No. 22 Mizzou foils late fake field-goal attempt, holds on for 9-6 win over UConn

Missouri sophomore Anthony Sherrils is an engineering major. He’s a smart kid and not easily fooled.

When Connecticut, which already had run a fake punt Saturday at Memorial Stadium, lined up for a potential game-tying field goal with 53 seconds left, Sherrils wasn’t buying it.

Good thing too, because Huskies holder and backup quarterback Tim Boyle picked up the ball and tried to lob a pass down the seam for tight end Alec Bloom that would have netted a first down.

Instead, Sherrils stepped in front of Bloom, snagging his first career interception and icing a 9-6 win for the 22nd-ranked Tigers in front of a Tiger-Striped crowd of 70,079.

“We anticipated it,” said Sherrils, a Hogan Prep graduate. “We backed up off the line to get a good view on it. The tight end released and I knew it was a fake.”

It was the first time since a season-opening 3-0 win at Notre Dame on Sept. 9, 1978, that Missouri won while scoring fewer than 10 points.

“I’m really pleased that we’re playing great defense …,” Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said. “There were many, many years around here where we were winning games 48-43 and it was just the opposite.”

Of course, the flip side is that Missouri’s offense continued to struggle, which made it fitting that Sherrils and the defense iced the win after another dominant effort that included three stops on one prolonged Connecticut series alone in the first half.

The Huskies, 2-1, managed only 233 yards, including 77 yards rushing in 33 carries, and managed just 11 first downs, going two of 13 on third down.

Meanwhile, Missouri’s offense lacked a pulse in the first half, but it stirred back to life long enough in the third quarter for the game-winning drive.

The Huskies opened the half with a nine-play, 43-yard drive, but came up empty when backup kicker Michael Tarbutt’s 49-yard field goal was wide left.

The Tigers, 3-0, answered with a 15-play, 68-yard drive capped by junior Maty Mauk’s 2-yard read-option keeper for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal.

“I just felt we had to do it,” Pinkel said. “We hadn’t been down there very much.”

Mauk went four of six for 42 yards and also had two carries for 11 yards on the drive, which vaulted Missouri in front 9-6.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Missouri trailed 6-2 at halftime despite the fact that Connecticut only managed 95 total yards and four first downs. That’s because the Tigers’ offense managed only 114 yards and seven first downs.

Special teams staked Missouri to a 2-0 lead midway through the first quarter when senior linebacker Clarence Green blocked a Justin Wain punt out the back of the end zone for a safety.

It was the Tigers’ first safety since Oct. 9, 2010, against Colorado.

The Tigers’ offense wasted the ensuing possession, which ended after three plays when Mauk was picked off by Huskies junior cornerback Jhavon Williams, setting up the offense at the MU 35.

Mauk, who finished 14 of 22 for 145 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, blamed a misread for the misfire and said the Huskies’ game plan proved confusing.

“They weren’t doing what they were doing the first two games of the year,” Mauk said. “They were showing some different blitzes, some different coverages. … They were really well-coached, physical guys.”

Five plays after Mauk’s pick, sophomore Ron Johnson’s 6-yard touchdown put Connecticut in front 6-2 after a blocked extra point by Missouri senior linebacker Kentrell Brothers.

That’s where the lead remained into the second half.

Brothers, who led the nation with 32 tackles in the first two games, finished with 10 tackles.

Junior Josh Augusta, sophomore Charles Harris and redshirt freshman Walter Brady each added two tackles for a loss. Brady had two sacks and Harris had one.

The Tigers weren’t able to capitalize when Sherrils ripped a ball from Johnson’s grasp and recovered a fumble at midfield.

Freshman Drew Lock led a promising drive after the turnover, going three-for-three for 24 yards and reaching the Huskies’ 22-yard line before senior Andrew Baggett clanged a 40-yard field-goal try off the right upright.

Missouri’s defense was forced to make three stops on the ensuing Connecticut drive.

The Tigers forced a fourth-and-7 at the Huskies’ 25, but Wain rumbled 13 yards untouched up the visiting sideline for keep the drive alive.

“They tried every fake in the history of fakes out there,” Pinkel said.

Four plays later, Connecticut lined up to punt again only to have Wain’s short boot glance off Missouri redshirt freshman Tavon Ross’ left foot.

The Huskies got new life again at the Tigers’ 25 after the fumble, but junior linebacker Donavin Newsom broke up a post to Bloom at the goal line, ending the drive.

No. 22 MISSOURI 9

UCONN 6

TableStyle: SP-byperiodsCCI Template: SP-byperiods

First Quarter

MU: Safety, 7:44.

CONN: Johnson 6 run (kick blocked), 4:14.

Third Quarter

MU: Mauk 2 run (Baggett kick), 5:03.

Attendance: 70,079.

TableStyle: SP-footballstatsCCI Template: SP-footballstats

RUSHING: UConn, Shirreffs 14-29, Johnson 14-23, Wain 1-13, Newsome 2-10, Marriner 1-3, Team 1-(minus 1). Missouri, Witter 17-54, Abbington 2-14, Mauk 9-13, Steward 3-4, Hunt 1-2, Team 2-(minus 2).

PASSING: UConn, Shirreffs 17-26-0-156, Boyle 0-2-1-0. Missouri, Mauk 14-22-1-145, Lock 6-9-0-40.

RECEIVING: UConn, Thomas 7-86, Lucas 3-24, Beals 3-15, Lemelle 1-17, Bloom 1-13, Newsome 1-1, DeLorenzo 1-0. Missouri, J’.Moore 6-39, Witter 3-31, Culkin 3-22, Leftwich 2-12, Brown 2-10, Hunt 1-51, Wingo 1-13, Laurent 1-4, E.Hall 1-3.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 12:41 PM with the headline "No. 22 Mizzou foils late fake field-goal attempt, holds on for 9-6 win over UConn."