Heading into Saturday’s contest, the expectation by many analysts and fans was to witness Tennessee’s secondary come under fire by standout Missouri quarterback Drew Lock.
The Vols’ defensive backfield was ranked No. 3 nationally in terms of passing yards allowed, but Lock led the country in touchdowns through the air with 31.
While Lock did notch an impressive game against the Vols, throwing for 217 yards and four touchdowns, Missouri’s running attack also assailed Tennessee the entire game, as the Tigers totaled 433 rushing yards on the night.
“Obviously it starts with stopping the run,” former head coach Butch Jones said. “We weren’t able to stop the run. Way too many missed tackles, too many misfits. We have an opportunity to go in at halftime 17-17 and they’re trying to run the clock out. (We) give up a catastrophic big run like that, which you cannot do.”
It wasn’t just one player that led the way for the Tigers’ rushing attack against the Vols’ defense, either.
Sophomore running back Ish Witter torched the Vols on the ground, rushing for 216 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. Freshman tailback Larry Rountree carried the ball 18 times for 155 yards and a score.
Senior linebacker Colton Jumper was blunt when describing Tennessee’s defensive woes against the high-octane Missouri offense, not being able to pinpoint the exact issue that the Vols’ unit was having in stopping the Tigers.
“I’m not sure,” Jumper said. “If we knew, we’d correct it … We had been preparing for it all week. We knew they had a tough-to-defend offense. It does create problems communication-wise for when we get into formations.”
During the first quarter, Ish Witter scored for Missouri on a seven-yard carry to put the Tigers ahead 7-0, but Nigel Warrior responded with a 70-yard pick six to tie the contest at 7-7.
Drew Lock connected with Emanuel Hall on a touchdown pass from 31 yards out and the two squads swapped field goals before the midway point of the second quarter. McBride threw a 19-yard touchdown to Ethan Wolf, then Larry Rountree scored on a one-yard run, giving Missouri a 24-17 lead at the conclusion of the first half.
Three touchdown passes from Lock and two field goals by Tucker McCann helped Missouri decimate the Vols in the second half, defeating Tennessee 50-14. The Tigers finished with 659 total yards of offense, compared to the Vols’ 285.
McBride finished the game 16-of-32 passing for 139 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the team in rushing, notching 63 yards on 14 carries.
“I thought Will did some good things,” Jones said. “He stood in the pocket. He made good throws. He also had some freshman moments as well that we’ll continue to learn from and move on.”
The loss gives Tennessee a 4-6 overall record on the season and a 0-6 mark in SEC play.
“We have to remember this,” Jones said. “Remember this feeling and move on … The message is the same. We have two games left. It’s all about this football team and how we finish. We work exceptionally hard every single day and it’s very disappointing when you invest the way you invest each and every day to win on Saturday’s.
“That’s what it’s all about. It’s about these seniors. It’s about these players. It ain’t about the coach. It ain’t about nothing else.”
The Vols will host SEC opponent LSU on Nov. 18 at Neyland Stadium. LSU has a 7-3 record on the season, having defeated Arkansas 33-10 on Saturday. In order to be eligible for a bowl game this season, Tennessee will have to win out over the remaining two games (LSU, Vanderbilt) of the regular season.
