Missouri quarterback Brady Cook gets tackled by two UMass defenders during Saturday’s NCAA Football game in Amherst, Mass. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
| NCAA Football | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #21 Missouri (5-1) | 14 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 45 |
| Massachusetts (1-6) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
AMHERST, MA — It was one of the oddest road games any team would play this season.
No. 21-ranked Missouri playing at lowly Massachusetts in Week 7 of the NCAA football regular season. Nothing about it made sense.
But it turned out to be just the medicine Mizzou needed coming off last week’s embarrassing loss at Texas A&M.
The Tigers dominated from start to finish and ran the Minutemen right off the field, in what turned out to be a 45-3 win for Mizzou.
“I talked all week about responding, and there was a lot of different ways that this could have gone,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “They leaned into each other, the staff leaned into the players, and they fought back and responded the right way today. Whether it was running the football, whether it was throwing the ball, whether it was converting third downs, whether it’s the defense forcing takeaways, I thought they really played team football today. Proud of them for that.”
Star wideout Luther Burden III set to tone for the day, when he broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep on the second play of the game. Burden began lined up on the right side of the formation, then came in motion towards the left.
Quarterback Brady Cook took the snap and immediately handed the ball to Burden, who found room on near the left sideline, before cutting upfield and outrunning the entire UMass defense for a thrilling score that pumped up the entire Missouri sideline.
“He set the tone,” Drinkwitz said. “Could have been an easy way for us to not really respond. I don’t think we blocked anybody on that play, but for him just to say, ‘I’m going to set the tone as a guy that everybody looks up to.’ ”
The Tigers stopped UMass on its first drive and got the ball right back. They then put on a more traditional scoring drive to get their next set of points.
Missouri went 80 yards on 13 plays and took more than seven minutes off the clock, before finally punching it into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run by Marcus Carroll. The senior from Union City, Ga., scored on Mizzou’s next drive as well — punching in a 4-yard touchdown run that put the Tigers up 21-0.
Carroll finished the day with 91 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He started the game and led the Tigers in carries while starter Nate Noel sat out with back tightness.
Mizzou RB Marcus Carroll carried the ball 15 times for 91 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Tigers’ 45-3 win over UMass on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
UMass scored its only points of the day on a field goal midway through the second quarter. But the Minutemen had a chance to add on more late in the first half, when they used a fake punt to extend a drive that went deep into Mizzou territory in the final minute of the first half.
The home team was in field goal range, but looking for more when quarterback Taisun Phommachanh fired a third-down pass that was intercepted by Mizzou linebacker Corey Flagg, Jr.
The grad student transfer from Florida returned it 80 yards to the UMass 15-yard line to help set up a Missouri field goal that instead of possibly sending the game into halftime 21-10, with UMass getting the ball first to start the third quarter, gave Mizzou a 24-3 halftime lead.
“I mean, talk about a huge momentum play,” Drinkwitz said. “It was going to be 21 to 10 or six, and instead, we end the half 24-3, which is exactly what you want to do in the swing eight (final four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second).”
Mizzou LB Corey Flagg, Jr. celebrates his interception and 80-yard return during the second quarter of Saturday’s NCAA Football game against UMass. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
Missouri continued its domination in the third and fourth quarters. So much so, that the Tigers were able to rest many of their starters and sub in many of their reserve players.
Reserve wide receiver Joshua Manning caught a 61-yard touchdown pass — his first score as a college player — on a play similar to Burden’s touchdown, only instead of handing the ball to Manning, Cook threw him a short pass. Manning did the rest.
Tight end Brett Norfleet scored Missouri’s final touchdown, on an 8-yard pass from Cook, late in the third that ended any hopes of some kind of miracle UMass comeback.
“Your confidence comes from your preparation — and then your performance when you execute,” Drinkwitz said. “There was a lot of really good executed plays today, and I think guys made plays within the scheme. Hopefully it’s something we can build on.”
Missouri is now 5-1 on the season and will likely move up some when the weekly Top 25 football polls come out on Sunday and Monday.
Next week, the Tigers will be back home and back playing in the Southeastern Conference, with a matchup against Auburn. Kickoff at Faurot Field on Saturday is slated for 11 a.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | MIZ | UMASS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 14:03 | MIZ – Burden,Luther 61 yd run (Craig,Blake kick), 2 plays, 63 yards, TOP 00:51 | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | 05:15 | MIZ – Carroll,Marcus 3 yd run (Craig,Blake kick), 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:10 | 14 | 0 |
| 2nd | 11:02 | MIZ – Carroll,Marcus 4 yd run (Craig,Blake kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:37 | 21 | 0 |
| 2nd | 06:00 | UMASS – Lurie,Jacob 28 yd field goal 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:02 | 21 | 3 |
| 2nd | 00:00 | MIZ – Craig,Blake 42 yd field goal 2 plays, -10 yards, TOP 00:08 | 24 | 3 |
| 3rd | 10:09 | MIZ – Carroll,Marcus 35 yd run (Craig,Blake kick), 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 02:28 | 31 | 3 |
| 3rd | 08:30 | MIZ – Manning,Joshua 63 yd pass from Cook,Brady (Craig,Blake kick) 1 plays, 63 yards, TOP 00:12 | 38 | 3 |
| 3rd | 01:24 | MIZ – Norfleet,Brett 8 yd pass from Cook,Brady (Craig,Blake kick) 3 plays, 48 yards, TOP 01:41 | 45 | 3 |
MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | Auburn | Columbia, Mo. / Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network |
| October 26, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Away | #7 Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | #18 Oklahoma | Columbia, Mo. / Faurot Field | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 16, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Away | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 23, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Away | Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 30, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | Arkansas | Columbia, Mo. / Faurot Field | Tiger Radio Network |