Mizzou earns bounce back win over Tennessee, improves record to 8-2
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 14 Mizzou won its first game against No. 13 Tennessee since 2018 on Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium, dominating the Volunteers 36-7 on its Military Appreciation Day. Saturday's win sealed Mizzou's first 8-win season since 2018.
You can watch extended highlights of the win in the video player below.
The Tigers earned the win in front of Faurot Field's fourth consecutive sell-out crowd of more than 62,000 fans. It's the first time Mizzou has had four straight sell-out crowds since 1980.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with head coach Eli Drinkwitz in the video player below.
Cody Schrader had a career day against the Volunteers. The Tiger running back set season-highs in both rushing yards and receiving yards, recording 205 yards on the ground and 116 receiving yards.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Schrader, as well as offensive lineman Javon Foster in the video players below.
Mizzou's opening drive looked promising but did not end well. On the first play from scrimmage, Brady Cook found Schrader for a 38-yard completion, but Cook ended the drive by throwing an interception that was tipped by a Tennessee defender.
The Tiger defense forced the Volunteers to go three-and-out on their first drive, and Cook led Mizzou down the field. The Tigers put together a 20-play, 72-yard drive but was unable to find the end zone. Mizzou settled for a 31-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis to put the Tigers on the board first 3-0.
Tennessee responded to the Mevis field goal on its next drive. Joe Milton III threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dont'e Thornton Jr. to cap off a 75-yard drive, giving the Volunteers their first lead of the game 7-3.
The Tigers quickly retook the lead. In just five plays, Mizzou marched 75 yards down the field to score a touchdown of their own on a 7-yard run by Schrader to give them a 10-7 lead. The touchdown drive began with another huge catch by Schrader, resulting in a 43-yard completion.
Right before halftime, the Mizzou defense forced its first turnover of the game. With just 20 seconds left until the break, Chuck Hicks recovered a fumble to give Cook and company the ball back. The Tigers were able to get Mevis in field goal range, and he drilled a 46-yard kick to extend Mizzou's lead to 13-7 at the break.
Schrader dominated Tennessee in the first half, recording nearly 200 total yards of offense and a touchdown before halftime.
As a team, Mizzou finished the first half with more total yards and first downs than Tennessee. The Tigers had 300 total yards of offense by halftime compared to Tennessee's 201 total yards, and Eli Drinkwitz's team recorded eight more first downs than the Volunteers.
Mizzou began the second half strong on both sides of the ball. After Blake Baker's defense forced a Tennessee three-and-out, Kirby Moore's offense found the end zone on its first drive of the second half, scoring a touchdown on a 3-yard run by Cook to make it a 19-7 ballgame. That touchdown drive also featured a 48-yard connection from Cook to Marquis Johnson.
Eli Drinkwitz's squad capped off a dominant second half performance with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden and a 31-yard pick six by Daylan Carnell. Mizzou scored 33 unanswered points after Tennessee's first and only touchdown.
Cook finished the game with 275 passing yards and two total touchdowns. He also added 55 yards on the ground.
Mizzou's defense forced three turnovers in the contest, including one sack and four tackles for loss.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with defensive back Jaylon Carlies and defensive lineman Darius Robinson in the video players below.
Up next - Mizzou closes out its home schedule with a matchup against Florida under the lights. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.
