MIZZOU LOOKS TO SEND SENIORS OFF WITH WIN OVER TENNESSEE

• The Missouri Tigers (5-5 overall, 1-5 in Southeastern Conference play), return to league action Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers (6-4, 3-3) after stepping out of SEC play last Saturday for a thrilling 20-16 win over previously 7-2 BYU.  Kickoff for the game, which will be televised on ESPN2, is set for 6:15 p.m. from Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. The storylines are deep and wide-reaching for Saturday's home game, as Mizzou is 1) playing for bowl eligibility; 2) on senior day; 3) in the final home game ever to be coached by Head Coach Gary Pinkel, who announced Nov. 13th that he will be retiring from coaching following 2015.

• Mizzou is coming off a thrilling 20-16 win at Arrowhead Stadium over BYU last Saturday, as the Tigers overcame a 10-6 fourth-quarter deficit to break a four-game losing streak.  Mizzou scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, after they had scored a total of 13 fourth-quarter points all season leading into the contest.  True freshman QB Drew Lock, playing in his hometown, was outstanding as he threw for a career-high 244 yards and one touchdown, while senior TB Russell Hansbrough ran for a season-high 117 yards as the Tiger offense gained a season-best 434 yards of offense, converted a season-best 13-of-20 third downs and held a massive time of possession advantage of 39:04-to-20:56 over the Cougars. The Tiger defense wasn't outdone by any means, as the unit which has been leading the way all season was nothing short of stellar once again.  Mizzou's defense held a potent BYU offense in check most all night, holding them to just 290 yards and 16 points, well below their season averages coming in of 440.9 yards and 32.3 points.  Senior LB Kentrell Brothers led the way yet again, with a game-high 11 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass break up on the goalline which forced a BYU field goal.

• It's always a special day full of emotion when members of the senior class take the home field for the final time in their careers.  Mizzou is honoring 21 seniors before Saturday's game, and they'll continue the time-honored tradition after the game ends of walking to the historic Rock M beyond the north end zone, and claiming a rock as a personal memento of their time in the program.

• The 2015 senior class has been part of some very special achievements during their time here.  They've been part of 33 wins the past four seasons (2012-15), and played a key role in Mizzou's magical run during the 2013-14 seasons that saw the Tigers go 23-5 combined and win consecutive SEC Eastern Division titles.  The 2013 team went 12-2, won the East with a 7-1 record, won the Cotton Bowl, and finished ranked 5th in the nation.  The 2014 squad followed with an impressive 11-3 mark, won the East again at 7-1, won the Citrus Bowl, and finished ranked 11th in the coaches' poll.  The group has played in consecutive bowl games, and hopes to make it three in a row with a win Saturday.

• The seniors being honored tonight include: PK Andrew Baggett (Lee's Summit, Mo.), QB Corbin Berkstresser (Lee's Summit, Mo.), C Evan Boehm (Captain from Lee's Summit, Mo.), LB Kentrell Brothers (Guthrie, Okla.), FS Cortland Browning (Tyler, Texas), OL Taylor Chappell (Canadian, Texas), CB Kenya Dennis (Captain from Leland, Miss.), TE Clayton Echard (Eureka, Mo.), LB Clarence Green (Clute, Texas), OL Mitch Hall (Russellville, Ark.), TB Russell Hansbrough (Captain from Arlington, Texas), OL Jordan Hill (Lee's Summit, Mo.), TB Tyler Hunt (Huntsville, Mo.), WR Wesley Leftwich (Columbia, Mo.), OL Connor McGovern (Fargo, N.D.), CB DeAndre McKenzie (Lee's Summit, Mo.), OL Brad McNulty (Allen, Texas), OL Nick Monaghan (Darien, Ill.), FS Ian Simon (Captain from Mansfield, Texas), TB Andrew Stevens (St. Louis, Mo.), DB Trei Walton (Northville, Mich.). Most importantly, 10 Tigers from this outstanding group have already earned their undergraduate degrees from Mizzou (Browning, Berkstresser, Chappell, Echard, Green, Hall, Hunt, Leftwich, McGovern, McNulty), while the rest are on pace to graduate by May.

• When Mizzou takes the field on Saturday vs. Tennessee, not only will it be the final home game for Mizzou's 19 seniors, it will also be the final home game for Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel, who announced that he would resign following the season due to health concerns on Nov. 13.Pinkel, 63, transformed Mizzou into a national program after taking over on Nov. 30, 2000, and will conclude his career as the winningest coach in school history.  He's amassed a 118-71 record at Mizzou in 14 seasons so far, and his 191 career wins stand as the 19th-most all-time in NCAA FBS history.  Under his guidance, Mizzou won five conference divisional titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014), reached 10 bowl games (winning six) and had five teams post a final top-20 national ranking (including two top-five finishes).  His Tigers posted winning seasons in 10-of-15 years, following a stretch where Mizzou had only two winning seasons in the 17 seasons (1984-2000) prior to his arrival.  He was named the National Coach of the Year in 2007 by FieldTurf, and won conference coach of the year honors in 2007 (Big 12) and 2014 (SEC). 

LAST TIME OUT

•  Drew Lock threw for a career-high 244 yards and a touchdown, and Tyler Hunt added another on the ground as Mizzou notched a 20-16 win over BYU on Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
• The day after Head Coach Gary Pinkel announced his resignation at the end of the year, he picked up his 118th win as the head of the Tigers' program. It also moved Pinkel's record to 6-1 in Kansas City, where 19 current Tigers call the area home.
• Mizzou (5-5) rolled to a season-high 434 yards of offense, backed by a number of key plays across the board. The Tigers scored two critical fourth-quarter touchdowns – one each through the air and the ground – to take a 20-10 lead. It started with J'Mon Moore's four-yard fade-route catch from Lock to cap a 13-play drive that rolled 8:09 off the clock.
• On the next play from scrimmage, Marcell Frazier sacked and stripped BYU's Tanner Mangum. Michael Scherer recovered at the Cougar 16 to set up Lock & Co. in excellent position. Six plays later, Hunt bowled in from a yard out to give the Tigers multiple touchdowns for the first time since the South Carolina game.
• The Tiger defense didn't allow BYU a first down until the final play of the first quarter. By that point, the Tiger offense had amassed 128 yards and seven first downs of their own in securing a 3-0 lead.
  Kentrell Brothers continued his stellar season, notching another 11 tackles to add to his nation-leading total.

SERIES VS. TENNESSEE

• Mizzou and Tennessee have met three times in history with all three meetings coming since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012. All three meetings have gone the way of Mizzou with a 1-0 mark in Columbia and a 2-0 mark in Knoxville. The highlight of those three games came back in 2012 when Mizzou defeated Tennessee, 51-48, in four overtimes after Mizzou tied the game at 28-all on a 4th-and-12, 25-yard TD pass with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Then a freshman, now senior captain Ian Simon broke up a 4th-and-3 pass in the fourth over time after an Andrew Baggett field goal to seal the 51-48 win. 
• Mizzou then thumped Tennessee, 31-3, in 2013 en-route to the SEC East Championship, moving the Tigers to 8-1 and 4-1 in SEC play that season. The Tigers netted three passing TDs in that win and limited UT to just 334 yards of total offense and forced three UT turnovers in the win.
• In 2014, Mizzou went into Knoxville needing a win to preserve its SEC East title hopes and Mizzou came out with a 29-21 win. The recap of that game is below. .

LAST TIME VS. TENNESSEE

•  Marcus Murphy ran for two touchdowns to help his team get the lead, and Maty Mauk threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to seal the win as No. 19/20 Missouri won its fifth straight game, a 29-21 victory over Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
• The win was the school-record 10th consecutive on the road for the Tigers (9-2, 6-1 SEC), which broke the mark first established from 1978-80.
• The defense was solid all game long, and didn't allow a sustained drive until the Volunteers (5-6, 2-5) scored on a pass from holder Patrick Ashford to tight end Alex Ellis on a fake field goal with 11:14 left in the first half. That score put the Vols up 10-7, and would be UT's last lead of the night.
• The second half was all Mizzou until the very end; Andrew Baggett's 43-yard field goal broke the halftime deadlock midway through the 3rd, then Mauk took over. With 10:42 left to play, Mauk found Jimmie Hunt over the top for a 73-yard catch-and-run to give the Tigers a 10-point lead, and then Mauk found Bud Sasser on a fade from 13 yards out to make it 29-13 with 6:22 to go.
• Tennessee made it an eight-point game with 1:52 left, but the Tigers were able to run the clock out to put the Tigers a win away from their second-straight SEC East Division title.

SCOUTING BYU

• UT comes into Saturday's game averaging 34 points per game while allowing 21.8. The Vols are coming off of a 24-0 win over North Texas last week, their third straight win. In fact, UT has won four of five with the only loss being a tough, 19-14 loss at Alabama. UT has a balanced offense, averaging 210 yards both on the ground and through the air.