COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Tigers (4-5, 2-4) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take the lead, but the Kentucky Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) rallied for a late score and then survived a bizarre punt play to escape Columbia with a 21-17 victory.
Kentucky’s winning touchdown came with 5:18 to play. It appeared that the Wildcats had scored on a 21-yard pass from Will Levis to Barion Brown, but Kentucky was called for holding on the play. Then MU’s Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. recovered a fumble by Chris Rodriguez at the 17-yard line, but the call was overturned after video review. After a false start penalty moved the ball back, Levis found Dane Key who split two defenders to get into the endzone with a 22-yard scoring toss.
Missouri went three and out on its next possession but seemed to get a big break with 2:32 to play. With third-and-three at the Kentucky 43-yard line, Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire swarmed Rodriguez for a loss of two. Colin Goodfellow lined up to punt, but Cade Degraw’s snap sailed over his head and rolled inside the five-yard line. Goodfellow scooped up the ball near the goal line as he was grabbed by Mizzou’s Will Norris while shanking a short kick out of bounds. But MU was called for roughing the kicker and Kentucky wound up with a first down at the MU 44.
Missouri got the ball one more time with 0:38 to play and no timeouts.
Levis got the Wildcats off to a fast start on their first play of the game, hitting Brown for 39 yards down the left sideline. Later, facing third-and-11, Levis avoided the blitz and found Jordan Dingle over the middle for 17 yards to the MU 16, and four plays later, he found Key in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown.
Missouri responded with a 49-yard drive that resulted in a 44-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis, to close to within 7-3, while UK’s Matt Ruffolo missed field goals of 43 and 47 yards in the first half.
On Missouri’s first possession of the second half, the Tigers had to punt, but Jack Stonehouse dropped the snap and was forced to run. He came up one yard short of a first down at the MU 34-yard line. Kentucky responded with a 34-yard drive, converting a third-and-5 at the 19 with an 18-yard pass from Levis to Tayvion Robinson, followed by a one-yard scoring toss from Levis to Dingle.
The Tigers took advantage of a short field, getting the ball near midfield after Kentucky had to punt into the wind. Brady Cook connected with Mekhi Miller for a 25-yard completion to the 15. They kept the ball on the ground for the next five plays, with Cook keeping on fourth down for a one-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 14-9.
After Kentucky went three-and-out, Cook took the Tigers right back down the field to take the lead. He hit Luther Burden III for 35 yards, Barrett Banister for 11 on a big third-down conversion, then called his own number for a 20-yard TD run. Cook connected with Tauskie Dove on a two-point pass to make the score 17-14 with 8:07 to play moving the score to 17-14.
The game was a defensive slugfest. Kentucky managed just 242 yards total offense slightly more than Missouri’s 232. The Tigers sacked Levis six times – their highest total since the 2021 season opener against Central Michigan – and had 11 tackles for loss, while the Wildcats sacked Cook twice, had 9 tackles for loss, and recovered two fumbles.
UP NEXT
The Tigers play their final road game of the season next week when they travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for an SEC East matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers on Nov. 12. Game time at Neyland Stadium will be 11 a.m. CT and the game will be televised by either CBS or ESPN (network to be determined).
