No. 18 Mizzou falls short of second Top-10 upset, losing to No. 7 Texas
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
With College Football Playoff implications hanging in the balance, No. 18 Mizzou football couldn't find a way to grab its second Top-10 upset of the season. The Tigers fell to No. 7 Texas 34-20at Faurot Field on Saturday.
With the loss, head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company drop to 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference action.
The Tigers came out of the gate roaring, as quarterback Austin Simmons led an efficient six-play, 78-yard drive ending in a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brett Norfleet. That put Mizzou up by a score, but Texas quickly responded.
In the first quarter, quarterback Arch Manning and company called tie game courtesy of a 24-yard touchdown toss from Manning to running back Derek Cooper. With that, everybody was sitting at a touchdown apiece, as we have a ball game in Columbia.
Texas and Mizzou traded field goals the rest of the first half, as the team went into halftime knotted up at 10.
Out of the locker room, a pair of field goals from Mizzou kicker Blake Craig and Texas kicker Gianni Spetic tied up the game at 13. However, midway through the third quarter, MU had just the jolt that it needed.
Simmons found wide receiver Naeshaun Montgomery on the sideline, and he slipped a tackle to take the ball all 72 yards for a house call. That gave Mizzou the lead back, up 20-13.
But, once again, No. 7 Texas always had a response, as Manning threw his second touchdown of the day Jermaine Bishop to call tie game once more. In that drive, the refs caused a bit of an uproar at Faurot Field, calling three drive-changing penalties the way of the Longhorns.
It wouldn't be long after that that head coach Steve Sarkisian and his team would find their first lead. Manning found his mojo in the second half, connecting his third score of the day on a 24-yard touchdown toss to Raleek Brown. That gave the road team a 27-20 advantage over the Tigers.
Mizzou never found a way to respond in the final minutes, as Texas held on for a close win.
Simmons finished the day with 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, as his go-to guy was receiver Cayden Lee, who caught nine passes for 79 yards.
Once again, "Death Row Defense" was led by linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, who ended the day with 11 total tackles, one tackle for loss and a half sack.
Up next - the road doesn't get any easier from here for Mizzou football. The Tigers will travel to face No. 2 Georgia in Athens on Nov. 14. Kickoff is still to be announced.
