COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cody Schrader ran for two touchdowns and Luther Burden III had two TD receptions as the Missouri Tigers (5-6) rolled to a 45-14 non-conference victory over the New Mexico State Aggies (4-6) on a chilly senior night at Faurot Field.
The Tigers scored on five of their first six possessions and didn’t punt until only 2:35 remained in the game. Following the clock hitting zero, Mizzou’s 21 seniors – honored in a pregame ceremony – made their way into the north end hill, grabbed their rocks from the Rock M in the grass and were carried off the field by their teammates in accordance with the senior-night tradition.
Quarterback Brady Cook completed 19-of-27 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns and ran seven times for 71 yards before giving way in the fourth quarter to backups Sam Horn and Jack Abraham.
On New Mexico State’s first possession, Missouri stopped the Aggies on a fourth-down play, then marched 64 yards to paydirt with Burden taking a swing pass 12 yards from Cook and hurdling a defender at the goal line to put the Tigers ahead 7-0. Along the way Mizzou converted a 4th-and-5 with a 13-yard pass to Barrett Bannister and a third-and-five with a seven-yard pass to Tauskie Dove.
The next time the Tigers got the ball, they put together a 17-play, 81-yard drive that lasted 6:33 and culminated with a one-yard TD run up the middle by Schrader. For the game, Schrader rushed 18 times for 70 yards.
Redshirt freshman tight end Ryan Hoerstkamp had a memorable first reception as a Tiger on Mizzou’s next possession. He took a pass from Cook on a crossing pattern and used a block from Schrader to run 32 yards for a touchdown to up the MU lead to 21-0.
For the sixth time this season, the Tigers held their opponent to less than 120 yards total offense in the first half, with New Mexico State only able to muster 112 yards before the break. New Mexico State joined Vanderbilt (120), Kentucky (119), South Carolina (104), Abilene Christian (51) and Florida (33) with first-half offensive troubles against the Tigers.
Missouri opened the third quarter with a 69-yard drive that led to a five-yard touchdown run by Schrader. On the drive, Bannister caught three passes for 37 yards. He finished the game with career-high receiving numbers for the second straight week with seven receptions good for 91 yards.
After the Aggies scored to make the score 28-7, Missouri put together a 70-yard drive that included a 32-yard pass from Cook to freshman running back Tavorus Jones for his first career reception. Four plays later Burden took a short pass from Cook and dashed 12 yards for his second score of the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Daylan Carnell intercepted a Diego Pavia pass over the middle and sprinted 40 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Missouri lead to 42-7. Two plays later, Jalani Williams made a diving interception – the first of his career – of backup QB Gavin Frakes at the New Mexico State 42-yard line.
True freshman Horn entered the game and led the Tigers to a 43-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis. After Horn had scrambled for a 10-yard gain, it appeared that his first career pass was a 29-yard completion to Bannister down to the two-yard line, but the play was nullified by an ineligible man downfield penalty on Mizzou.
Frakes scored a late TD on a 13-yard run for the Aggies after a Jones fumble at the MU 44-yard line.
The Tigers finished with 443 total yards to the Aggies’ 259 and converted on third and fourth down 10 out of 16 times.
UP NEXT
The Tigers close out the regular season hosting the Arkansas Razorbacks in the annual Battle Line Rivalry on Friday, Nov. 25. Game time at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field will be 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS.
2022 FOOTBALL TICKETS
Single-game and group tickets are available for Mizzou’s remaining 2022 home games by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting the football tickets page online.
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