennessee on Saturday, despite entering the game as two and a half point favorites.
Here are grades for all three Mizzou units, the best highlight of the game and a look ahead to next weekend’s contest against North Texas.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Honestly, Missouri shouldn’t be awarded a play of the game in a performance this awful, but we’ll hand one out anyway. Early in the third quarter, defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine found a completely open lane after receiving a kickoff in the end zone and sprinted up the sideline for a 100-yard touchdown. The game was already well out of reach at this point though, with the touchdown making the score 48-17.
GRADES
Offense: D. The offensive unit had its worst performance of the season Saturday, accounting for the fewest points and touchdowns this year. And the majority of points were scored once the game was already well out of reach. Quarterback Connor Bazelak threw two interceptions and didn’t have a single passing touchdown. The Tigers went 8-for-17 on third downs, with just 23 first downs on the day, and there were 17 dropped passes as well. All around, just not up to par.
Defense: F. To say Mizzou had a horrific defensive display is putting it lightly. We’re talking bad enough that it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a change at coordinator. The Tigers allowed 677 yards of offense to Tennessee, including 452 on the ground, and didn’t even force a third down until the second quarter — though that would end up turning into a touchdown. It was clear that the Volunteers let up a bit in the third and fourth quarters, because realistically they could have put up a lot more than 62 points with how bad the MU defense played.
Special teams: C+. This game was so bad that no unit deserves to be higher than the C range, though special teams wasn’t as noticeably terrible as the rest. The Abrams-Draine play is a big reason for this score bump, along with a 43-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis, who just can’t seem to miss, now with 14 consecutive makes. The punting unit also averaged 44.0 yards on four punts, including two inside the 20.
NEXT UP
Missouri’s homecoming game on Faurot Field is next. The Tigers will face North Texas in the last nonconference game of the regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9. The game will air on SEC Network.
