| Opponent | Location | Day/Time (CT) |
|---|---|---|
| vs. Kentucky | Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field - Columbia, Mo. | Saturday / 3:00 p.m. CT |
| Game Media | SEC Network | WatchESPN  | GameTracker | Live Audio |
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| UK Prep | Tickets | Pinkel Press Conference | Quotes |
|
Game Notes:  Mizzou | Kentucky || Depth Charts: Mizzou | Kentucky |
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TIGERS HOST WILDCATS AS CALENDAR TURNS TO NOVEMBER
The Missouri Tigers (6-2 overall, 3-1 in SEC play) look for their third-straight win this Saturday afternoon as they play host to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats (5-2, 2-3) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. Saturday's game will kick at 3 p.m., and is set for telecast on the SEC Network.
SEC Nation, the SEC Network's Saturday-morning college football preview show, will originate from Francis Quadrangle at 9 a.m. this Saturday.
Mizzou enters this weekend on a two-game win streak, after posting a workmanlike 24-14 home win over Vanderbilt last Saturday, which followed a rousing 42-13 win at Florida the week before. Last week, the Tigers rode their stellar defense and got improved production from its offense, including a key touchdown pass from QB Maty Mauk to WR Bud Sasser to put the game on ice and push MU to bowl eligibility for the 10th time in Head Coach Gary Pinkel's 14 seasons. Mizzou's defense held Vandy to just 240 yards of offense (an opponent season low against MU), while the offense mustered 385 yards on the day (its highest output since a 503-yard game against Indiana on Sept. 20).
Kentucky is one of the more improved teams in the SEC this season, and they're looking to break a two-game losing streak after dropping consecutive games at LSU (L, 41-3) and at home this past Saturday to #1-ranked Mississippi State (L, 45-31). The Wildcats gave the top-ranked Bulldogs all they wanted, as they pulled to within one touchdown four different times in the game, including the last one with just over two minutes left. The Wildcats have a high-powered offense that put up 504 total yards against Mississippi State.
NOVEMBER RETURNS
It's an old adage in football: "Those who win in November will be remembered." It's a saying that Tiger Coach Gary Pinkel espouses every year with his team, that if they want to contend for championships, they have to finish strong.
Pinkel's message has gotten through to his troops in recent years, as Mizzou is 21-7 in the month of November from 2007-13. It's no coincidence that Mizzou has won four conference divisional championships in those previous seven years (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013). If the 2012 season is blacked out (MU's only non-bowl season in that stretch, when the Tigers went 1-3 in November), Mizzou's November record stands at a sterling 20-4.
LAST YEAR VS. KENTUCKY: MIZZOU 48, KENTUCKY 17
Making the last of his four straight starts for the injured James Franklin, redshirt freshman QB Maty Mauk tied the MU single-game passing touchdown record by tossing for five scores on the road as the Tigers cruised to a 48-17 win in Lexington, Ky. to improve to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in SEC play on the year.
Four of those TD strikes went to WR Dorial Green-Beckham, as Mauk ended the day 17-of-28 passing for 203 yards overall. Mizzou outgained Kentucky by a 426-to-369 margin in total offense, and used seven sacks and a fumble recovery by its defense to pull away for the win. After Kentucky opened the scoring with a field goal, the Tigers responded to the upset bid by scoring 28 straight points to take a 28-3 halftime lead.
The Wildcat offense found its footing in the third quarter, posting a pair of long TD drives to pull to within 18 points twice, but both times, the Tiger offense responded with a scoring drive of its own to hold UK at bay. Junior TB Henry Josey put the exclamation point on the day, when he burst free for an 86-yard TD run with 10:00 minutes left in the game to account for the final score. Josey ended the day with 113 rushing yards and 2 TDs, and he also caught a TD pass.
DEFENSE CUTTING DOWN ON BIG GAINERS
One clear measurable that explains Mizzou's improved numbers in conference play has to do with big gains by opponents - and the decreased frequency of those against MU of late.
In Mizzou's four non-conference games, Tiger opponents had 20 combined plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more (14 passing, 6 rushing). In MU's last four games (all SEC contests), that number has shrunk to just 7 total (all passing).
Mizzou hasn't allowed a rush of 20 yards or more since allowing a 49-yarder to Indiana on Sept. 20th. The longest since then was an 18-yarder by Georgia on Oct. 11th. Vanderbilt's longest ground gainer last Saturday was 10 yards, and the week before, Florida's longest rush against the Tiger defense was just 13 yards.