Missouri Tigers beat BYU 20-16, breaking 4-game losing streak

At the end of perhaps the most tumultuous, polarizing and scrutinized week in University of Missouri history, the Tigers’ football team provided a reason for collective cheer.

One day after coach Gary Pinkel announced that he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma and would resign after the season and one week after a group of MU players announced a solidarity strike amid protests against racism on campus, Missouri snapped a four-game losing streak and inched closer to bowl eligibility with a 20-16 victory against BYU at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I’m very, very proud of our football team — with all the adversity and all the things that went down this past week, how they stay focused and could play and compete and come back and battle through all the things that happened during that football game,” Pinkel said.

Pinkel said the players looked scared as he broke the news he would resign and had cancer during a meeting Friday before boarding a bus to Kansas City.

“I was an absolute wreck emotionally just being honest with those guys,” Pinkel said. “I really felt bad, because I didn’t know walking out of there if our guys could be able to focus enough to even have a chance to win a football game against a good team like this.”

He told his players in the locker room that he was planning to announce his resignation Sunday and apologized that it leaked Friday, adding to an already stressful week.

“It was one of the most emotional 15 minutes of my life,” Pinkel said.

“We were shocked,” senior safety Ian Simon said. “We definitely didn’t expect that, especially the day before a game. We felt for coach Pinkel, because he’s a great man and he’s given a lot to this program. He’s given his life to this program and helped a lot of young men become great men themselves. Coach Pinkel’s going to be missed, and I love the hell out of coach Pinkel.”

The Tigers, 5-5, celebrated the win by surrounding Pinkel and breaking into “The GP Dance,” which became famous in a viral video from the MU locker room after the 2014 Cotton Bowl victory and spawned its own song.

“That was probably one of the top-five moments for me at Mizzou,” Simon said. “I feel like that’s the culmination of everything we talk about, being a family and celebrating as a family.”

The crowd of 42,824 also broke into several “Gary Pinkel” chants during key moments throughout the game and the Tigers’ players did their own “GP Dance” on the sideline as time wound down before mobbing him during an SEC Network interview.

“Because of the week, (this win) will be up there forever somewhere …,” Pinkel said. “Obviously, because of all the circumstances, how this team (stayed together) says so much about them. It’s one of the great games I’ve ever been a part of.”

Quarterback Drew Lock, who grew up basically a stone’s throw from Arrowhead in Lee’s Summit, threw for a career-high 244 yards and notched his first passing touchdown since Oct. 3 against South Carolina in the win.

“I finally broke the 200(-yard) mark,” Lock said. “Who would have known?”

Senior running back Russell Hansbrough added 117 yards on 26 carries, becoming the first 100-yard rusher of the season. The last 100-yard rusher for the Tigers was Marcus Murphy in the 2015 Citrus Bowl.

It was a night to celebrate after a week that saw three of the most visible and powerful men on campus — University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe, MU Chancellor Tim Wolfe and Pinkel — tender resignations.

“Obviously, you don’t want to be embarrassed on national television,” Lock said. “You want to play your best.”

During the fourth quarter, in particular, the Tigers did, scoring multiple touchdowns in a period for the first time since the third quarter Sept. 12 at Arkansas State.

Trailing by three after a field goal-filled first half, BYU, 7-3, took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and marched into Missouri territory.

A game-tying field seemed inevitable until Adam Hine’s third-down fumble at the Tigers’ 18-yard line, but it was only a matter of time until the Cougars claimed their first lead.

Freshman quarterback Drew Lock underthrew senior wide receiver Wesley Leftwich on a go route.

Sophomore cornerback Micah Hanneman, running stride for stride with Leftwich, picked off Lock’s pass and returned it into MU territory.

Seven plays later, running back Algernon Brown scampered 11 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on a delayed draw counter when sophomore safety Thomas Wilson whiffed on a tackle in the backfield.

Lock would atone, leading a 13-play drive that covered 79 yards and capping it with a 4-yard touchdown fade to sophomore J’Mon Moore.

Moore’s leaping catch had to be reviewed, but he appeared to secure possession with a foot on the ground in the end zone before falling out of bounds. It was upheld.

BYU linebacker Sae Tautu was ejected for targeting on the drive after hitting Lock in the facemask with the crown of his helmet.

Junior defensive end Marcell Frazier created a massive break for the Tigers two plays into the Cougars’ next drive with a sack/strip of freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum.

Junior linebacker Michael Scherer recovered the fumble at the BYU 16.

The Tigers’ defense only allowed 290 yards, including only 46 yards rushing on 15 carries. Senior Kentrell Brothers, who recovered a first-half fumble, finished with a game-high 11 tackles — the ninth time in 10 games he’s had double-figure tackles.

Missouri overcame an offensive pass interference on the ensuing drive when Lock gained 23 yards on third-and-19.

Senior running back Tyler Hunt plowed into the end zone three plays later for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. He was initially ruled down by contact short of the goal line, but the ruling was reversed upon review.

BYU answered with a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown march, which was kept alive by a taunting penalty on senior Kenya Dennis.

It was 20-16 with 7:19 left, but Trevor Samson’s missed extra point loomed large as it forced the Cougars to play for a touchdown instead of possibly tying the game with a field goal.

“I wasn’t sure after yesterday what was going to happen today,” Pinkel said. “I was praying — lots.”

Missouri showed more life on offense than it had throughout a four-game losing streak, but that success dried up in the red zone during the first half.

The Tigers marched to the Cougars’ 9-yard line on their second drive, but an offensive pass interference on a Drew Lock touchdown pass to sophomore J’Mon Moore short-circuited the drive.

Sophomore running back Ish Witter eventually fumbled on third-and-goal from the BYU 24, erasing the game’s first scoring opportunity.

Missouri drove to the 4-yard line on the next drive, but a third-down tunnel screen to freshman wide receiver Emanuel Hall lost a yard.

The Tigers settled for a 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. MU, which reached midfield on its initial second-quarter drive, reached the red zone for a third time, settling for a 34-yard Baggett field goal and a 6-3 halftime lead.

Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Missouri Tigers beat BYU 20-16, breaking 4-game losing streak."