Mizzou Football Travels to No. 21/20 Tennessee for First Road Contest of 2020

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10-Game SEC Slate Continues for Mizzou High on Rocky Top

• Mizzou Football (0-1, 0-1 SEC) will continue its 2020 season under first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz this Saturday (Oct. 3) as it heads to No. 21/20 Tennessee (1-0, 1-0 SEC) for an 11 a.m. showdown on SEC Network. Mizzou is coming off of a hard-fought, 38-19 loss at the hands of second-ranked Alabama, a game which saw Mizzou outscore the Tide in the second half, 16-3. Tennessee is coming off of a thrilling 31-27 road win at South Carolina.
• Mizzou is hoping to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1996 with a win in Neyland Stadium, a venue which has seen the Tigers win three times in four trips. Dave Neal, DJ Shockley and Dawn Davenport will be on the call for the SEC Network.

First Road Contest Under Coach Drinkwitz

• Saturday’s game is part of the SEC’s 10-game, conference-only schedule and will be Mizzou’s first true road game in the Drinkwitz era. The Tigers last played a true road game on Nov. 9, 2019, at sixth-ranked Georgia. Of course, Mizzou played a neutral site game against Arkansas to close the 2019 campaign, a 24-14 win at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
• In his one year as a head coach last year at Appalachian State, Coach Drinkwitz went 6-0 in road games, including two wins over Power 5 teams at North Carolina (34-31 on Sept. 21, 2019) and at South Carolina (20-15 on Nov. 9, 2019).

Last Time Out

• Mizzou fell to No. 2 Alabama, 38-19, last Saturday (Sept. 26) at Faurot Field to open the 2020 season. Despite the loss, Mizzou became just the second Alabama opponent to score 19 or more points against the Tide in a season opener since 2010, and just the third since 2003.
• On the offensive side, junior QB Shawn Robinson completed 76 percent of his passes (19-for-25) with 185 yards and one touchdown in his first start as a Tiger. The completion percentage was the best by a Mizzou quarterback in their first start for the Tigers dating back to 2000.
• Defensively, the Tigers racked up nine tackles for loss, which was the most since the Tigers tallied 13.0 against West Virginia on Sept. 7, 2019. Sophomore S Martez Manuel led the charge with a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss from his strong safety position. Those 3.5 tackles for loss were the most for any SEC player in week one.
• In the opening half, Alabama took control of the game, scoring the game’s first 21 points. The Tigers got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when freshman K Harrison Mevis connected on a 27-yard field goal for the Tigers’ first points of the game.
• Alabama pushed its advantage to 35-3, but Mizzou kept battling and found the end zone for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to slice the deficit to 38-19 before time ran out.
• Robinson connected with junior RB Tyler Badie on a 54-yard touchdown pass for the Tigers’ first trip to the end zone of the 2020 campaign, marking his first career touchdown toss as a Tiger. Redshirt freshman QB Connor Bazelak finished out the fourth quarter with a 7-yard TD run.
• With a game total of 67 yards, senior RB Larry Rountree III gained sole possession of fifth-place on Mizzou’s all-time career rushing yards list. The senior captain now needs only 383 more yards on the ground to become the program’s all-time leading rusher by a non-quarterback.

Series vs. Tennessee

• Mizzou leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 5-3, with all eight meetings coming since it joined the SEC in 2012. Mizzou won the initial meeting in a wild, 51-48 four-overtime decision at Neyland Stadium in 2012. Mizzou won the first three meetings between the two SEC East rivals, including wins in 2013 and 2014 as the Tigers claimed back-to-back SEC East championships.
• Tennessee won two straight in the series from 2015-16, including a 63-37 victory in Knoxville during the 2016 season.
• Despite dropping a 24-20 decision at home a year ago, Mizzou has won two of the last three meetings in the all-time series, winning by a score of 50-17 in both 2017 and 2018. The 2018 game was played at Neyland Stadium in the Tigers’ most recent trip to Rocky Top.
• In last year’s meeting, Mizzou dropped its final home game of the season to Tennessee, 24-20, on Nov. 23, as the Vols broke a 17-17 tie with a third quarter touchdown and then held on for the win.
• With two touchdown receptions in last year’s game, then-sophomore RB Tyler Badie had the first multi-touchdown game of his career.  LB Nick Bolton led the team in tackles for the sixth consecutive game, recording 10 tackles. It marked Bolton’s fifth game with 10 or more tackles. WR Barrett Banister led the team in receptions and receiving yards, posting career highs with five catches for 46 yards. All three of those players are back for this year’s matchup.

A Quick Look at Mizzou’s First-Year Bench Boss

• A winner at every stage of his coaching career, Eliah Drinkwitz – considered one of college football’s top offensive minds – was named the 33rd head football coach at the University of Missouri in December 2019.  Drinkwitz took over at Mizzou following an impressive 2019 season at Appalachian State, where he led the 20th-ranked Mountaineers to a 13-1 record and a Sun Belt Conference championship (Drinkwitz did not coach the bowl game, the team’s 13th win, as he had already accepted the Mizzou job).
• Drinkwitz’s offensive acumen has been a key element in his teams winning five conference championships while compiling a perfect 8-0 bowl game record in 10 seasons at the FBS level.  The combined record of his teams from 2010-19 is 98-35 overall (73.7%), including a 57-23 conference mark (71.3%). Drinkwitz also serves as the program’s offensive coordinator.
• The 2019 season saw Drinkwitz turn in one of the most impressive FBS head coaching debut seasons ever. His Mountaineers set a Sun Belt record with their 13 wins, and also set the mark for the best regular season in conference history (11-1).  They claimed the Sun Belt championship with a 45-38 win against Louisiana on Dec. 7.
• Prior to App State, Drinkwitz spent three years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for record-setting North Carolina State teams (2016-18), after excelling in a similar role at Boise State for two years (2014-15), where the Broncos won the 2014 Mountain West title and finished 12-2 and ranked 16th nationally. In 2015, Drinkwitz was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and he helped the Bronco offense rank in the Top 15 nationally in points (39.1) and yards (501.3) per game.
• In his five seasons as an offensive coordinator, Drinkwitz has produced five 1,000-yard rushers, four 3,000-yard passers and four 1,000-yard receivers. Three of those years (2015, 2017, 2018) his offenses produced at least one in each category.

Drinkwitz’s Coaching Awards

• 2019 Eddie Robinson Award Finalist
• 2019 North Carolina Coach of the Year (North State Journal)
• 2018 Broyles Award Nominee

Mizzou in ROAD-Openers

• Since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012, Mizzou is 4-4 in its initial road game of the season.
• Since 2000, the Tigers are 12-7 in the first road game of the season.
• As mentioned above, Mizzou head coach Eliah Drinkwitz went 6-0 in road games a year ago at Appalachian State, including two road wins at Power 5 teams.

Tigers Force Negative Plays Against Tide

• Despite allowing 38 points to a heralded Alabama offense last Saturday, Mizzou did a lot of things well on the defensive side of the ball – most notably tallying 9.0 tackles for loss as a team. The 9.0 tackles for loss were the most for a Mizzou team in a single game since Sept. 7, 2019, against West Virginia, when the Tigers tallied 13.0.
• The 9.0 tackles for loss were the most for Mizzou against an SEC team since Oct. 6, 2018, at South Carolina. The last time Mizzou had at least 9.0 tackles for loss as a team against an SEC West division foe was vs. Arkansas on Nov. 25, 2016, when the team tallied 11.0.
• The 9.0 tackles for loss by the Tigers were the most tackles for loss by an Alabama opponent since Texas A&M in 2017.
• Sophomore SS Martez Manuel was one of the highlights for the defense Saturday as he totaled a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss, the most TFLs made by a Tiger since Jordan Elliott recorded four against Arkansas (Nov. 23, 2018).

Tigers May Have THE SEC’s Best TRIO OF SAFETIES

• Speaking of sophomore SS Martez Manuel, one of the strongest position groups for the Tigers on this year’s defense is the safety position. In last week’s notes packet, we highlighted Mizzou’s two elder statesmen on the back end of the defense – FS Joshuah Bledsoe and boundary safety Tyree Gillespie – as being one of the nation’s elite safety tandems. But, after week one we would be remiss if we didn’t include Manuel in this conversation.
• Manuel – who’s SS spot is a hybrid linebacker/safety position as part of Mizzou’s five-DB scheme – is coming off of a seven-tackle, 3.5-tackle for loss performance against Alabama, leading the Tigers in the latter category. Gillespie finished second on the team with eight tackles in the game, and posted a huge pass breakup to force a three-and-out on Alabama’s first drive of the game. Bledsoe finished with three tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and a pass breakup as well.
• The trio was disruptive all over the field Saturday vs. Alabama, combining for 18 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
• Coached by defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a rising young star in the coaching profession who landed at No. 8 on The Athletic’s Assistant Coaches to Watch list over the summer, Mizzou’s safeties are a proven commodity in the SEC.
• Gillespie was tabbed a 2020 second-team All-SEC pick during the preseason by the league’s coaches after posting 50 tackles over 12 games last year, including 4.0 tackles for loss, one sack and seven pass breakups.
• Bledsoe, who makes the jersey change from #18 to #1 this season, finished 2019 ranked third on the team with 49 tackles (35 solo) with 4.0 tackles for loss. He added a team-high 10 pass breakups with a fumble recovery and also forced fumble. His 49 tackles were a new single-season career-high and he became the first Mizzou safety in more than a decade to post 10+ pass breakups in a single season and just the eighth Mizzou defender to do so since 2009.

Robinson, Bazelak Perform Well in Season Opener

• One of the biggest storylines of Mizzou’s fall training camp was the quarterback battle as Mizzou entered training camp with a battle at that position for the first time since 2002. Mizzou was the model school for QB consistency in college football, as it had an entrenched starter at QB in every season opener since then. Below is a look:
  • 2003: Brad Smith
  • 2004: Brad Smith
  • 2005: Brad Smith
  • 2006: Chase Daniel
  • 2007: Chase Daniel
  • 2008: Chase Daniel
  • 2009: Blaine Gabbert
  • 2010: Blaine Gabbert
  • 2011: James Franklin
  • 2012: James Franklin
  • 2013: James Franklin
  • 2014: Maty Mauk
  • 2015: Maty Mauk
  • 2016: Drew Lock
  • 2017: Drew Lock
  • 2018: Drew Lock
  • 2019: Kelly Bryant
• All of those quarterbacks were solidified stars for Mizzou during that span, which make this year’s QB battle a bit unusual for Tiger fans. However, the veil of mystery was lifted Saturday as first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz trotted TCU transfer Shawn Robinson out with the first-team offense against Alabama.
• In his first start at Mizzou, Robinson recorded a completion percentage of 76 percent (19-for-25), the best by a Tiger signal caller in their first Mizzou start going all the way back to at least 2000 (minimum of 15 completions).
• RS freshman QB Connor Bazelak also showed signs of being a solid quarterback, completing seven passes for 68 yards with 12 rushing yards and a TD on the ground.

Other Individual Notables from Last Week’s Alabama Game

• With one tackle for loss, senior S Joshuah Bledsoe matched a career high. He now has six career tackles for loss.
• Sophomore LB Devin Nicholson set a new career high with 10 tackles. He previously recorded seven against Tennessee (11/23/19).
• Sophomore DL Darius Robinson matched a career high of one tackle that he previously set at Georgia (11/9/19).
• Redshirt senior DL Tre Williams forced his first career fumble in the fourth quarter. Junior LB Nick Bolton secured his first fumble recovery. He also recorded his third sack, the first one since Nov. 3, 2018 vs. Florida.
• Junior RB Tyler Badie scored his sixth career receiving touchdown, the second of his career that exceeded 50 yards.
• In his first game at Mizzou, senior WR Damon Hazelton hauled in five passes for 34 yards.
• Senior WR Keke Chism made his first catch as a Tiger and Division I athlete during the third quarter.
• Junior WR Jalen Knox gained his most receiving yards since the Tigers played SEMO last season and tied his career-high in receptions (five) for the third time.
• Redshirt freshman QB Connor Bazelak recorded his first career rushing touchdown, and his first overall trip to the end zone with a last-second scramble in the fourth quarter.
• Mizzou sits as the second Alabama opponent to score at least 19 points in a season opener since 2010, and the third since 2003.

Rountree Approaching Milestones

• Mizzou brings back a talented and experienced stable of running backs in 2020, highlighted by senior team captain Larry Rountree III, a three-year impact player at the position who was the coach’s third-team selection at running back on the All-SEC preseason team.
• Last week, Rountree ran for 67 yards on 14 attempts (4.8 per carry) to lead the team in rushing against a stout Alabama front seven. His 67 yards moved his career total to 2,815 yards, moving him from sixth-most in program history and into fifth-place, ahead of Tiger legend Henry Josey who had 2,771 from 2010-13.
• He enters the week two matchup needing 383 yards to become Mizzou’s rushing yards leader by a non-quarterback and just 1,474 rushing yards to catch Mizzou’s all-time career rushing leader, QB Brad Smith (4,289 from 2002-05). His 537 career carries rank seventh-most in program history. He needs just 139 more yards to catch legend Devin West (2,954 from 1995-98).
• Nicknamed Trey, Rountree finished his junior season with 829 rushing yards on 186 carries (4.5 average), scoring a team-high nine touchdowns on the ground. He posted three 100-yard rushing performances in 2019, giving him 10 100-yard rushing games in his career. Below is a look at the all-time Mizzou rushing list and where Rountree ranks:

Badie is a Bad Man, And Possibly the SEC’s Most Versatile Running Back

• Not only does Mizzou have a workhorse back in Larry Rountree III, it may also have the SEC’s most versatile running back in junior Tyler Badie.
• A former 2018 All-SEC Freshman Team selection, Badie led Mizzou with 928 all-purpose yards as a sophomore, averaging a team-best 77.3 per game. Of his 928 all-purpose yards, 457 came on the ground as he averaged 4.2 yards per carry with three touchdowns.
• He also led Mizzou with 32 catches and posted 356 receiving yards (11.1 average) with five touchdowns. His 32 catches were the most by a Mizzou running back in the last decade and he was the first Mizzou running back to lead the team in receptions since Brock Olivo in 1995 (17).
• He once again proved his versatility in Mizzou’s week-one matchup vs. Alabama, leading the team with 103 all-purpose yards (54 receiving with a TD, 38 kick return, 11 rushing). Badie got loose on a 54-yard wheel route touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday, his sixth receiving TD in his last 10 games, dating back to last season.

Mizzou Hopes Same ‘Bolt’ Will Strike Twice

• Mizzou has a bona fide super star at linebacker in junior Nick Bolton, a player that anchors a Mizzou defense that finished 14th nationally in total defense a year ago.
• Bolton burst on to the scene as a true sophomore in 2019, taking on an expanded role after MLB Cale Garrett suffered a season-ending injury during the season’s fifth game vs. Troy.
• A preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the league’s 14 coaches, Bolton has appeared on the 2020 Butkus, Nagurski, Bednarik and Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch Lists. He is also a Preseason All-American by a variety of publications as college football pundits around the nation have learned about his incredible talent.
• At 6-0, 235-pounds, Bolton plays with incredible leverage and speed (he’s in the team’s 19 MPH-club, the heaviest player to do so). Below are some notes on Bolton after a memorable sophomore season:
  • Pro Football Focus third-team All-American during his true sophomore season.
  • Earned a season-grade of 91.1 from Pro Football Focus, making him the SEC’s top-graded linebacker.
  • Earned All-SEC first-team honors from both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press after posting a team-best 107  tackles.
  • His 107 tackles were the SEC’s top mark during the regular season, and only LSU’s Jacob Phillips, who played in 15 games vs. Bolton’s 12, finished ahead of Bolton on the SEC tackle chart (113 in 15 games).
  • His 8.92 tackles per game were far-and-away the league’s best mark, besting Arkansas De’Jon Harris (8.42 per game).
  • Also added 9.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.
  • His 74 solo tackles were 15 more than any other defender in the SEC.
  • Ranked 31st nationally in tackles per game while his 74 solo tackles were fifth nationally.
  • Led the SEC with 80 tackles in eight league games (10.0 per game).
  • ProFootballFocus.com rated him as the No. 3 defender against the run in the SEC.
  • Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Sept. 9, following a 10-tackle, two-interception performance in Mizzou’s 38-7 win over West Virginia
• Bolton picked up right where he left off during Mizzou’s week-one contest with Alabama. The junior LB was again all over the field, posting eight tackles, including a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. He was second on the team in total tackles in the game.

#MIZZOU4CHANGE

• Mizzou has been heavily active in social justice reform over the offseason following the untimely deaths of numerous Black individuals.
• First, Mizzou Football student-athletes organized a march from Mizzou’s columns to the Boone County Courthouse in June. Many notable Mizzou head coaches and Mizzou Athletics staffers joined the student-athletes during this event. Following the march to the courthouse, more than 60 student-athletes registered to vote.
• Next, Mizzou Football participated in a march from the columns to Memorial Stadium in September. The march was organized by the newly-formed Black Student-Athletes Association (BSAA), and kicked off the organization new movement, named #Mizzou4Change. The group’s focus is to begin the conversation on social justice, and how to create a better world for everyone moving forward. Representatives from every Mizzou Athletics sport was in attendance for this march.