Mizzou Football Routs West Virginia in Home Opener

Saturday, September 7

Columbia, Mo.

11:00 AM

University of Missouri

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West Virginia

1-1

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2nd

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4th

West Virginia

Mizzou Tigers

9/7/2019 3:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes

Tigers get in the win column behind dominant showing in home opener

Photo Gallery

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football entered the win column in dominant fashion, defeating West Virginia 38-7, Saturday to break in the newly renovated Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

Albert Okwuegbunam caught two touchdowns to capitalize on a disciplined defensive performance in Mizzou's home opener. The Tigers intercepted three passes on the day while holding the Mountaineers to 171 yards of total offense.

The defense intercepted three passes, forced a missed field goal, and a turnover on downs on a fourth-down attempt. All four of Mizzou's offensive touchdowns came on the ensuing possession.

Top Performers

Albert Okwuegbunam hauled in two passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns
Running back Larry Rountree III came within one yard of eclipsing the century mark, totaling 99 yards on the ground with 18 carries.
Making his home debut, quarterback Kelly Bryant tossed three touchdowns – finishing the day with 150 yards on 17 completions.
Linebacker Nick Bolton intercepted the first tow passes of his career, returning one for a touchdown. The last time a Mizzou player intercepted two passes in a game was Cam Hinton in the 2018 Liberty Bowl against Oklahoma State (Dec. 31, 2018). Bolton tied for the team-high seven tackles, with two being for a loss.
Senior linebacker Cale Garrett also led the team with seven tackles.

A Quick Recap

Mizzou took a two-score advantage with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter. With West Virginia driving deeper into Tiger territory, sophomore linebacker Nick Bolton intercepted Kendall Austin's pass to give Mizzou possession. A penalty negated Bolton's return into Mountaineer territory, but Kelly Bryant and the offense wouldn't need the extra yardage.

Running back Larry Rountree III gained 19 yards on the first play of the drive, and a West Virginia pass interference call moved Mizzou to just outside of the redzone. Bryant hit tight end Albert Okwuegbunam at the goal line from 26-yards out for a touchdown to put Mizzou up 10-0.

Mizzou's defense continued to excel in pass coverage with senior safety Ronnell Perkins intercepting Austin's pass on West Virginia's ensuing drive. Rountree would punch the ball in from 10-yards out to conclude an 11-play, 59-yard drive to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. The 10-yard scoring strike from Rountree pushed him over the 2,000-yard career threshold – making him Mizzou's 17th 2,000-yard rusher.

With the Mountaineers approaching the end zone midway through the second quarter, senior linebacker Cale Garrett burst through the A gap on third and 10 to bring Austin down in the backfield. Garrett's eight-yard sack kept West Virginia off the scoreboard, as Evan Staley's 45-yard field goal attempt went wide to the left.

The Tigers were again able to capitalize on missed opportunities from the Mountaineers, driving 72-yards downfield on the ensuing possession to go up 24-0. Okwuegbunam and Bryant connected on a 16-yard pass with 5:36 to go before halftime.

West Virginia elected to go for it on a fourth down in the final 2:11 of the half. Needing five yards for the first down, Kobie Whiteside and a host of Tigers sacked Austin for a nine-yard loss at the Mountaineer 47-yard line. Working with a short clock, Bryant orchestrated an 11-play, 47-yard drive – hitting Barrett Banister for a three-yard touchdown to give Mizzou a 31-0 lead with 23 seconds left in the half.

Already with an interception on an already career day, Bolton returned a 20-yard interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for Mizzou's last points of the day.

West Virginia would finally reach the endzone on its penultimate drive of the day, scoring on a 46-yard touchdown pass.

Team Notes

For the first time since 1993, Mizzou welcomed a Power Five opponent to Faurot Field for its home opener (defeated Illinois 31-3 on Sept. 11, 1993).
Saturday's game marked the seventh all-time meeting between Mizzou and West Virginia. The all-time series between Mizzou and West Virginia is now 4-3-0, in favor of Mizzou.
Saturday's game marked the first time since 2016 that Mizzou faced a Big 12 team during the regular season (at West Virginia), and the first at home since Texas Tech in 2011 when Missouri was still in the conference.
Senior K Tucker McCann passed Brad Smith on Mizzou's all-time scoring list to rank third (291 total points).
Mizzou improves to 94-31-4 (.744) in home openers in program history and extends its home-opener winning streak to 14 games.
The Tigers have held their opponents scoreless in the first quarter of their home opener for back-to-back seasons.
Mizzou has now recorded double-digit offensive scoring in the first quarter of its last eight home openers.

Offensive Notes

Mizzou RS senior QB Kelly Bryant was victorious in his home debut for the Tigers. He is the sixth consecutive Mizzou QB to win in their Faurot Field debut, dating back to Chase Daniel in 2006.
Bryant is the first Mizzou QB to throw at least three touchdowns in their first start at Faurot Field since Daniel threw for five against Murry State on Sept. 2, 2006.
RS sophomore WR Barrett Banister caught his first career TD in the second quarter of Saturday's game. He now has a reception in five consecutive games dating back to Tennessee last season.
Junior RB Larry Rountree III scored a 10-yard TD in the second quarter and now has TDs in three consecutive games dating back to last year's finale at the Liberty Bowl.
Rountree's 99 rushing yards pushed him over 2,000 rushing yards in his career. He is the 18th 2,000-yard rusher in program history.
Rountree is the fourth-fastest player to rush for 2,000-yards in a career, crossing the threshold on his 374th carry. He trails only Crockett (334), Henry Josey (293) and Bob Steuber (281).
Sophomore RB Tyler Badie set a career-high in rushing yards with 71.
Junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam caught two TDs, including the 19th of his career. That is enough to move him into sole possession of 5th place in school history, breaking the tie he briefly held with Justin Gage and Martin Rucker.
It was the sixth multi-touchdown game for Okwuegbunam in his career and the first since October 20, 2018 against Memphis.

Defensive Notes

Sophomore LB Nick Bolton and senior S Ronnell Perkins both recorded their first career interceptions in the game's first quarter.
Bolton's interception in the first quarter was Mizzou's first pick by a LB since Nov. 18, 2017, in a 45-17 victory over Vanderbilt (42-yard pick by Brandon Lee).
Bolton's interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter was the Tigers' first defensive score since Akial Byers recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the Tigers' 38-0 victory over Arkansas last season.
Bolton is the first player since Sean Weatherspoon (recorded a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 52-42 victory over Illinois on Aug. 30, 2008) to record two interceptions in the same game with at least one being a touchdown return.
Senior LB Cale Garrett tallied his fifth-career sack in the second quarter, his first since Nov. 11, 2018 (recorded one sack in a 33-28 victory over Vanderbilt).
Junior DLs Chris Turner and Kobie Whiteside each recorded their third-career sacks in the third quarter, Turner's first since Sept. 15, 2018 (recorded one sack in a 40-37 victory over Purdue) and Whiteside's first since Oct. 13, 2018 (recorded one sack in a 39-10 loss against Alabama).
Mizzou's defense posted double-digit tackles for a loss (13) for the first time since Oct. 6, 2018 (recorded 10 TFLs in a 37-35 loss to South Carolina).

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