Three-minute preview: Tennessee at Missouri football
When/where: 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia
TV/radio: ESPN2; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 3-0
The line: Tennessee by 7 1/2
What’s at stake
Bowl eligibility for the 11th time in outgoing coach Gary Pinkel’s 15 seasons at Missouri. Technically, with five wins, there’s a chance the Tigers make a bowl anyway, but another win removes all doubt.
Cheers if ...
Missouri’s offense picks up where it left off against BYU. The Tigers’ 434 total yards were a season high, including quarterback Drew Lock’s career-best 244 passing yards.
Jeers if ...
Missouri digs an early hole as the emotions of Senior Night and Pinkel’s pending resignation after the season conspire to create a lack of focus. The Tigers aren’t built to come back.
Tod Palmer’s pick: Tennessee 23-13
The heart says it’s tempting to pick Missouri with the emotions swirling around the game on Senior Night, especially with it being Pinkel’s final home game. The head says the Volunteers are the better overall team and realistically could be undefeated.
MISSOURI (5-5, 1-5 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-3 |
Sept. 12 | at Arkansas State | W, 27-20 |
Sept. 19 | Connecticut | W, 9-6 |
Sept. 26 | at Kentucky | L, 21-13 |
Oct. 3 | South Carolina | W, 24-10 |
Oct. 10 | Florida | L, 21-3 |
Oct. 17 | at Georgia | L, 9-6 |
Oct. 24 | at Vanderbilt | L, 10-3 |
Nov. 5 | Mississippi State | L, 31-13 |
Nov. 14 | BYU | W, 20-16 |
Saturday | Tennessee | 6:15 p.m. |
Nov. 27 | at Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
TENNESSEE (6-4, 3-3 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Bowling Green | W, 59-30 |
Sept. 12 | Oklahoma | L, 31-24 (2OT) |
Sept. 19 | Western Carolina | W, 55-10 |
Sept. 26 | at Florida | L, 28-27 |
Oct. 3 | Arkansas | L, 24-20 |
Oct. 10 | Georgia | W, 38-31 |
Oct. 24 | at Alabama | L, 19-14 |
Oct. 31 | at Kentucky | W, 52-21 |
Nov. 7 | South Carolina | W, 27-24 |
Nov. 14 | North Texas | W, 24-0 |
Saturday | at Missouri | 6:15 p.m. |
Nov. 28 | Vanderbilt | 3 p.m. |
Three things about Tennessee
1 Tennessee is 11-5 and averages 34.5 points and 424 yards per game in junior quarterback Josh Dobbs’ last 16 starts. The aerospace engineering major has completed 162 of 274 passes for 1,896 yards with 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
2 Sophomore Evan Berry, the younger brother of Chiefs safety and former Vols All-American Eric Berry, leads the nation with a 40.6-yard kickoff return average and is tied for first with three kickoff-return touchdowns.
3 Junior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is fifth in the SEC with 89 tackles, and sophomore defensive end Derek Barnett is tied for sixth in the SEC with seven sacks, matching Missouri’s Charles Harris and Walter Brady.
Key matchup
Missouri’s third-down offense vs. Tennessee’s third-down defense: The Tigers converted a season-high 13 third downs at a season-best 65 percent clip against BYU. The Volunteers’ defense ranks sixth nationally, allowing a 28.4 percent third-down conversion rate this season.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 6 | J’Mon Moore | 6-3 | 190 | So. |
WR | 2 | Nate Brown | 6-3 | 205 | So. |
LT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 55 | Nate Crawford | 6-5 | 310 | So. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Sr. |
RT | 62 | Taylor Chappell | 6-5 | 305 | Sr. |
TE | 80 | Sean Culkin | 6-6 | 245 | Jr. |
WR | 18 | Wesley Leftwich | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 3 | Drew Lock | 6-4 | 205 | Fr. |
RB | 32 | Russell Hansbrough | 5-9 | 195 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 56 | Walter Brady | 6-3 | 255 | Fr. |
DT | 97 | Josh Augusta | 6-4 | 345 | Jr. |
NG | 95 | Rickey Hatley | 6-4 | 300 | Jr. |
DE | 91 | Charles Harris | 6-3 | 255 | So. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. |
LB | 25 | Donavin Newsom | 6-2 | 230 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Kenya Dennis | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. |
SS | 22 | Anthony Sherrils | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
FS | 21 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 26 | Corey Fatony | 5-11 | 185 | Fr. |
TENNESSEE OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 3 | Josh Malone | 6-3 | 197 | So. |
WR | 9 | Von Pearson | 6-0 | 183 | Sr. |
LT | 77 | Kyler Kerbyson | 6-4 | 318 | Sr. |
LG | 57 | Mack Crowder | 6-2 | 293 | Sr. |
C | 55 | Coleman Thomas | 6-5 | 301 | So. |
RG | 71 | Dylan Wiesman | 6-4 | 304 | Jr. |
RT | 76 | Chance Hall | 6-4 | 318 | Fr. |
TE | 82 | Ethan Wolf | 6-6 | 245 | So. |
WR | 25 | Josh Smith | 6-1 | 216 | So. |
QB | 11 | Josh Dobbs | 6-3 | 207 | Jr. |
RB | 1 | Jalen Hurd | 6-4 | 240 | So. |
K | 25 | Aaron Medley | 6-2 | 189 | So. |
TENNESSEE DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 50 | Corey Vereen | 6-2 | 249 | Jr. |
DT | 39 | Kendal Vickers | 6-3 | 286 | So. |
DT | 58 | Owen Williams | 6-0 | 297 | Sr. |
DE | 9 | Derek Barnett | 6-3 | 257 | So. |
LB | 21 | Jalen Reeves-Maybin | 6-0 | 225 | Jr. |
LB | 34 | Darrin Kirkland Jr. | 6-1 | 224 | Fr. |
LB | 51 | Kenny Bynum | 6-1 | 227 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Cameron Sutton | 5-11 | 186 | Jr. |
SS | 33 | LaDarrell McNeil | 6-1 | 209 | Sr. |
FS | 37 | Brian Randolph | 6-0 | 200 | Sr. |
CB | 8 | Justin Martin | 6-1 | 183 | So. |
P | 93 | Trevor Daniel | 6-1 | 248 | So. |
Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Tennessee at Missouri football."