COLUMBIA, Mo. – After the Mizzou offense saw a handful of drives stall in the early stages of Saturday night's game against Wyoming, Mizzou held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a junior K Tucker McCann 50-yard field goal. Meanwhile, the Mizzou defense suffocated Wyoming's offense, holding the Cowboys to only 58 yards of total offense in the quarter. Holding a slim lead, Mizzou needed to pull away.
After forcing a punt with 8:56 remaining in the second quarter, senior QB Drew Lock and the rest of the Mizzou offense took over in the shadow of their own goalpost at the three-yard line. Lock proceeded to orchestrate a nine play, 97-yard touchdown drive that set the tone for the Mizzou offense for the rest of the ballgame.
Facing a third and six inside the Mizzou ten-yard line, Lock drilled senior WR Emanuel Hall with a back-shoulder throw on the Tigers sideline that was good for 36 yards and a key first down. After the clutch pitch and catch, Mizzou would not face another third down during the drive.
"(The play) was huge," said Mizzou head coach Barry Odom. "You never know when a play is really going to determine the outcome of a game or a drive. It was huge. It was great ball placement. It was a great job by Drew reading on the leverage that the defender had. And then Emanuel, they were on the same page. Big time throw, big catch and a great job by the O-line giving just enough time to be able to complete the ball."
On the same drive, following a Wyoming penalty, Lock found junior WR Johnathon Johnson for a 19-yard gain and junior RB Damarea Crockett followed with a pair of carries to move the Tigers inside the Wyoming 25-yard line. Lock then found Hall for another first down to set up first and goal.
A play later, Lock went through his progressions in the pocket before breaking upfield and past a pair of Wyoming defenders. The Mizzou signal-caller lunged into the end zone for the game's first touchdown, putting the Tigers up 10-0.
"Their ends rushed up field all game. Their defensive is really good," said Lock. "They rushed up field and I stepped up. I kept my eyes on the field, thinking maybe I could make a throw. I kept my straight angle. The backer got his hand on me, but I just made a play. It was kind of fun."
Following the scoring drive, Mizzou's defense forced another punt, giving the ball back to Lock and the Mizzou offense at its own 27 with 2:23 left in the first half. With the momentum in their favor, the Tigers assembled an efficient, two-minute drill drive.
Facing a third-and-seven at the Mizzou 40, Lock left the pocket to scramble again. This time, Lock finished an eight yard run by lowering his shoulder into a Wyoming defender and falling forward to pick up a new set of downs.
Following the third-down conversion, Lock hooked up twice with both Hall and senior TE Kendall Blanton. The four plays moved the Tigers to the Wyoming 24-yard line with 00:51 remaining in the half.
After a Mizzou timeout, sophomore TE Albert Okwuegbunam hauled in a catch in the flats for a short gain and a Tigers first down. On the next play, with less the 00:40 remaining and Tigers threatening in the red zone, Lock found Okwuegbunam on a seam route, threading the middle of the Wyoming cover two defense. Okwuegbunam hauled in Lock's spiral and fell into the end zone, completing a 19-yard touchdown to make the score 16-0. The drive totaled 12 plays and 73 yards and lasted just 1:51.
Okwuegbunam's evening improved quickly, along with the rest of the Mizzou offense, after the sophomore TE was stripped of the ball in the first quarter. Okwuegbunam finished the ballgame with seven catches for 50 yards and one score.
"Albert had a good game today. He was upset about the fumble, but I think it shows just how mentally tough that is," Lock said. "He came out and played the rest of the game extremely hard and he's not going to let that happen again."
After the successful second quarter drives, Mizzou's offensive barrage continued to sustain quality possessions in the second half. After receiving the second half kickoff, the Tigers drove 90 yards on 13 plays over 4:39 to find the end zone again, this time with a patented Lock to Hall connection for a 28-yard score.
"I have a lot of trust in Emanuel Hall, the plays that he's made, the things he's done for me since I've been here, I just put it up to him," Lock said. "I knew he could out run pretty much anyone out there today and I just trusted him."
After a Wyoming field goal, the Mizzou offense took eight plays to drive 75 yards as Lock tossed his third touchdown of the contest, finding Blanton in the end zone for a 12-yard score and extending the Mizzou lead to 30-3.
Then, the Tigers offense found the end zone for the fifth consecutive time as Lock punctuated a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown toss to Johnson with 13:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Mizzou's five consecutive scoring drives included a total of 54 plays, 410 yards and 17:32 of game clock and turned Mizzou's 3-0 lead into an insurmountable 37-10 advantage. Mizzou's offensive dominance propelled the Tigers to a 2-0 record, their first 2-0 mark since 2015.
Mizzou will take on Purdue in West Lafayette next Saturday, Sept. 15, at 6:30 p.m (CT).