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For every Tiger game day this year, we'll get you up to speed before kickoff in Game Day Central. We'll catch you up on all the news of the week, hit on the keys of the game, provide audio and video previews and offer up some predictions. Here is everything you need to know about today's game against Tennessee.
                      KICKOFF INFORMATION
TIME: 6:30 p.m. Central
LOCATION: Memorial Stadium (capacity 62,621), Columbia, MO
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic)
RADIO: Tiger Radio Network -- Click here for a list of affiliates
POINT SPREAD: Missouri by 4
SERIES: Missouri leads 5-2
LAST MEETING: Missouri won 50-17 in 2018
                          AUDIO PREVIEW
                 GAME WEEK HEADLINESÂ
Following the Future | Basketball Notebook | Monday Morning Thoughts |
Tigers suffocate Terriers | Photos: Mizzou 75, Wofford 56 | And One: Wofford |
Commit Analysis: Jaylon Carlies | Week 11 Depth Chart |
Media Day Notebook | Odom's Press Conference |
Scantlebury: Misjudging the Wave | Macadoodle's Mailbag |
Macadoodle's Mailbag | Rountree's season better than it seems |
Is Odom's future on the line? | Mark Smith carries MU past Morehead State |
Photos: Mizzou 70, Morehead State 52 | And One: Morehead State |
Film Room: Tyler Jones | Starters and Stars: Mizzou vs Tennessee |
Podcast: Episode 291 | Walljasper: What Just Happened? |
Inside the Matchups | Billiards on Broadway presents The Chamber |
                 BREAKING DOWN THE MATCHUPS
When Missouri has the ball:
At this point, Missouri’s offensive problems have become so widespread, it’s difficult to envision a way in which the Tigers can return to the form they showed during the first half of the season. Tennessee’s defense will further complicate matters, as it has been playing well in recent weeks. In the Volunteers’ past five games, in which they are 4-1 with the lone loss coming to Alabama, they’ve allowed 17.2 points per game. Throw out the 35 points scored by the Crimson Tide, and that number drops to 12.8 points per game. Tennessee has been particularly good against the pass, allowing 194.5 yards per game through the air, which ranks No. 26 nationally. Missouri’s best chance will likely be to run the ball as often as possible with Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie — something the team hasn’t done in recent weeks — in order to shorten the game and potentially open up room for a couple deep shots in the passing game. ADVANTAGE: Tennessee
When Tennessee has the ball
Even during its three-game winning streak, Tennessee has featured a rotating cast of quarterbacks. Don’t be surprised if freshmen Brian Maurer or J.T. Shrout see some snaps, but Jarrett Guarantano will likely play the majority of the game. Guarantano, who left last year’s game against Missouri in the first quarter with a concussion, has had an up-and-down junior season. He was benched in favor of Maurer after the Vols started the season 1-3, and in the team’s three SEC losses, he has completed just 47.4 percent of his passes for a total of 176 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Lately, however, Guarantano has played much better. While splitting reps with Maurer and Shrout, he completed 11 of 19 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns against South Carolina and seven of eight for 115 yards and two scores against Kentucky. Tennessee has not gotten much going on the ground this season, so it will likely be up to Missouri’s secondary to bounce back from its worst performance of the year against Florida and stop Guarantano and the passing attack. In order to do so, the Tigers will need to slow down senior wideout Jauan Jennings, who ranks sixth in the SEC with 50 catches and fifth with seven receiving touchdowns on the season. Jennings is complemented by big-play threat Marquez Callaway, who caught two deep balls against Missouri last season and is averaging more than 22 yards per reception this year. ADVANTAGE: Missouri
                    KEYS TO A MISSOURI WIN
1. Run the ball. And stick with it. After each of the past four games, the Missouri coaches have lamented the offense’s inability to move the ball on the ground. Well, in order to do that, the staff has to give the running game a chance to get going. Against Florida, Missouri dropped back to pass 47 times in 68 snaps, according to PFF College. The running backs combined to receive just 14 carries. Rountree, who entered this season with all-SEC expectations, has received just 16 carries in the past two games combined. Certainly Missouri will ultimately need its offensive line to block better to move the ball on the ground (more on that in a bit), but even if the run isn’t working early, Missouri needs to stick with it and ensure that this doesn’t turn into a shootout.
2. Win the line of scrimmage. Out of all the things that have gone wrong for the Missouri offense this season, perhaps the most surprising has been the play of the offensive line. The Tigers brought three multi-year starters back up front, yet the line has clearly regressed from previous seasons. The Tigers have averaged a hair under three yards per carry during their four-game losing streak. They have also surrendered 22 sacks and 59 tackles for loss on the year, both of which are already higher than last season’s totals of 13 and 52, respectively. Tennessee’s front seven has been disruptive during the second half of the season. The Volunteers ranks 36th nationally with 25 sacks on the year. Seventeen of those have come in the past five games. A lot of Missouri’s offensive woes could be alleviated if the offensive line can give its quarterback more time to throw and its running backs more room to run, but that could be easier said than done.
3. Take advantage of turnover opportunities. While the biggest difference between Missouri’s five-game winning streak earlier this season and its current four-game slide has been the offense, the Tigers are also not getting the same help from the defensive side of the ball in the form of turnovers. From weeks two through six, Missouri generated 11 takeaways. Five of those were returned for touchdowns, and one more gave the offense the ball inside the five-yard line. In the four games since, Missouri has taken the ball away just three times, and only one of those has led to points. While it would admittedly have been foolish to expect the Tigers to keep up their defensive scoring pace from earlier in the season, the unit did have a few opportunities to take the ball away against Florida, most notably when linebacker Nick Bolton dropped what would have been a sure pick-six. Those are the type of plays that can spark a struggling team to life.
                    GAME DAY PROP BETS*
*You cannot actually bet on these and even if you can, we are not encouraging you to do so. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Mizzou .5 offensive touchdowns — Mitchell Over!, Gabe under
Mizzou .5 defensive touchdowns — Mitchell under, Gabe over
Larry Rountree 9.5 carries — Mitchell over, Gabe under
Kelly Bryant 199 offensive yards — Mitchell under, Gabe under
Nick Bolton 12 tackles — Mitchell under, Gabe under
                  POWERMIZZOU PREDICTIONS
Mitchell Forde: There are a lot of similarities between these two 5-5 teams. Both defenses that have played well lately, both offenses have had erratic quarterback play during their losses and both head coaches have felt some heat from their respective fanbases. But from a momentum standpoint, Tennessee and Missouri could not be trending in much different directions. For that reason, I’m taking the Vols. I think this will be a close, low-scoring game that is decided by one or two big plays. After the past month, I just don’t trust the Missouri offense to be able to come up with those plays. Tennessee 16, Missouri 13
Player of the game: DeMarkus Acy
Gabe DeArmond: This is the part of the preview where I just entertain myself on a weekly basis now. I don't even usually believe my pick and I try to be funny and yet somehow I end up being pretty close because even when I'm joking, the Missouri offense manages to lower the bar to meet my expectations. I don't think Tennessee is great. I think they'll move the ball some, but have to settle for a lot of field goals. I think Missouri will finally score a touchdown this week...on defense. The Tigers will go for two to try to close the gap late, but it won't matter. Tennessee 22, Missouri 11
Missouri Player of the Game: Tyree Gillespie
