Georgia on Tap for Mizzou Football in Home Finale

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WITH BIG MO ON THEIR BACK, TIGERS HOST GEORGIA IN 2020 HOME FINALE

• Mizzou Football (5-3, 5-3 SEC) is in search of its sixth win in seven games as it welcomes No. 11/8/10 Georgia (6-2, 6-2 SEC) to Columbia for the final game at Memorial Stadium in 2020. The game will kick at 11 a.m. on SEC Network.
• Mizzou has won three straight games and five of its last six after a dramatic, 50-48 win over SEC cross-division rival Arkansas last Saturday. Mizzou’s five SEC wins are its most since going 7-1 while winning back-to-back SEC East titles in 2013 and 2014 as first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz has arguably done one of the nation’s finest coaching jobs this season.  A win Saturday would move Mizzou into a tie with UGA for second place in the SEC East.
• Georgia was idle last week after its originally scheduled game with Vanderbilt was postponed to Dec. 19 due to COVID-19 concerns within the Vanderbilt program. Georgia’s last game was a 45-16 win at South Carolina on Nov. 28.
• The game with Georgia was originally scheduled for Nov. 14 before it was postponed for virus concerns within Mizzou’s program.

MIZZOU’S ALL-TIME SERIES WITH GEORGIA

• Georgia leads the all-time series against Mizzou, 8-1, including 4-0 in Columbia.
• Mizzou’s first-ever SEC game came against the then-No. 7-ranked Bulldogs in 2012. Mizzou took a 20-17 lead in that game with 2:39 to play in the third quarter before Georgia scored the final 24 points to earn a 41-20 win in Columbia.
• Mizzou’s lone win over Georgia came in 2013 en route to its first-ever SEC East championship. Mizzou went into Athens that year and earned a 41-26 win, scoring the game’s final 13 points. Mizzou improved to 7-0 with that win.
• Mizzou lost last year’s game vs. Georgia, 27-0. Now Mizzou’s starting QB, but then a freshman reserve, Connor Bazelak, came off the bench in last year’s game at Georgia and went 8-for-12 for 64 yards in the first lengthy playing time of his career.
• Georgia has won the series’ last six games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Freshman K Harrison Mevis made a 32-yard field goal as time expired to help Mizzou Football (5-3, 5-3 SEC) complete a 50-48 Tiger win over SEC West permanent cross-division rival Arkansas (3-6, 3-6 SEC), 50-48, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 5) at Memorial Stadium. Mizzou trailed by 14 in the fourth quarter but outscored the Razorbacks 24-8 over the final 13:15 to run its winning streak against the Razorbacks to five, and complete the largest fourth-quarter comeback in school history. The Tigers have won five of their last six with the only loss in that span coming at Top-10-ranked Florida.
• After Arkansas converted a two-point conversion to take a 48-47 lead with 0:43 left, Mizzou drove 60 yards to set up Mevis’ 32-yarder.
• Mizzou senior RB Larry Rountree III rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns for his 13th career 100-yard game and eighth career game with multiple scores. He has six rushing scores over his last two games, the most over a two-game span for a Mizzou rusher since Brad Smith had six in back-to-back games against No. 1 Oklahoma and Texas Tech in 2003. Rountree is also the first Mizzou running back this century to have six rushing touchdowns in a two-game span.
• Junior RB Tyler Badie had two TD runs and has three over the last two games, and redshirt freshman QB Connor Bazelak threw for 380 yards, including a perfect 4-of-4 for 54 yards on the final drive. He is now 6-1 as a starter.

IS COACH DRINK THE SEC COACH OF THE YEAR? WE THINK HE IS.

• After winning five of its last six games with its only loss coming at Top-10 Florida, Mizzou is arguably one of the SEC’s hottest teams coming into Saturday’s game with Georgia. Knowing what Mizzou is doing week in and week out, it’s time to start the buzz for first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz as the possible SEC Coach of the Year.
• In his first year with the program, he has taken this year’s team and got them 100 percent bought into his vision and culture, and the results are evident on the field. Mizzou already has its most SEC wins since 2014, and with two games to play it has a chance to match the school-record for SEC wins. He’s done all of this with a team that lost five of its final six games a year ago, scuffling offensively averaging just 11.8 points per game during that span, resulting a season-ending coaching change. This year, Mizzou is averaging 27.6 points per game.
• When the schedule was released back in August, many national pundits picked the Tigers to win two or three games. Below is a snapshot:
  – 247 Sports: 3 wins projected
  – Saturday Down South: 2 wins projected
  – Cover 3 Podcast: 3 wins projected
• Well guess what?! Mizzou has five wins with two games yet to play. Five win is already the second-most by a first-year Mizzou head coach, behind only Warren Powers, who went 8-4 in his 1978 debut.
• When assessing the job of a head coach, many look at the following areas:
  • Has the team gotten better? That is a resounding yes. Mizzou dropped its first two games of the year to top-ranked Alabama and at then nationally-ranked Tennessee. Since that point, Mizzou is 5-1 and has won games in a variety of different ways.
  • Has the team won close games? Again, a resounding yes. In fact, Mizzou is the only SEC team with a record better than .500 despite allowing more points than its scored on the season. Mizzou pulled out one-score victories against defending national champion LSU (45-41), a 17-10 win at South Carolina while overcoming an injury-riddled offensive line in that game, and last Saturday’s walk-off win over Arkansas. Mizzou also bested Kentucky 20-10 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated.
  • Has the team overcome adversity? Even more so than the first two, this is a resounding yes as well. Mizzou has had just three games this season played on the originally-scheduled date and has had seven schedule changes, most of which have come at the last possible moment. For example, Mizzou was set to face Arkansas on Nov. 28 before having to postpone that game and host Vanderbilt that Saturday instead. Mizzou has also had six transfers and six opt outs and is starting a left tackle who joined the program in late July. And Coach Drinkwitz is starting a freshman quarterback in a league that usually takes freshman QBs to the woodshed. And the Tigers overcame the loss of All-SEC DT Kobie Whiteside for four games. And the Tigers beat South Carolina despite being down to 51 scholarship players. We could keep going, but you get the point

A DEEPER DIVE INTO MIZZOU’S LAST SIX GAMES

• Mizzou is 5-1 over its last six games with its only loss coming at No. 10-ranked Florida. That includes a perfect 4-0 record at Memorial Stadium, where Mizzou will play Georgia Saturday. Below are some notables from the last six games that have aided the Tigers winning ways:
  • 31.7 points per game
  • 41-for-87 on third down (47 percent)
  • Opponents just 21-of-76 on third down (28 percent)
  • 172.3 rushing yards per game
  • 468.7 total offense
  • Completing 71.5 percent of passes with just one INT
  • 15 rushing TDs against only seven for the opponents
  • Larry Rountree is averaging 114 yards per game with 10 scores over those six games
  • Eight different Tigers have at least 10 receptions over the last six games
  • Connor Bazelak is 159-of-223 (71.3 percent) for 1,715 yards and five scores against only one INT
• Another thing worth mentioning is Mizzou’s progression in the turnover margin category. Since losing three fumbles in the LSU win on Oct. 10, Mizzou has turned the ball over just three times over its last five games, two coming in the loss at Florida. That comes after committing six turnovers in the season’s first three games. Mizzou has won or been even in turnover margin in the last five games.

OFFENSE ROLLING OVER LAST TWO

• Mizzou has hung at least 600 yards of total offense in each of the last two games. Below are some notables from that feat:
  • First time in back-to-back games since 2018 – Wyoming (601) and Purdue (608)
  • First time ever in league play
  • First time since 2017 twice in same season against league opponent
  • Seven times in school history there have been multiple games with 600 yards in one season (including 2020)
  • 27th and 28th occurrences in school history
  • 653 yards vs. Arkansas is the 11th-best single-game performance in school history

ROUNTREE ON QUITE THE RUN

• Senior RB Larry Rountree III is on quite an unbelievable run over the last two games, rushing for 345 yards on 48 attempts (7.2 avg.) with six touchdowns. For the second consecutive week against Arkansas, he led a dominant Mizzou offensive performance by rushing for 185 yards on 27 carries (6.9 avg.) with three touchdowns. It was his second consecutive game with at least 160+ yards and three scores.
• He is the first Mizzou player with six rushing TDs over a two-game span since legendary QB Brad Smith did so in 2003 in games vs. No. 1 Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
• He now has a rushing TD in five straight games, the longest such streak of his career and the longest streak for a Mizzou rusher since Kendial Lawrence in 2012.
• Last Saturday’s performance marked his eighth career multi-TD game and his 13th career 100-yard game (four this season).
• He’s now 19th nationally in rushing yards per game (104.38), 10th in attempts per game (21.25) and 11th in rushing touchdowns (11).
• His SEC ranks in those categories: fourth, first and third, respectively.
• He helped Mizzou rush for 273 yards on 38 attempts (7.2 average) with five scores on the ground.
• Mizzou’s 273 yards on the ground Saturday were its most in an SEC game since Oct. 6, 2018, at South Carolina (286).
• Mizzou’s five rushing TDs Saturday were its most in a conference game since Nov. 27, 2010, when it hung five on Kansas.

ROUNTREE AMONG SEC’S ALL-TIME BEST

• Last Saturday against Arkansas, RB Larry Rountree III became just the 23rd player in SEC history to amass 3,500 career rushing yards and he moved past Alabama’s Najee Harris, Shaun Alexander, Bobby Humphery and Auburn’s James Brooks on the SEC’s all-time rushing. Below is a look at the players he has a chance to pass this week:

  #16 – Alex Collins – 3,703 – 2013-15 – Arkansas
  #17 – Trayveon Williams – 3,615 – 2016-18 – Texas A&M
  #18 – Sony Michel – 3,613 – 2014-17 – Georgia
  #19 – Nick Fitzgerald – 3,607 – 2015-18 – Mississippi State
  #20 – Derrick Henry – 3,591 – 2013-15 – Alabama
  #21 – Larry Rountree – 3,583 – 2017-20 – Mizzou

BADIE GIVES MIZZOU DYNAMIC 1-2 BACKFIELD PUNCH

• While Rountree gets many of the accolades for Mizzou, junior RB Tyler Badie gives Eliah Drinkwitz one of the nation’s elite 1-2 punches at running back. Rountree is the workhorse back who gets the bulk of the carries, but Badie is dynamic with the ball in his hands and the staff finds creative ways to get him touches. The Tigers’ last two games are evident of that.
• Against Vanderbilt, Badie shined in the passing game, catching seven passes for a team-high 102 yards. He became the first Tiger running back to go over 100 yards receiving since 1990.
• Last week against Arkansas, Badie did his work on the ground, rushing six times for 79 yards, including two touchdowns, one of which was from 46 yards out and sparked Mizzou when it trailed in the fourth quarter, 40-26. He then added the go-ahead 25-yard score two possessions later. He did all of his damage in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s game.
• Dating back to last season, Badie has emerged as a threat in the passing game. In fact, he has caught five of Mizzou’s last 10 TD receptions, and six of the last 12.
• On his last seven scores, Badie has taken it to the house from all parts of the field, averaging 34.6 yards per score as he continued to be dynamic with the ball in his hands. His scores last Saturday were from 46 and 25 yards, both coming on the ground.
• Badie has six scores on the year, four on the ground and two through the air.

BOLTON IS THE NATION’S BEST LINEBACKER, DON’T @ US

• As national award season approaches, allow us to take this time to launch a campaign for Nick Bolton to be considered for basically every national defensive player of the year award. He is undoubtedly Mizzou’s best defensive player at any position, and has been a workhorse all season for Coach Drinkwitz and DC Ryan Walters, playing in all eight games, despite missing much of the second half against Arkansas after being ejected for targeting. Here are the awards he is currently in consideration for with three games still to play:
  o Nagurski Trophy
  o Bednarik Award
  o Butkus Award
  o Lott IMPACT Trophy
  o Jason Witten Man of the Year
• With a skillset and a track-record known nationally coming into the season, Bolton has not disappointed during his junior campaign when other players with similar credentials were opting out. A projected first-round draft pick, Bolton has done plenty to impress NFL scouts this season.
• Bolton made four tackles last week, three on the first six plays from scrimmage for Arkansas, before he was ejected.
• Against Vanderbilt, he was just flying all over the field while stuffing the stat sheet. He had nine tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and a pass breakup while sitting much of the second half as Mizzou had put the game away, keying Mizzou’s first SEC shutout since 2018. All nine of his tackles last Saturday were solo tackles.
• He now ranks 23rd nationally and 13th  in Power 5 in tackles per game (10.00). That mark is fourth-best in the SEC as well. Keep in mind he ranks that highly despite not playing the second half in either of the last two games.
• Bolton has 19 more tackles than the next-closest Mizzou defender with 80 on the year (54 solo), and leads the team in tackles for loss (7.0).
• He is fifth in the SEC in tackles for loss as well.
• Bolton was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week following Mizzou’s win over Kentucky, posting seven tackles in the dominant defensive performance, while the seven tackles may not seem like many by Bolton’s lofty standards, it’s important to note that he tallied those seven solo tackles among just 28 team tackles against Kentucky as the Wildcats ran just 36 offensive plays.
• Since Oct. 12, 2019, after Mizzou senior captain LB Cale Garrett went down with a season-ending injury, Bolton has tallied 151 tackles over the last 15 games (10.7 per-game average).
  The last Tiger to average better than 10.7 tackles per game over a similar span was LB Kentrell Brothers during his All-American 2015 season when he led the nation with 152 tackles. Brothers averaged 12.7 tackles per game that year and 12.2 over the final 15 games of his career.
• Bolton’s 17 tackles at Tennessee are tied for the second-most at Mizzou since the turn of the century and are the most since a 20-takcle performance by LB Sean Weatherspoon against Buffalo on Sept. 20, 2008.
• Bolton has entered the prestigious 21-MPH club at Mizzou as the strength staff tracks each players’ top speed. At 6-0, 235 pounds, Bolton is by far the heaviest player on the team to run faster than 21 MPH, showing why he has NFL scouts turning their heads to watch him play.

BAZELAK IS THE GUY AT QB

• With Mizzou winning five of its last six games, one of the keys to the recovery from an 0-2 start was the emergence of RS freshman Connor Bazelak as the team’s starting quarterback. In his young career, Bazelak is now 6-1 as a starting QB dating back to his first career start at Arkansas last season.
• In his seven career starts, Mizzou’s freshman QB is now 166-for-232 (71.6%) for 1,796 yards and five touchdowns against only one INT, most importantly winning six of those seven games.
• He was great again vs. Arkansas, connecting on 32-of-49 passes for 380 yards. He was 4-for-4 on the game’s final drive, going for 54 yards and three first downs as Mizzou drove and won the game.
• He was highly productive and efficient despite not throwing a touchdown vs. Vandy, going 30-of-37 (81%) with 318 passing yards. It stood as his second game this season with a completion percentage greater than 81% and 300-plus passing yards. Since 2000, Bazelak and Chase Daniel, a 2007 Heisman finalist, are the only Tiger QBs with multiple contests of an 81% or higher completion percentage.
• He was the first Mizzou QB to complete 30 passes in a game since Kelly Bryant did so in last year’s season-opener at Wyoming.

THE THICCER KICKER

• One of the stories of college football last week was Mizzou true freshman K Harrison Mevis, affectionately nicknamed the Thiccer Kicker by Mizzou’s drove of fans on social media.
• He matched a school record with five field goals, the most by any kicker nationally this season, and reset the school record by scoring 20 of Mizzou’s 50 points in a 50-48 win over SEC West rival Arkansas.
• Included in those five field goals was a walk-off, game-winning 32-yard field goal to help Mizzou to its fifth straight win over Arkansas and its fifth win in six games this season.
• He also connected on FGs from 51, 29, 37 and 40 and hit all five of hit PATs as well in a game where Mizzou needed every point to defeat the Razorbacks.
• He is just the fourth Tiger kicker to make three kicks of 50+ yards in his career and is the first Tiger with five field goals in a game since Tucker McCann knocked in five vs. South Carolina on Oct. 6, 2018.
• Mevis became the first Mizzou player this century to make five or more field goals in a game, including a 50-yard attempt, with a 100 percent conversion rate, per the Sports Reference play index.
• Mevis now leads the nation in field goals made per game (2.0) and is fourth nationally  with his 16 makes.
• A native of Warsaw, Ind., Mevis was the No. 2-ranked kicker nationally coming out of Warsaw Community High School by Kohl’s Kicking. He has lived up to those expectations early in his young career, connecting on 16 of his 19 field goal attempts this season, with one of his misses coming from 56 yards.
• He is the first Mizzou kicker ever to connect on his first five field goals as a collegiate kicker, and he did so in incredible fashion, hitting a pair from 50+ yards. His 52-yard field goal vs. LSU marks the longest by a Mizzou freshman in program history.
• He is also the first Mizzou freshman to make a 50+ yard FG since Jeff Jacke in 1988.

Running Game Revived as Borom, Delgado Return

• In Mizzou’s dominant win over Kentucky on Oct. 24, the Tigers ran the ball for 220 yards (then a season-high) as it won its second straight game. Unfortunately in that game, Mizzou lost its starting left guard Xavier Delgado and starting RT Larry Borom to injury late in that game.
• With Borom and Delgado on the shelf with those injuries, Mizzou struggled to get the run game untracked against Florida and South Carolina. In fact, in those two games Mizzou rushed for just 138 yards on 57 attempts (2.4 avg.), and in turn it managed just 34 points in those two games.
• But, against Vanderbilt both Borom and Delgado returned from their injuries and Mizzou seemingly got the run game going again, rushing for a season-high 223 yards and four scores on the ground. It was Mizzou’s most rushing yards in a game since hanging 233 on Ole Miss in a 38-27 Homecoming win on Oct. 12, 2019, a span of 12 games.
• Borom is Mizzou’s highest-graded O-Lineman this season according to Pro Football Focus, checking in an 82.4 over 364 snaps this season. He has allowed just one QB hurry and no QB hits this season.
• Last Saturday, Borom helped Mizzou rush for a season-best 273 yards on 38 attempts (7.2 average) with five scores on the ground. Mizzou’s 273 yards on the ground Saturday were its most in an SEC game since Oct. 6, 2018, at South Carolina (286). Mizzou’s five rushing TDs Saturday were its most in a conference game since Nov. 27, 2010, when it hung five on Kansas.

OTHER NOTABLES FOR THE ARKANSAS WIN

• Mizzou improves to 9-3 all-time against Arkansas. The Tigers have won five consecutive matchups in the series and are 6-1 against the Razorbacks since joining the SEC in 2012.
• Saturday’s victory extended Mizzou’s winning streak to a season-high three games. Additionally, the Tigers are now riding a four-game winning streak at home and have been victorious in five of their past six games played overall.
• Mizzou trailed by 14 points (40-26) with 13:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Tigers then exploded for 24 points the remainder of the afternoon, keying the impressive comeback win. Saturday marked Mizzou’s largest deficit overcome since also coming back from a 14-point deficit three years ago at Arkansas (Nov. 24, 2017).
• Freshman K Harrison Mevis capped the Tigers’ thrilling win over Arkansas with a walk-off 32-yard field goal. It’s Mizzou’s first game-winning field goal with time expired in two years (at Purdue – Sept. 15, 2018).
• The Tigers’ 50 points scored were a season-best and stands as their first 50-plus point output since a season ago (vs. Southeast Missouri – Sept. 14, 2019).
• Additionally, the 50 points set a new single-game record in the Tigers and Razorbacks’ all-time series.
• With an outstanding 273 total rushing yards, Mizzou established its most team rushing yards in a single-game in two years (286 at South Carolina – Oct. 6, 2018).
• In the first quarter, junior WR D’ionte Smith produced a 9-yard rush on a sweep, marking his first career rushing attempt.
• Graduate WR Keke Chism paced the Tigers’ receiving core with 78 yards on four receptions. The strong output established a new season-high in receiving yards. Chism ultimately ended the day with 113 yards, marking the first 100-plus receiving yard game by a Tiger wideout since last season (110, Johnathon Johnson vs. Ole Miss – Oct. 12, 2019).
• With six total grabs Saturday, redshirt junior WR Barrett Banister became Mizzou’s sixth receiver this season with 20-plus receptions. It’s the first time the Tigers have had six-plus individuals with 20-plus receptions in a single season since 2008. Banister joins junior WR Jalen Knox, junior RB Tyler Badie, graduate WR Damon Hazelton, redshirt sophomore WR Tauskie Dove and Chism to reach the receptions benchmark.
• Badie gave Mizzou a much-needed jolt with a 46-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The 46-yard scamper marked a new season-high rush for the Memphis, Tennessee, native and the longest rushing touchdown of his career. Badie then capped a big 21-point unanswered run by the Tigers and put them ahead, 47-40, with a 25-yard rushing touchdown. The score secured the first multi-rushing touchdown performance of his career and third career outing with multiple scores.
• Sophomore MLB Devin Nicholson paced Mizzou Saturday with 13 total tackles, matching his season-high in the category. It’s the second time this year he has tallied 13 total stops and third time with double-digit tackles. Additionally, for the second consecutive game, Nicholson produced a forced fumble.
• Sophomore S Martez Manuel also chipped in 10-plus tackles, as his 12 total stops established a new single-game career-high.
• Redshirt sophomore DL Trajan Jeffcoat also set a new single-game standard in total tackles with five, while also registering Mizzou’s lone sack on the day. He has  a sack in back to back contests and has a takedown of the quarterback in five of seven total games played this season.