Mizzou stops late Iowa drive to win Music City Bowl
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou Tigers' defense held strong late in the fourth quarter, delivering a narrow win against Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
The Tigers won 27-24, powered by two 50-plus-yard field goals from kicker Blake Craig.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz, quarterback Brady Cook, defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. and wide receiver Marquis Johnson in the video player below.
Mizzou had to overcome an Iowa defense that held rushing to a minimum. Cook ended as the Tigers' leading rusher with 54 yards. He also threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He will end his career with a 26-13 record at Mizzou. The St. Louis native ended up winning the bowl game's MVP award for his performance.
After a lackluster opening drive on offense, the Tiger defense didn't fair much better. Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan went 4-for-4 on that opening drive for 54 yards and a touchdown to take the first lead of the game, 7-0.
However, this was a game all about responses and MU had one on the following possession. Cook finally found his rhythm in his final game in the black and gold, as he utilized two weapons on Monday: wide receivers Theo Wease Jr. and Johnson. A throw to Wease Jr. at the back of the end zone was how Mizzou would score its first points of the game to tie things up in Nashville.
But Iowa kept swinging back in the first-half fistfight. Hawkeye receiver Kaden Wetjen returned MU's ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to take the lead right back, 14-7.
But, Cook kept going to Johnson and Wease Jr. After the Tigers allowed that kick return for six, Cook led his offense on a seven-play, 75-yard drive, which ended in Johnson's first touchdown of 2024 to tie it up, once again.
Johnson finished the day as MU's leading receiver with seven catches for 122 yards and that one score.
The momentum shifted just before halftime, when Sullivan and the Hawkeyes put together a gritty 90-yard drive in less than five minutes to take a one-score lead. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz's crew had a chance to respond with about 50 seconds left until halftime, but to no avail.
After the break, things didn't look much better for Mizzou, as the team's leading receiver went down with an upper body injury. Right when the third quarter started, Wease Jr.'s day ended and with it his Tiger career. He finished the game against Iowa with fives catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.
Down 24-14 in the third quarter, Coach Drinkwitz needed someone else to step up in that receiver and Johnson did the job. He ended the day with a career high in catches, coming down with a big 44 yard catch near the end of the third quarter. The jolt of energy led to a touchdown from one of the young guys: sophomore receiver Joshua Manning. With that scoring drive, MU was back into it and down by just a field goal.
From there, it was the Blake Craig show.
The redshirt freshman kicker from the Kansas City area drilled back-to-back more than 50-yard field goals at Nissan Stadium to lift his team to a win over Iowa. He actually broke Music City Bowl records on both of his boots, from 52 and 56 yards.
The Hawkeyes had one more chance to either tie or win the game, down 27-24 with less 50 seconds to play, but the MU defense stood tall. Walker Jr. tallied his second sack of the night, as his defense held off Iowa to ice the game.
Walker Jr. came up with two game-breaking sacks on Monday, which complimented four total tackles and two tackles for loss. However, Mizzou safety Daylan Carnell and linebacker Triston Newson both led the defense with seven tackles apiece.
When the clock hit zeros and Cook took one last knee, celebration ensued on the field in Nashville, as a standout group of seniors time in Columbia has now come to an end.
Up next - the Tigers will work towards the next season, as they will get back on the field for spring ball in 2025.
