COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 25 Missouri Tigers bounced back from their first loss of the season with one of the most dominant performances ever seen against a ranked opponent Saturday on Faurot Field. The Tigers scored 35 consecutive points on their way to a 45-17 Homecoming victory over No. 8 Florida before the 23rd consecutive sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium.
Mizzou’s 28-point advantage was its largest ever against a top-10 team, topping the previous mark of 21 in a 46-25 victory at No. 8 Southern California in 1976. It was also MU’s first win over a top-10 team since its 2023 Cotton Bowl victory over No. 7 Ohio State; its first regular-season win over a top-10 team since a 41-26 win at No. 7 Georgia in 2013, and its first at home since a 36-27 Homecoming victory over No. 3 Oklahoma in 2010.
“I just want to start by thanking the fans. What an unbelievable atmosphere I know homecoming was started here, and the tradition is awesome and unbelievable,” Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “I appreciate the home-field advantage that was created today. I thought our crowd was outstanding, stayed until the end. What an awesome win for our community, for our state and more importantly for our team. Really proud of our guys, our coaches and players. The way they went about their business this week, the focus that they had to bounce back after disappointment, I think was really impressive. We talked all week if we wanted to win this game, we needed to be a tough team. And tough teams stop the run, run the ball and cover kicks. And that's exactly what we did today.”
With the most lopsided win in the series history, the Tigers improved to 8-6 all-time against the Gators.
Mizzou quarterback Austin Simmons led the charge for the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC), completing 23 of 30 passes for a career-high 340 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jamal Roberts, who was bottled up for much of the game’s first three quarters, exploded late with a runs of 77 and 80 yards and finished with 24 carries for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Cayden Lee led the receiving corps with eight receptions for 110 yards, while Donovan Olugbode added six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown for the fifth straight game. His score came on a 47-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter.
Missouri’s defense stymied the Gators (4-1, 2-1) all day. Florida had just 325 total yards, and 94 of those came against MU reserves on the Gators’ final possession. The SEC’s leading rusher – Jadan Baugh – ran for just 13 yards on 12 carries. Tiger defenders had 11 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. Linebacker Nicholaus Rodriguez was the leading tackler with 11.
The game turned in the final two minutes of the first half. With the score knotted at 10-10, Simmons found Lee on a 29-yard pass down the left sideline, then on a perfect play-action fake, he connected with Caleb Goodie Sr. who made an over-the-shoulder catch in the back right corner of the end zone for a touchdown that gave MU a 17-10 lead. It was Goodie’s second reception of the season and first TD as a Tiger.
The MU defense forced a quick three-and-out and the Tigers took over at their own 19-yard line with 1:33 to play before halftime. Simmons completed passes of 10 and 16 yards to Lee, and an 11-yarder to TE Brett Norfleet to move the ball to the UF 32 from where Craig booted a 50-yard field goal on the final play of the half and a 20-10 Missouri lead.
The Tigers got the ball first in the third quarter and wasted no time in upping the lead to 27-10. On a third-and-seven at MU’s 28-yard line, Simmons hit Goodie for a 36-yard gain over the middle to the UF 36. A Roberts run, a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Gators and a 14-yard pass to Lee positioned Roberts for a five-yard scoring run off right tackle.
The Missouri defense forced another Florida punt, and after 10 plays, Craig kicked a 52-yard field goal to increase the Tiger lead to 30-10. The Gators managed just 19 total yards in the third quarter.
Then Roberts broke the game open, spinning out of a pile of tacklers and racing 77 yards to the Florida three-yard line. Two plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Roberts plunged into the endzone for a touchdown and Simmons tossed a two-point conversion pass to Lee for a 38-10 advantage. Before Roberts’ run, the two teams had combined to rush for 71 yards.
After another Florida punt, Roberts ran 80 yards on Mizzou’s first play for his third touchdown and the Tigers had a 45-10 lead, before the Gators scored a touchdown with just 47 seconds left in the game.
UP NEXT
The Tigers remain at home to host the Texas A&M Aggies at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10 at either 11 a.m. or 11:45 a.m. The game will be televised by either ABC or the SEC Network.
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