Tennessee rolls over Mizzou in SEC home opener
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team lost its SEC home opener to the Tennessee Volunteers 62-24 Saturday afternoon after allowing 677 yards of total offense.
The game didn’t start as planned for the Tigers. Tennessee quickly marched down the field after Mizzou was unable to convert a first down on its opening drive. Quarterback Hendon Hooker found his receiver JaVonta Payton deep down the middle to give Tennessee an early 7-0 lead.
The Mizzou offense would respond by setting up a 42-yard field goal for kicker Harrison Mevis. However, the Volunteers answered right back on their next drive as running back Tiyon Evans scored on a short touchdown run to extend Tennessee’s lead to 14-3.
On the following Tennessee drive, the Mizzou rushing defense continued to struggle. On the first play from scrimmage, Evans broke free for a 92-yard touchdown run to extend Tennessee’s lead to 18 points.
Things got worse from there. After an interception by quarterback Connor Bazelak, Evans found the end zone again for his third rushing touchdown to give the Volunteers a 28-3 lead. The Tiger defense gave up 217 yards of total offense, including 161 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone.
To kick off the second quarter, the Tiger offense battled back. Running back Tyler Badie converted a critical fourth down and one and scored his first rushing touchdown of the afternoon on a 6-yard run.
Mizzou cut the lead to 28-10, but the Volunteers continued to dominate the Tiger defense. Hooker found his receiver Velus Jones Jr. on a 35-yard strike to bring the Tennessee lead back to 28 points. Then, the Volunteers scored their sixth straight touchdown on a short run by Hooker to give Tennessee a 42-10 lead.
The Tigers went into the locker room down 45-10 after giving up 425 total yards in the first half, including 275 yards on the ground. Tennessee also scored on all their first half possessions.
After Tennessee extended its lead to 38 points on a field goal from Chase McGrath, Mizzou’s special teams unit came up with a big play to start the second half. Kick returner Kris Abrams-Draine took the kickoff 100 yards for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 48-17.
The MU offense finished with a total of just 396 yards.
Mizzou falls under .500 for the first time this season. The Tigers will be at home to take on North Texas at 3 p.m. next Saturday in search of a homecoming win.
