Missouri Tigers can’t find enough offense to overcome Wake Forest, lose bowl game 27-17
Over the second half of the season, Missouri’s offense picked up the pace.
In terms of scoring, the Tigers had their most productive games in three of their final four SEC contests, and quarterback Brady Cook turned in his best football over the season’s final quarter.
But the Tigers couldn’t find that same offensive rhythm in their bowl game, falling 27-17 to Wake Forest in the Gaspariila Bowl on Friday in Tampa, Fla.
The biggest lost opportunities for Missouri came on consecutive second-half drives that pushed into Demon Deacons territory. Twice, Mizzou reached the Wake 43. Twice, the Tigers turned it over on downs.
A fourth-and-4 pass on a quick slant intended for Mekhi Miller was broken up to end the first possession.
The next series ended on a fourth-and-3 deep ball intended for Luther Burden that fell incomplete.
Missouri got one more possession trailing by three and picked up one first down before punting. Wake Forest then clinched the game with Sam Hartman’s third touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
“Disappointed offensively,” MIssouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We had multiple fourth downs and weren’t able to stay on the field.”
The Tigers had taken a 17-14 lead in the third quarter on Cody Schrader’s 4-yard touchdown run to end an impressive 83-yard drive. And for most of the season, Missouri could have relied on its defense, a much-improved unit this season, to bring the Tigers home.
But this defense was playing without three starters who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft. That, plus some like All-SEC wide receiver Dominic Lovett who had entered the transfer portal, left Missouri short-handed for the postseason.
Also, some of Missouri’s early-season problems returned, such as penalties and a poor special-teams decision that resulted in a turnover.
“Every time we’d get momentum we’d shoot ourselves in the foot with a penalty or a sack, missed throw or a dropped ball,” Drinkwitz said. “
Cook finished with 241 passing yards and was sacked twice on the Tigers’ final possession. He had some good moments, like a 36-yard run that set up the Tigers’ first touchdown. The score also makes the highlight reel.
From shotgun formation, Cook had to pull down a high snap from backup center Drake Heismeyer and went to his right. It appeared Cook would throw the ball out of bounds or take a sack and a loss of yards.
But at the last moment, with the Wake defense closing in, Cook spotted wide receiver Demariyon “Peanut” Houston open in the end zone. Houston had a touchdown reception in his first game.
Missouri started slowly, getting only a Harrison Mevis 35-yard field goal from its first four possessions and falling behind 14-3.
But when Wake Forest was presented an opportunity to open a bigger lead in the second quarter, the Tigers came up with a big swing that started with a mistake.
Back as a punt returner, Burden let the ball bounce and settle. He then tried to scoop it up on the run but never got control.
Wake Forest recovered at the Tigers’ 35. Burden was hurt on the play, didn’t return in the first half and didn’t get many chances in the second half.
But the Deacons couldn’t take advantage. Hartman, who opened the scoring with a touchdown pass that made him the ACC’s career leader in that category, was picked off in the end zone by MU’s Jaylon Carlies.
The Tigers were off and running on the possession that ended with Cook’s touchdown pass. It cut the deficit to 14-10 and that’s where it stood at halftime,
Mizzou fell to 6-7 overall and dropped its fourth straight bowl game. The Tigers had rallied to qualify for a bowl this fall, starting the season 2-4 but winning four of their final six.
Despite missing some starters Friday night, the Tigers had gained momentum heading into this bowl appearance.
“We have to keep progressing,” Drinkwitz said. “We have to use this as fuel moving forward.
This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 9:25 PM.