No. 20 Mizzou crushes UMass on homecoming to earn second 5-0 start in three seasons
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
For the ninth-straight season the Mizzou football team walked away from its homecoming game with a mark in the win column, following a 42-6 trouncing of UMass on Saturday night at Faurot Field.
With the victory, head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company improved to 5-0 on the season, which marks the second undefeated start through the first five games in the last three seasons.
"It's good to be undefeated with things to improve," Drinkwitz said. "I think that's kind of the mentality of our coaching staff and our players. During the bye week, we got to sharpen our edge. We cannot get complacent, and so, having things to work on is a positive."
You can watch the full postgame press conferences with Coach Drinkwitz and players, along with extended highlights, in the slideshow above.
The Tigers stuck with the pair of identities that has served them best through the 2025 campaign: ground and pound and stop the run, have some fun.
Running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts accounted for 182 of Mizzou's 521 total yards of offense. Altogether, the Tigers rushed for 268 yards on the ground, between that running back duo, quarterback Beau Pribula and the backups.
Hardy, once again, led the rushing attack with 130 yards and three touchdowns. That performance marked his fifth-straight 100-yard game in a Tiger uniform. Meanwhile, Roberts, the other half of Coach Drinkwitz's one-two punch in the backfield, ended up with 52 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
"I'm happy we got two great running backs. I told them they remind me of the Detroit Lions backfield. I told them they both need each other," Mizzou wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. said. "You just don't want one guy getting all the carries. You want a break. You want a break from getting tackled. You want a break for your body. You want to just stay healthy, so you need that one-two punch. I told the boys, 'you go eat together'. When one person is doing good, the next person just wait your turn, and you'll start doing good right after. Just feed off each other."
However, the MU offense also found success through the air, as well. Pribula completed a staggering 89 percent of his passes, as he actually broke the record for consecutive passes complete (21) in the third quarter. The Penn State transferred tallied 241 yards and one touchdown, but did throw one costly interception in the first quarter.
Pribula's top target was Coleman Jr. who registered a game-best 12 catches for 108 yards, marking his second 100-yard game of the season.
"When I play football, I'm trying to be like David and Goliath. I'm trying to be that David. I know I didn't grow up big. I've always been a smaller guy, but I've always been one of the toughest guys," Coleman Jr. said. "I want guys when they see me, they see a little guy, but I want them to know I play tough, and it's gonna be hard to tackle me."
That turnover allowed for the only points of the game for the Minutemen, when quarterback AJ Hairston found his tight end Max Dowling over the middle to cut the deficit to one point, 7-6.
With how defensive coordinator Corey Batoon has his defense playing in 2025, though, UMass never even sniffed a lead again in the ball game.
It took until the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter for UMass to even surpass 100 total yards of offense on the night, as Mizzou found success in stopping the run. The Tigers allowed an abysmal 19 yards on the ground from the Minutemen, complimented by just 105 yards through the air.
"The D-Line does a great job getting pushed and holding up double teams for us, so we can get great run-throughs and be able to make some tackles for loss. We appreciate them. I'm taking them guys to dinner," Mizzou linebacker Khalil Jacobs said.
Safety Jalen Catalon led the defensive charge with five total tackles.
"Don't let his size fool you. That boy's got heart. He takes every play like it's his last play," Mizzou safety Santana Banner said.
Up next - No. 20 Mizzou will enjoy a bye week, before hosting its second SEC team of the season. No. 17 Alabama will come to Columbia Saturday, Oct. 11. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
