Saturday, December 19
Starkville, MS
2:30 P.M. CT
University of Missouri
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Mississippi State
Tigers Wrap Up Regular Season Saturday in First Visit to Starkville
12/15/2020 10:47:00 AM | Football
Tigers will look for sixth conference win for just eighth time in program history.
| Mizzou Closes Regular Season with Mississippi State in StarkVegas | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH | STATS |
| at Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | Saturday, Dec. 19 | 2:30 PM | SEC Network (alt) | Stats |
#NewZou Game Notes
Mizzou Closes Regular Season with Mississippi State in StarkVegas
- Mizzou Football (5-4, 5-4 SEC) closes its 2020 regular season this Saturday (Dec. 19) as it travels to SEC West foe Mississippi State for a 2:30 p.m. (CT) kick on SEC Network Alternate. Mizzou is in search of its sixth win, which would match its second-most ever for SEC wins in a single season, coming in just behind a 7-1 mark posted by both the 2013 and 2014 teams en route to SEC East division titles. A victory would ensure a fourth-straight season of at least six wins for only the sixth time in the AP Poll Era (since 1936).
- Despite sneaking into the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings last week, the Tigers dropped a 49-14 decision to No. 9 Georgia last Saturday (Dec. 12) to close out its 2020 home slate. The Tigers finished 4-2 at home this season to register their seventh-straight winning season on Faurot Field. Mizzou was tied with Georgia 14-14 late in the second quarter, but UGA scored touchdowns on its next five drives to put the game away, scoring 35 unanswered points.
- Mississippi State, under first-year head coach Mike Leach, is coming off of a 24-10 loss to Auburn in Starkville last Saturday.
- Saturday's matchup pits a pair of first-year SEC head coaches in Mizzou's Eliah Drinkwitz and the aforementioned Leach. Mizzou is 2-1 all-time against Mike Leach-coached teams, dating back to the Big 12 days when Leach coached at Texas Tech. The Tigers dropped a 2002 matchup, 52-38, in Lubbock before winning 62-31 in 2006 and 38-21 the next year in Lubbock. Mizzou has averaged 46.0 points per game in three contests against Leach-coached teams.
- Mizzou and Mississippi State have played six common opponents this year (LSU, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Georgia). Mizzou is 4-2 in those games with its only losses coming to Top 10 ranked Georgia and Alabama. Mississippi State is 2-4 with wins over Vanderbilt and LSU.
A Chance for Six SEC Wins
- Under first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, Mizzou has exceeded the expectations that seemingly the entire college football world had for his program in year one, going 5-4 through the season's first nine games. Picked sixth in the SEC East, many around college football thought Mizzou would only win two or three games against one of the nation's toughest schedules, but the Tigers enter the final week with a chance to get to six wins. Should Mizzou accomplish six conference wins, it would mark a rare feat for Mizzou.
- Mizzou has won six SEC games twice since joining the league, both times winning seven in 2013 and 2014 as part of SEC East Division Championships. Should Mizzou get to six conference wins, it would be just the eighth time in 113 seasons of league it has accomplished that feat. Below is a snapshot.
• 1960: 7-0 (Big 8)
• 1965: 6-1 (Big 8)
• 1969: 6-1 (Big 8)
• 2007: 7-1 (Big 12)
• 2010: 6-2 (Big 12)
• 2013: 7-1 (SEC)
• 2014: 7-1 (SEC) - Of course, Mizzou had the opportunity to play 10 conference games this season, the most-ever in a single season, but it shouldn't diminish the accomplishment considering Mizzou plays in the nation's premier conference and had five games against Top 25 teams and six against teams receiving votes in a major poll at the time of the matchup.
Series with Mississippi State
- Mizzou and Mississippi State have played only three time previously, with the most-recent meeting coming during the 2015 season on a Thursday night matchup at Mizzou's Memorial Stadium. Mizzou lost that game on a rain-soaked Faurot Field, 31-13, thanks to a 27-of-40 performance from current Dallas Cowboy QB Dak Prescott, as he threw for 303 yards and four scores in the Mizzou loss. Mizzou QB Drew Lock started his fifth career game that night. Senior LB Kentrell Brothers continued his All-America caliber season, notching a game-high 14 tackles to pad his nation-leading total. He also forced a fumble, and registered his third block of the season on a second-quarter punt to tie for the national lead.
- Before the 2015 meeting, each of the first two outings were won by Mizzou. The first-ever meeting was a 14-3 Tiger win in Jackson, Miss., Oct. 3, 1981, when MSU was ranked ninth nationally. That was the fourth win as part of a 5-0 start to the 1981 season that eventually saw Warren Powers' troops finish 8-4 overall and Tangerine Bowl champions.
- Three seasons later, Mississippi State returned the game and made its first appearance on Faurot Field, with Mizzou pulling away for an impressive 47-30 victory in what ended as a 3-7-1 season and the final year on the sidelines for Powers.
Maybe the Best Year One Ever for A Mizzou Coach?
- A win Saturday against Mississippi State would certainly put Mizzou's Eliah Drinkwitz in the conversation for the best first year ever for a Mizzou Football head coach. We already touched on the rarity of winning six conference games, but six wins has also been an elusive mark for first-year Mizzou head coaches during the AP Era (1936-present).
- The only Mizzou head coach ever to win six games during his first season at the helm of the program was Warren Powers, who went 8-4 in 1978. Powers and Mizzou finished the season ranked 15th nationally after defeating LSU in the Liberty Bowl. Powers' Tigers also knocked off fifth-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, 3-0, to open that season, and second-ranked Nebraska, 35-31, to close the regular season. They played five Top 20 teams that year and went 4-1 in those games with the only loss coming to top-ranked Alabama during week two.
- Below is a look at each first-year Mizzou head coach since the AP Poll Era began in 1936:
• Eliah Drinkwitz (2020): 5-4
• Barry Odom (2016): 4-8
• Gary Pinkel (2001): 4-7
• Larry Smith (1994): 3-8-1
• Bob Stull (1989): 2-9
• Woody Widenhofer (1985): 1-10
• Warren Powers (1978): 8-4
• Al Onofrio (1971): 1-10
• Dan Devine (1958): 5-4-1
• Frank Broyles (1957): 5-4-1
• Chauncey Simpson (1943): 3-5
• Don Faurot (1935): 3-3-3 - Keep in mind, Drinkwitz has done this against an all-SEC slate and still has one game remaining. Should be get to six wins Saturday, he would join Powers as the only Mizzou coaches to do that in year one.
IS COACH DRINK THE SEC COACH OF THE YEAR? WE THINK HE IS.
- After winning five of its last seven games with its only losses coming to Top 10 Florida and Georgia in that span, Mizzou is arguably one of the SEC's hottest teams coming into Saturday's game at Mississippi State. Knowing what Mizzou is doing week in and week out, it's time to start the buzz for first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz as the possible SEC Coach of the Year.
- In his first year with the program, he has taken this year's team and got it 100 percent bought into his vision and culture, and the results are evident on the field. Mizzou already has its most SEC wins since 2014, and is assured of the second-most SEC wins in program history. He's done all of this with a team that lost five of its final six games a year ago, scuffling offensively averaging just 11.8 points per game during that span, resulting in a season-ending coaching change. This year, Mizzou is averaging 26.1 points per game.
- When the revised schedule was released back in August, many national pundits picked the Tigers to win two or three games and finish six in the SEC East. Below is a snapshot:
- 247 Sports: 3 wins projected
- Saturday Down South: 2 wins projected
- Cover 3 Podcast: 3 wins projected - Well guess what?! Mizzou has five wins with one game yet to play. Five wins is already the second-most by a first-year Mizzou head coach, behind only Warren Powers, who went 8-4 in his 1978 debut.
- When assessing the job of a head coach, many look at the following areas:
- Has the team gotten better? That is a resounding yes. Mizzou dropped its first two games of the year to top-ranked Alabama and at then nationally ranked Tennessee. Since that point, Mizzou is 5-2 and has won games in a variety of different ways.
- Has the team won close games? Again, a resounding yes. In fact, Mizzou is the only SEC team with a record better than .500 despite allowing more points than its scored on the season. Mizzou pulled out one-score victories against defending national champion LSU (45-41), a 17-10 win at South Carolina while overcoming an injury-riddled offensive line in that game, and the walk-off win over Arkansas. Mizzou also bested Kentucky 20-10 in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.
- Has the team overcome adversity? Even more so than the first two, this is a resounding yes as well. Mizzou has had just three games this season played on the originally-scheduled date and has had seven schedule changes, most of which have come at the last possible moment. For example, Mizzou was set to face Arkansas on Nov. 28 before having to postpone that game and host Vanderbilt that Saturday instead. Mizzou has also had seven transfers and seven opt outs and is starting a left tackle who joined the program in late July. And Coach Drinkwitz is starting a freshman quarterback in a league that usually takes freshman QBs to the woodshed. And the Tigers overcame the loss of All-SEC DT Kobie Whiteside for five games. And the Tigers beat South Carolina despite being down to 51 scholarship players. We could keep going, but you get the point. The Tigers have been below 60 available scholarship players five times this season, including last Saturday vs. Georgia, and will be faced with that again this week.
BOLTON IS THE NATION'S BEST LINEBACKER, DON'T @ US
- As national award season arrives, allow us to take this time to launch a campaign for Nick Bolton to be considered for basically every national defensive player of the year award. He is undoubtedly Mizzou's best defensive player at any position, and has been a workhorse all season for Coach Drinkwitz and DC Ryan Walters, playing in all nine games, despite missing much of the second half against Arkansas after being ejected for targeting. Here are the awards he is currently in consideration for with two games still to play:
o Nagurski Trophy
o Butkus Award
o Bednarik Award
o Lott IMPACT Trophy
o Jason Witten Man of the Year - Bolton was named as one of five finalists for the 36th Annual Butkus Award®, given to college football's top linebacker.
- With a skillset and a track-record known nationally coming into the season, Bolton has not disappointed during his junior campaign when other players with similar credentials were opting out. A projected first-round draft pick, Bolton has done plenty to impress NFL scouts this season.
- Bolton made eight tackles last week against Georgia.
- Against Vanderbilt, he was just flying all over the field while stuffing the stat sheet. He had nine tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and a pass breakup while sitting much of the second half as Mizzou had put the game away, keying
- Mizzou's first SEC shutout since 2018. All nine of his tackles last Saturday were solo tackles.
- He now ranks 27th nationally and 15th in Power 5 in tackles per game (10.00). That mark is sixth-best in the SEC as well. Keep in mind he ranks that highly despite not playing the second half in either the Vanderbilt or Arkansas games.
- Bolton has 19 more tackles than the next-closest Mizzou defender with 88 on the year (66 solo), and leads the team in tackles for loss (7.0).
- He is fifth in the SEC in tackles for loss as well.
- Bolton was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week following Mizzou's win over Kentucky, posting seven tackles in the dominant defensive performance, while the seven tackles may not seem like many by Bolton's lofty standards, he tallied those seven solo tackles among just 28 team tackles against Kentucky as the Wildcats ran just 36 offensive plays.
- Since Oct. 12, 2019, after Mizzou senior captain LB Cale Garrett went down with a season-ending injury, Bolton has tallied 159 tackles over the last 16 games (9.9 per-game average).
- The last Tiger to average better than 9.9 tackles per game over a similar span was LB Kentrell Brothers during his All-American 2015 season when he led the nation with 152 tackles. Brothers averaged 12.7 tackles per game that year and 11.8 over the final 16 games of his career.
- Bolton's 17 tackles at Tennessee are tied for the second-most at Mizzou since the turn of the century and are the most since a 20-takcle performance by LB Sean Weatherspoon against Buffalo on Sept. 20, 2008.
- Bolton has entered the prestigious 21-MPH club at Mizzou as the strength staff tracks each players' top speed. At 6-0, 235 pounds, Bolton is by far the heaviest player on the team to run faster than 21 MPH, showing why he has NFL scouts turning their heads to watch him play.
LAST TIME OUT
- No. 25 Mizzou Football lost to ninth-ranked Georgia, 49-14, last Saturday afternoon (Dec. 12) at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers tied the game, 14-14, late in the second quarter, but Georgia scored on its next five drives to halt Mizzou's three-game winning streak. The game marked just Mizzou's second loss in the last seven games.
- Senior RB Larry Rountree III scored his 38th career rushing TD, good for third-most in school history, in the loss. He has seven scores over his last three games. Mizzou struggled to get on track against a stout Bulldog defense that limited the Tigers to 200 total yards.
- Georgia got on the board early thanks to a rare interception for the Missouri offense. The Dawgs ran it six times and covered 23 yards to take a 7-0 lead with 11:56 remaining in the first quarter. Mizzou then had a promising drive stall out near midfield and Georgia then converted a third-and-eight into a 37-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead with 2:40 remaining in the quarter.
- Mizzou then got back in the game, using a trick play that looked familiar to plenty of Mizzou fans when playing Georgia. Mizzou ran a double pass as WR Keke Chism found TE Messiah Swinson for a gain of 29 yards down to the UGA two-yard line. Mizzou fans can remember in the 2013 win at Georgia, Mizzou ran a similar play from Bud Sasser to L'Damian Washington for a score. QB Connor Bazelak then walked in for a score to cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter.
- Thanks to redshirt senior DB Mason Pack's blocked punt which was recovered by freshman LB Will Norris, Mizzou tied the game at 14-14 on Larry Rountree's 12th rushing TD of the season with 1:20 remaining in the half. Georgia answered by going 75 yards in six plays for a score to take a 21-14 lead into the intermission.
- Georgia scored on its opening possession of the second half on a third-down pass from JT Daniel to George Pickens from 31 yards out. The Bulldogs tacked on another third-down TD on a third-and-two, as Zamir Rice punched it in from 43 yards out to extend the lead to 35-14 to put the game away. That was part of five straight TD drives for UGA.
- Mizzou senior RB Larry Rountree III scored his 12th touchdown of the season, a new single-season career-high. It was his sixth straight game with a rushing TD and seventh in the last three games. He moved into a tie for third on Mizzou's all-time career rushing TD list with 38 scores.
- Sophomore S Martez Manuel was disruptive all day with seven tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a 1.0 sack.
- Junior LB Nick Bolton finished with eight tackles.
- Sophomore LB Devin Nicholson posted eight tackles.
- Sophomore DE Trajan Jeffcoat tallied his sixth sack of the season, the most for a Mizzou DE since Charles Harris' 9.0 in 2016.
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