#14 Football Runs Past #13 Tennessee
11/11/2023 6:28:00 PM | Football
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cody Schrader had a game for the ages, rolling up the second most yards from scrimmage ever by a Tiger, and the Mizzou defense gave a suffocating performance as the #14 Missouri Tigers (8-2, 4-2) throttled the #13 Tennessee Volunteers (7-3, 3-3), 36-7, before a sellout crowd on Faurot Field.
After Tennessee took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, Missouri scored 33 unanswered points to snap a four-game losing streak to the Volunteers and evened the series at six wins apiece.
Schrader had 321 total yards – 205 rushing and 116 receiving – second only to the 333 yards Devin West amassed against Kansas in 1998 (319 rushing/14 receiving). In doing so, Schrader became the first player in Mizzou history to have 90 yards rushing and 90 yards receiving – and he did that in the first half (105/93). He also became only the fourth Tiger running back to have 100 receiving yards.
Tennessee was among the nation's stingiest against the run (97.3 yards/game), but the Tigers gashed them for 255.
In the second half, the Missouri defense pitched a shutout – forcing four punts and a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers that turned into touchdowns, and a missed 41-yard field goal on UT's final possession. A fumble by UT quarterback Joe Milton III was recovered by JC Carlies and led to a 21-yard touchdown pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden III. Just three plays later, Daylan Carnell scored the Tigers' final points when he intercepted Milton's third-down pass and returned it 38 yards for a TD.
Tennessee came into the game as the nation's number-3 rushing team, averaging 227.8 yards per game. But the Missouri defense limited the Vols to just 83 and 35 of those came on their last possession. Reserve linebackers Triston Newson and Chuck Hicks – playing for the injured Ty'Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey – led the charge. Newson had eight tackles including one for loss, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. Hicks added six stops and recovered a fumble. Missouri held Tennessee to its lowest point total since 2020 and held them nearly 120 total yards below their average.
In the first quarter, Missouri ran 24 plays to Tennessee's three, outgained the Volunteers 138-6 and had a 13:15-1:45 advantage in time of possession, but the score was 0-0. On the Tigers' second possession, which stretched into the second quarter, they held the ball for 20 plays and 10:55 on a 72-yard drive, but Cook was sacked for a loss of seven yards on third and goal at the UT 7, and Harrison Mevis came on to kick a 31-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Tennessee took the lead, 7-3, moments later on a 46-yard bomb on third down from Milton to Dont'e Thornton Jr. who made a juggling catch in the end zone closely defended by Kris Abrams-Draine.
Schrader started and finished Missouri's next drive. On the first play, he took a quick pass from Cook out to the right and scampered 43 yards to the Tennessee 32-yard line. On third and 7 at the 29, Cook found Mekhi Miller on a crossing pattern to the seven before Schrader rushed it in for a touchdown to put MU back ahead 10-7. It was Schrader's 11th rushing TD of the season.
Tennessee got the ball with 4:11 before halftime and moved into Missouri territory. With 30 seconds left, Milton hit RB Jaylen Wright with a short pass in the red zone. Newson jarred the ball loose and Hicks recovered at the MU 18. On the first play after the fumble, Schrader ran for 35 yards up the middle, putting him over 1,000 yards on the season. Cook passed to Mookie Cooper for 9, and Schrader burst up the middle again for 9 to put Mevis in position for a 46-yard field goal that gave the Tigers a 13-7 halftime lead. Improbably, the MU scoring drive used four plays – two of them on the ground – and covered 53 yards in just 16 seconds.
To start the second half, the Tigers forced the Vols three-and-out, then Cook went to work. He found a wide-open Marquis Johnson for a 48-yard gain to the UT 32, then Schrader gained 29 yards on four carries before Cook faked a pitch and ran three yards up the middle for a TD. A two-point conversion pass failed, and the Tigers led, 19-7.
Mizzou forced a three-and-out, then marched deep into Tennessee territory. On a third-and-10 at the UT 30, Schrader took a swing pass 23 yards to the 7, before Mevis kicked a 23-yard FG to increase the MU lead to 22-7.
After Carlies' fumble recovery at the MU 34, a facemask penalty prolonged the MU possession. Schrader then took off for 31 yards – topping 200 rushing yards on the day – and Cook hit Burden with the short pass that he took 21 yards into the endzone for a clinching TD. Carnell's pick-six was icing on the cake.
Cook completed 18-of-24 passes for 275 yards, one TD and one interception, and ran 12 times for 55 yards and a score, including several big third-down scrambles. On the afternoon, the Tigers converted 11-of-17 third downs and held the ball for 39:56.
UP NEXT
The Tigers close out their home schedule when they host the Florida Gators on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. The game will kick at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by ESPN.
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Limited reserved seats and Hill tickets are available for the Florida game by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or buying online.
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