Mizzou football wins home opener over Central Michigan
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team is 1-0 after beating Central Michigan, 34-24, in the home opener on Saturday.
You can watch extended highlights of Saturday's win in the video player below.
The Tigers started off strong on their opening drive. Connor Bazelak connected with D'ionte 'Boo' Smith for a 63-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage. Tyler Badie ran it in for a touchdown on the next play. The first drive took just 29 seconds.
You can watch the full interview with head coach Eli Drinkwitz and Bazelak in the video players below.
Central Michigan responded with a score of its own. The game was tied 7-7 after the first quarter.
Watch the post-game news conference in the player below.
MU went into halftime up 17-14 after a 53-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis.
Backup running back Elijah Young gave the Tigers a 10-point lead after scoring his first career touchdown in the third quarter.
Central Michigan got within three points in the fourth quarter, but MU quickly re-extended its lead. Bazelak threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Niko Hea to make it 31-21 with 7:58 to go in the game.
The Tigers and Chippewas traded field goals late, but MU was able to hang on to secure its first win of the season.
Mizzou linebacker Blaze Alldredge led the defense with 3.5 sacks in his Tiger debut. The Rice transfer led MU with 10 tackles as well.
The Tigers finished with nine sacks, which is the most since by the team since 2009.
Tyler Badie finished with a career-high 25 carries on Saturday. He ran for 197 yards and a touchdown. Badie also had three catches for 40 yards and another score.
You can watch the full interview with Badie, safety Martez Manuel, linebacker Blaze Alldredge, and safety Shawn Robinson in the video players below.
Connor Bazelak was 21-for-31 for 257 yards. The redshirt sophomore threw two touchdowns in the Tigers win over the Chippewas.
Up next - MU will play at Kentucky next Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
We will have full highlights and reaction from the Tigers coming up after college football on Fox 22 and ABC 17. We will continue to update this story with full interviews and extended highlights from the game.
