RECAP: No. 18 Mizzou’s missed opportunities prove costly against No. 7 Texas
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Tigers and Longhorns were both fighting to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive when No. 7 Texas rolled into CoMo.
Both sides entered with a pair of losses on the year, meaning a third would mean the loser effectively needs to win out to stay afloat, despite being tied at the start of the fourth, it was the visitors who would leave with a win, and put the Tigers on the brink of elimination.
While questionable officiating raised concerns from the Mizzou sideline, head coach Eli Drinkwitz said the team had a plethora of chances to take the win despite that.
"We had them on third and ten and we didn't stop them, so that that's on us," Drinkwitz said. "We're going to watch the tape and we're going to say we had every opportunity to make a play and we didn't get it done."
The Tigers ended the day just 3-of-16 on third down attempts throughout the day, and only managed to score one touchdown when they got the ball within 30 yards of the end zone.
"We got to execute in the red zone better and it starts up front," offensive tackle Cayden Green said. "It just goes back to execution, making the plays better there, And, our fundamentals, our technique being on the same page."
"We just got to capitalize on our performances and just execute," quarterback Austin Simmons said.
Simmons finished the day 23-43 on pass attempts with 252 yards and a pair of scores in the air. Defensively, the team came up with two takeaways, while neutralizing the Longhorns rushing attack through most of the match.
"We knew we were going to be able to stop the run. So whenever that happened, they were going to have plays off of it," safety Trajen Greco said. "On the back end, we got to just have tighter coverage, stickier coverage."
Special teams struggled once again for Mizzou, which hurt the team's red zone performance even more. Blake Craig missed a pair of kicks, going 2-of-4, and Brunno Reus had a punt blocked, allowing Texas to take over with a short field.
"Obviously it wasn't good enough today. The blocked punt, a great effort by that player as he went through," coach Drinkwitz said. "One of the keys to winning for us today was ensure special teams, and we didn't do that in any form or fashion."
With the schedule only getting harder from here, the Tigers will need to rally back and fix these issues before they take on one of the best team's in the nation.
"I want the guys know that we still got number two. Georgia. We've got whatever Kentucky's ranked. and then we got O.U. to finish strong," linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said. "Like, "We got some good games ahead of us, and we're a good team. So we just got to bounce back."
Up Next - Mizzou will travel for its final road game of the season to take on No. 2 Georgia. Kick off against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14.
