Saturday, November 4
Columbia, Mo.
11 AM
University of Missouri
vs
Florida
Gators Come to The Zou For SEC East Showdown
10/30/2017 10:58:00 AM | Football
Mizzou vs. Florida
Nov. 4, 11 a.m.
ESPN2
Game Notes
Depth Chart
Mizzou Football (3-5 overall, 0-4 in Southeastern Conference play), begins the final month of the 2017 regular season this Saturday as it plays host to the Florida Gators (3-4, 3-3) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. Kickoff for the game is set for 11 a.m. (CT), and will be televised on ESPN 2.
- Mizzou is looking to extend a two-game win streak on Saturday, following a 52-12 dismantling of UConn on the road last week in East Hartford, Conn., which was preceded by a 68-21 home win over Idaho Oct. 21st. On Saturday, after falling behind briefly 2-0 on a bad punt snap safety, Mizzou took control with scores on five straight possessions to take a commanding 31-5 halftime lead, and it never looked back as both sides of the ball put together arguably their best combined performance of the year. Junior QB Drew Lock continued his stellar play of late, as he threw for five touchdowns on 31-of-37 passing and 377 yards in just three quarters of play, before putting on the headsets. Mizzou outgained UConn by a 583-to-354 margin in total offense, with five different Tigers reaching the end zone, while the defense prevented the Huskies from notching a touchdown until 2:07 remained in the third quarter.
Setting the Stage
- Florida, the two-time defending SEC Eastern Division champs, began the season 3-1 (including 3-0 in SEC play), but comes to Columbia having lost three straight. Last Saturday saw the Gators fall to rival Georgia by a 42-7 count, a week after they lost a 19-17 heartbreaker at home to Texas A&M. In all, four of Florida's seven games so far in 2017 have been one-score games, including wins over Tennessee (W, 26-20) and at Kentucky (W, 28-27), with close losses coming at home to LSU (L, 17-16) and A&M. In last Saturday's game at Jacksonville, the Gators got ambushed from the start by the surging Bulldogs, as Georgia surged to a 21-0 lead less than halfway through the first quarter. Florida's trademark defense kept Georgia to just 393 yards of offense, but the Gator offense was held to just 249 yards in all, including just 66 passing yards (on 10-of-25 attempts), while they converted only 4-of-15 third down conversions.
- The matchup to watch Saturday will be Mizzou's passing attack against the Gators passing defense. Mizzou comes into the game averaging 325.8 yards per game through the air, the nation's 12th-best mark and the SEC's second-best. Florida comes into the game allowing just 195.3 yards per game in the air, a mark that ranks 34th nationally.
- Another key will be Florida's ability to limit third-down conversions. Florida comes into the game allowing conversions on just 30.5 percent of opponents' third downs, the SEC's third-best mark, ranking 21st nationally. Mizzou ranks 35th nationally and fifth in the SEC, converting nearly 44 percent of its third downs this season.
Locked in Lately
- Junior QB Drew Lock has been on fire over his last five games. He has 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions while passing for 1,668 yards on 114-of-176 (64.8 percent). He now has four games in his career with 400 or more yards, tying for the most in school history with Chase Daniel (four from 2005-08).
- Lock is coming off of another career day passing the ball in Mizzou's 52-12 win over UConn last week. He completed a career-best 31-of-37 passes for 377 yards and five scores. His completion percentage of 83.8 was his career-best and the third-best mark in school history. He also tied the best completion percentage mark for a Mizzou QB with more than 30 completions.
- Lock now leads the nation with his 28 passing TDs this year, which are already tied for the third-most in school history. He is tied with West Virginia's Will Grier for the national lead. Lock is also second nationally in yards per completion (15.94), eighth in passing efficiency (167.8), ninth in passing yards per game (320.9) and 11th in total passing yards (2,567).
- Lock now ranks third in school history with 7,298 career passing yards. He sits 1,501 yards behind second-place Brad Smith who had 8,799 from 2002-05. Lock is on pace to have 8,581 by year's end.
- Lock's 55 career TD passes are also just two shy of moving into sole possession of second place all-time on Mizzou's career TD passes list.
| Rank | QB | Yds | Att | Comp | INT | Pct. | TD | Rtg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chase Daniel (2005-08) | 12,515 | 1,609 | 1,094 | 41 | 0.680 | 101 | 148.95 |
| 2. | Brad Smith (2002-05) | 8,799 | 1,484 | 835 | 33 | 0.563 | 56 | 114.08 |
| 3. | Drew Lock (2015-17) | 7,298 | 947 | 527 | 25 | 0.556 | 55 | 134.27 |
| 4. | James Franklin (2010-13) | 6,962 | 943 | 586 | 25 | 0.621 | 51 | 136.70 |
| 5. | Jeff Handy (1991-94) | 6,959 | 1,058 | 618 | 30 | 0.584 | 39 | 120.16 |
| 6. | Blaine Gabbert (2008-10) | 6,822 | 933 | 568 | 18 | 0.609 | 40 | 132.59 |
| 7. | Phil Bradley (1977-80) | 5,352 | 798 | 437 | 29 | 0.548 | 32 | 117.06 |
We Are the Three Amigos!
- Would you say that Mizzou has a plethora of long-distance threats at the wide receiver position?
- We sure would, as the starting wideout trio of senior J'Mon Moore, junior Emanuel Hall and sophomore Johnathon Johnson combine to give MU the most explosive three-some in the country, and the stats back that up. When comparing most receptions in 2017 of 50 yards or more, all three Tigers rank in the top 10 in the nation, heading into this weekend. Here's the breakdown:
| Rk | WR | Year. | +50s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Cephus (Rice) | Fr | 5 |
| James Washington (Oklahoma St.) | Sr. | 5 | |
| 3. | J'Mon Moore (Mizzou) | Sr. | 4 |
| Johnathon Johnson (Mizzou) | So. | 4 | |
| A.J. Brown (Ole Miss) | So. | 4 | |
| Keke Coutee (Texas Tech) | Jr. | 4 | |
| Diontae Johnson (Toledo) | So. | 4 | |
| Chris Platt (Baylor) | Jr. | 4 | |
| Steven Simms, Jr. (Kansas) | Jr. | 4 | |
| 10. | Emanuel Hall (Mizzou) | Jr. | 3 |
| 15 other players tied with three | |||
- Mizzou is the only school with multiple receivers in this top-10 listing of most receptions of 50 yards or more, through games of Oct. 28. Mizzou leads the nation with 13 pass plays of 50+ yards.
- Mizzou's TE group is also averaging 18.2 yards per catch as a unit, making that position a deep threat too.
- Mizzou's big-play ability through the air has the Tigers ranked 12th nationally and second in the SEC in passing offense, averaging 325.8 yards per game. Mizzou is sixth nationally and leads the SEC in yards per completion (15.79).
Players Mentioned
Wide Receiver
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Wide Receiver
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Wide Receiver
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