@MizzouFootball Hosts No. 12 Kentucky in SEC East Showdown Saturday

Saturday, October 27

Columbia, Mo.

3 p.m.

University of Missouri

#12 Kentucky

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Truman stands in the student section during a game against No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. Briar Napier/Mizzou Athletics

@MizzouFootball Hosts No. 12 Kentucky in SEC East Showdown Saturday

10/23/2018 8:32:00 AM | Football

Mizzou looks for first win over ranked opponent this year, playing third ranked foe in five games

SEC East Foe No. 12 Kentucky on Tap for Mizzou Saturday
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
vs. No. 12	Columbia, Mo.	Saturday, Oct. 27	3 PM	SEC Network	Stats

#ShowMe Mizzou Game Notes

The Matchup

Mizzou Football, fresh off a 65-33 Homecoming win over Memphis, continues a two-game homestand as it welcomes No. 12/14 Kentucky to Memorial Stadium Saturday (Oct. 27). Saturday's game marks the second time that a ranked opponent will make the trek to Columbia's Memorial Stadium. Kentucky will be the third ranked opponent for Mizzou this season and second in three games after playing at No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 13. The game is set to air on SEC Network with Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Kris Budden on the call.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH KENTUCKY

Mizzou and Kentucky have met eight times over the years and the Wildcats hold a slight 5-3 advantage in the all-time series, including last year's 40-34 win in Lexington. Since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012, the two teams are knotted at three wins apiece. Mizzou won the first three meetings between the two programs as SEC East foes while the Wildcats have rebounded to win the last three.
Mizzou is 2-2 all-time against Kentucky in games played at The Zou. Mizzou topped the Wildcats, 33-10, in 2012, and won a 20-10 game en-route to the 2014 SEC East title. Kentucky escaped Mizzou with a 35-21 win in 2016 during Barry Odom's first year as a head coach. The all-time series between the two teams dates back to 1968 with UK earning a 7-0 win in Columbia.

RECAPPING LAST TIME OUT

Mizzou scored 48 points in the first half and rolled to a 65-33 Homecoming victory over Memphis last Saturday afternoon (Oct. 20) at Memorial Stadium. Mizzou improved to 4-3 on the season and 62-40-5 in Homecoming games. Mizzou has now won 12 of its last 17 Homecoming games and two in a row. Memphis fell to 4-4 on the year.
Senior QB Drew Lock turned in the sixth-best single-game QB rating in school history (226.2) as he threw for 350 yards on 23-of-29 passing with four TDs, his 11th career game with four scores. Many of those yards went to sophomore TE Albert Okwuegbunam, as he tallied a career-high 159 yards on just six catches with three of them going for scores, matching his career-high.
The turning point in Saturday's game came in the second quarter. After Memphis scored 17 consecutive points to a trim a 21-0 Mizzou lead to just four, head coach Barry Odom rolled the dice. Facing a fourth-and-one from their own 34-yard line, the Tigers turned to their senior QB on a rollout. Lock placed a perfect throw to Memphis native Johnathon Johnson for an eight-yard gain to move the chains.
On the very next play, Mizzou ran the run-pass-option to perfection and Lock found sophomore TE Albert Okwuegbunam for a 58-yard TD to shift momentum back toward the Tigers. On the ensuing Memphis drive, sophomore CB Adam Sparks hauled in his third career interception on the first play of the drive. Mizzou then scored on the first play of its ensuing drive on a 44-yard strike from Lock to Jalen Knox and Mizzou controlled the game from there. Mizzou hung the second-most points ever scored against Memphis with the 65 scored Saturday and had 646 yards of total offense in the win

KENTUCKY VS. VANDERBILT RECAP

No. 14 Kentucky escaped SEC East foe Vanderbilt with a 14-7 victory last Saturday night at Kroger Field in Lexington. Junior RB Benny Snell scored a go-ahead TD on a seven-yard scamper with 8:04 remaining in the fourth quarter and the tough Wildcat defense held Vanderbilt off the board to secure the win. Kentucky now sits at 6-1 on the year and 4-1 in SEC games. The Wildcats are 3-0 against SEC East teams this season.
Snell rushed for 169 yards, including the go-ahead 7-yard run with 8:04 remaining that helped Kentucky pull away.
The win for UK secured the program bowl eligibility for the third straight season.
Kentucky is winning games based on its ground game (17th nationally with 231.6 rushing yards per game) and stout defense (12.9 points per game allowed, second-best nationally).

SECOND HALF OFF TO GOOD START

Mizzou opened the second half of its season with a big win last weekend over Memphis. Under head coach Barry Odom, Mizzou is now 9-4 in the second half of the regular season under the third-year sideline boss. Mizzou won two of its final six games in 2016 and obviously won its last six second-half games a year ago, rallying from 1-5 to a bowl game in what was one of the most impressive in-season turnarounds in college football history.
Mizzou has won its last seven second-half regular season games and is outscoring its opponents, 373-161, in those games, good for a 53.3-to-23.0 average in that span, with an average margin of victory of 30.3 per game.

OFFENSE ON FIRE AT THE ZOU

After hanging 65 points on the board against one of the nation's most dangerous Group of Five teams in Memphis last week, the Tigers continued a trend of playing high-flying offense at home. Mizzou has scored at least 29 points in all four home games this season and is averaging 46.3 points per game at The Zou this season. Dating back to last season, Mizzou has scored at least 29 points in seven straight home games, averaging 49.7 points per game in that span.
The most points Kentucky has allowed this season is 20 in a 20-14 loss at Texas A&M. The Wildcats have not allowed more than 29 points since a Nov. 25, 2017, game vs. Louisville, which it lost, 44-17.

MIZZOU ALL-TIME vs. NO. 12

Mizzou enters Saturday's game with a 4-3 all-time record against teams ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll. Mizzou has not played a team ranked No. 12 in the AP poll since 1997 in a game with Oklahoma State that is memorable to most Mizzou fans. Mizzou earned a 51-50 win in Stillwater, needing two overtimes to earn the victory. Mizzou opened a 30-7 lead before Oklahoma State scored 30 straight points to take a 37-30 lead with less than two minutes to play. Mizzou QB Corby Jones found Ricky Ross for a 38-yard TD to tie the game with 0:19 seconds left. Mizzou then won the game in the second OT as Oklahoma State attempted what would have been a game-winning two-point conversion. Mizzou stopped the play to secure the win.

LOCK LIVES AMONG SEC'S GREATNESS

Mizzou senior QB Drew Lock's four TD passes last weekend vs. Memphis moved him one place closer to sole possession of fourth place all-time among SEC quarterbacks with 87 career passing TDs. He enters Saturday's game vs. Kentucky just one shy of tying Florida's Tim Tebow (2006-09) and Chris Leak (2003-06) who both had 88 in their careers. Below is a list:

Rank	TD Passes	Quarterback	School	Year
1.	121	Aaron Murray	Georgia	2010-13
2.	114	Danny Wuerrffel	Florida	1993-96
3.	89	Peyton Manning	Tennessee	1994-97
4.	88	Chris Leak	Florida	2003-06
	88	Tim Tebow	Florida	2006-09
6.	87	Drew Lock	Mizzou	2015-18

Additionally, Lock now has 10,674 career passing yards, making him just the 112th quarterback in college football history to do so. Only nine SEC quarterbacks have ever thrown for more than 10,000 yards in a career and before Lock, the last to do so was Georgia's Aaron Murray in 2013. Below is a list:

Rank	Yards	Quarterback	School	Years
1.	13,166	Aaron Murray	Georgia	2010-13
2.	11,528	David Greene	Georgia	2001-04
3.	11,213	Chris Leak	Florida	2003-06
4.	11,201	Peyton Manning	Tennessee	1994-97
5.	11,153	Eric Zeier	Georgia	1991-94
6.	10,875	Danny Wuerffel	Florida	1993-96
7.	10,674	Drew Lock	Mizzou	2015-18
8.	10,345	Jared Lorenzen	Kentucky	2000-03
9.	10,119	Eli Manning	Ole Miss	2000-03

Among active FBS quarterbacks, Lock is third with his 10,674 career passing yards. Only Boise State's Brett Rypien (12,042) and Washington's Jake Browning (11,005) ) rank ahead of Lock.
Lock is just the second Mizzou QB to throw for more than 10,000 yards, trailing only 2007 Heisman finalist Chase Daniel, who holds the school record of 12,515 from 2005-09. That, by the way, ranks 26th in FBS history.
Lock now has 29 career games with 200+ passing yards, second in school history.
Lock has thrown for 200+ yards in 24 of his last 26 games. He had a streak of 15 straight games doing so snapped two weeks ago at Alabama.
With 350 yards vs. Memphis, Lock now has 12 career 300-yard games, second in school history behind only Daniel (20).
Lock registered his 11th career game with four or more TDs vs. Memphis - he has nine such games among his last 13.
Lock now has 46 career TD passes of 20+ yards, the most in school history.

ALBERT O IS A TD MACHINE

Mizzou has produced its fair share of great tight ends - 2008 Mackey Award Winner Chase Coffman, All-Americans Martin Rucker and Michael Egnew, and NFL standouts Kellen Winslow and A.J. Ofodile. While the tradition is certainly there, it is not a stretch to think that Mizzou may currently have its best TE ever in sophomore Albert Okwuegbunam.
Against Memphis, he exploded for a career-high 159 yards on just six catches with a career-high three touchdowns. After leading all TEs last year with 11 TDs, he now has 16 in his career. Last Saturday's three-touchdown outburst gave him his fifth career game with multiple TD catches, tied for the most ever by a Mizzou tight end with 2008 Mackey Award Winner Coffman. Coffman tallied his fifth career multi-TD game in his 51st career game. Albert O has done so in just 20 career games.
Okwuegbunam ranks third all-time among Mizzou TEs with his 16 TD grabs, trailing only Coffman (30 from 2005-08) and Rucker (18 from 2004-07).
In only 20 career games, Okwuegbunam has already cracked the Mizzou career receiving touchdowns top-10, thanks to his stellar outing last Saturday against Memphis, when he caught six passes for a career-high 159 yards and three touchdowns. The three scores gave him 16 for his career (five in 2018), which puts him eighth on the all-time Mizzou receiving chart.

Mizzou Career Receiving TD Leaders

Player	TDs	Years
1. Chase Coffman (TE)	30	2006-09
2. Danario Alexander	22	2006-09
Jeremy Maclin	22	2007-08
4. J'Mon Moore	21	2014-17
5. Martin Rucker (TE)	18	2004-07
Justin Gage	18	1999-02
7. Dorial Green-Beckham	17	2012-13
8. Albert Okwuegbunam	16	2017-18
9. L'Damian Washington	15	2010-13
10. Bud Sasser	14	2011-14
Mel Gray	14	1968-70

TURNOVERS TELLING THE STORY

It's an old coaching axiom that whichever team wins the turnover battle, usually wins the game. Through seven games in 2018, the Missouri Tigers are definitely party to that line of thinking, as Mizzou is 4-0 when winning (or even) in the turnover category, and they're 0-3 when losing that category.
In Mizzou's four wins, the Tigers are plus-three in turnovers (five gained, two lost), and have outscored opponents by a 23-3 margin in points off turnovers. Conversely, in Mizzou's three losses, the Tigers are minus-five in turnovers (three gained, eight lost) and have been outscored 27-6 in points off turnovers.

	Mizzou		Opponents
Opponent	TO Gain	Pts. Off	TO Gain	Pts Off
UT-Martin	1	7	0	0
Wyoming	1	0	1	0
at Purdue	1	3	1	3
Georgia	1	0	3	10
at South Carolina	1	3	2	7
at Alabama	1	3	3	10
Memphis	2	13	0	0
Total	8	29	10	30
MU Wins	5	23	2	3
MU Losses	3	6	8	27

KNOX STANDING OUT AMONG SEC FRESHMEN

Freshman WR Jalen Knox has emerged as a big-play receiver for the Mizzou offense, and his performance thus far has him squarely in the mix among the best freshman pass-catchers in not only the SEC, but the nation. Through seven games, Knox – who has been forced into the role of Mizzou's number one receiver due to injuries to senior starters Emanuel Hall and Nate Brown – ranks second in the SEC among all freshmen receivers, and he's also fifth nationally among Power Five freshmen with 384 receiving yards. He's caught 20 passes in all, and has three receiving touchdowns, and is coming off a 104-yard game against Memphis, as he caught five passes for 104 yards and one score.
His score on Saturday was a 44-yarder from QB Drew Lock in the second quarter that proved to be one of the biggest momentum plays that keyed Mizzou's eventual 65-33 win. The Tigers had seen a 21-0 lead shrink to 21-17, but the offense struck for a big score one possession before Knox's touchdown, but the lead was only 27-17 before an interception by CB Adam Sparks gave MU the ball back. On the first play after the turnover, Knox took in a beautiful pass in stride from Lock and raced untouched to paydirt that quickly put Mizzou up, 34-17.
Knox has a pair of 100-yard games in his first seven games as a Tiger, notching a career-high 110 yards and a TD (five receptions) in Mizzou's win at Purdue earlier this season.

Name (School)	Rec.	Yds.	TDs
Rondale Moore (Purdue)	57	728	7
Jaylen Waddle (Alabama)	21	457	3
Arnon-Ra St. Brown (USC)	29	427	2
K.J. Hamler (Penn State)	22	401	5
Jalen Knox (Mizzou)	20	384	3
Justyn Ross (Clemson)	19	361	4
Jake Ferguson	21	231	3
Sage Surratt (Wake Forest)	22	313	2

CROCKETT APPROACHING MILESTONE

Mizzou junior RB Damarea Crockett enters Saturday's game with Kentucky just 40 yards shy of reaching 2,000 in his career. He would be just the 17th Mizzou player to ever rush for 2,000 career yards, but what is even more impressive is that he would be the third-fastest ever to reach that mark in a career based on carries.
Crockett has amassed his 1,960 career yards on just 323 carries, giving him a 6.1 yards per carry average. Only Henry Josey (eclipsed 2,000 on his 293rd carry) and Bob Stueber (281 carries) have reached 2.000 career yards faster.
Crockett's 6.1 yards per carry average will rank him third among all Mizzou rushers who have reached 2,000 career yards. He would become the first Mizzou rusher to reach 2,000 career yards since Russell Hansbrough in 2015. Crockett had 56 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries last time out vs. Memphis.

YES, HE McCANN!

Junior PK Tucker McCann has one of the nation's strongest legs, and he's put that on display the past couple of games. McCann, who is 15-of-21 on field goal tries this season through seven contests (71.4%), has three makes of 43 yards or further in the last three games, including a 57-yarder at South Carolina with just 1:23 left in the game that temporarily gave Mizzou a 35-34 lead and would have stood as the game-winner had Carolina not rallied for the 37-35 win.
McCann's 57-yarder (which cleared halfway up the uprights and likely would have been good from well over 60 yards, stands as the longest made field goal of the season in 2018, through games of Oct. 20. It was the second-longest kick in Mizzou history, trailing only a 62-yarder made by former Tiger barefoot kicker Tom Whelihan (1986 vs. Colorado). Here's a look at the longest field goals of the year so far:

Length	Kicker	Opponent
57	Tucker McCann, Jr. (Mizzou)	South Carolina (Oct. 6)
55	Alex Kessman, So. (Pittsburgh)	Syracuse (Oct. 6)
55	Wyatt Bryan, Sr. (Colorado State)	Arkansas (Sept. 8)
54	Eight Tied With	NA

McCann, a preseason All-SEC second-team pick by league media, also booted a 43-yarder at Alabama in his only attempt of the game. He stands fourth nationally coming into Kentucky with his 2.14 makes per game, and he's 2-of-3 from 50 yards or further, which makes him one of only five Mizzou kickers to have made two or more 50 yarders in his career. The list:

50+ Makes	Kicker	Makes
5	Tom Whelihan (1984-87)	62, 54, 53, 51, 50
4	Jeff Jacke (1988-92)	51, 51, 50, 50
2	Tucker McCann (2016-18)	57, 50
2	Andrew Baggett (2012-15)	52, 50
2	Jeff Wolfert (2006-08)	54, 51

McCann ranks seventh nationally (second in the SEC) in scoring per game, averaging 10.4 points per contest.

LIMITING THE GROUND GAME

Memphis entered last Saturday's game with Mizzou averaging 7.3 yards per carry, but Mizzou limited the visiting Tigers to just 4.7 yards per carry, second-worst on the year for Memphis. That is a trend that has been common with Mizzou's defense over the last 14 games. At South Carolina, Mizzou limited the Gamecocks to just 128 yards (2.7 avg.).
That strong rush defense continues a trend that started last season. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Mizzou is allowing just 3.9 yards per carry (2,996 yards on 771 attempts). Since allowing eventual national runner-up Georgia to rush for 370 on Oct. 14 a year ago, Mizzou has allowed just 1,659 yards on 529 carries over its last 14 games (3.13 average). For perspective, that 3.13 average would rank 12th nationally this season. It is no surprise that Mizzou has posted a 10-4 record in that span.

MIZZOU RATES HIGHLY IN FPI

Mizzou has played one of the more difficult schedules in the nation to this point in 2018, as the latest round of FPI (Football Power Index) rankings suggests. The Tigers have played the 24th-most difficult schedule to date (according to FPI), as one might expect with #1 Alabama and then-#2 Georgia lining the slate. In spite of the difficult schedule, Mizzou is ranked #23 in the latest FPI rankings (through games of Oct. 20).
Of course, the Tigers already have one of the best non-conference wins of the year among SEC schools, when Mizzou won a thriller at current FPI #24 Purdue, 40-37, on Sept. 15th. Other top SEC non-league wins this year include Auburn defeating current FPI #8 Washington; LSU defeating current FPI #15 Miami, Fla.; and Ole Miss defeating current FPI #20 Texas Tech.
For the stat nerds out there, FPI also has a rating for "team efficiencies" and this week's rankings lists Mizzou at #16 overall when combining offense, defense and special teams play. Mizzou's offense currently ranks 15th nationally, while the defense isn't far behind, at no. 27.

DEFENSE SLOWS HIGH-POWERED MEMPHIS

The Tiger defense did an outstanding job at containing a very productive and dangerous Memphis offense in check for most of the day. While the visiting Tigers did account for 33 points and 408 yards of offense (208 passing, 200 rushing), those were well below Memphis' season average coming into the game. Memphis entered last Saturday ranking seventh nationally in total offense (539.0 avg.), fifth in rushing (275.0 avg.), seventh in passing efficiency (168.73 rating) and ninth in scoring offense (43.9 avg.). Memphis was averaging 8.1 yards per play coming into the game, and they needed 81 plays to gain 408 yards, giving them a per-play average of just 5.0 against Mizzou. That 5.0 per play average would rank Memphis 112th for the season, comparatively.
Memphis QB Brady White had been one of the nation's most efficient passers coming into the game, as he ranked seventh nationally in passing efficiency coming into Saturday, with a 173.1 rating. He'd been intercepted just once in 185 attempts in his first seven games of 2018, but the Tigers picked him off twice Saturday, including a pick-six by CB Christian Holmes. Mizzou's defense sacked White three times in all and harassed him all day with constant pressure, forcing several scrambles that led to throw aways. White ended the game with a season-worst QB rating of just 94.79, after going just 15-of-37 passing for 208 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.