Mevis' clutch kick lifts Mizzou past Arkansas in thriller

The most jarring plot twist in a game full of momentum swings came when Arkansas lined up to go for a two-point conversion in the final minute, trailing by a point. The Razorbacks had just scored a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining to cut Missouri’s lead to 47-46. After having one extra-point missed and another blocked, head coach Sam Pittman opted to keep his offense on the field, resulting in what looked like it would be the decisive play.

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, playing only because starter Feleipe Franks missed he game with a rib injury, rolled right. He forced a pass across his body to the back of the end zone. Missouri linebacker Jamal Brooks, playing only because star Nick Bolton had been ejected due to a targeting penalty, jumped in front of the pass. Brooks looked to have an easy interception. But the ball bounced off Brooks' shoulder pads, deflected off his fingertips and landed right in the hands of Arkansas receiver Mike Woods.

The 11,738-person crowd at Faurot Field fell silent. For a fanbase for that has had its fair share of torturous losses, this one looked like it would join the list — a combination between the kicked-ball win by Nebraska in 1997 and the walk-off two-point conversion by Kentucky in 2018.

In this game, however, the clock still had 45 seconds remaining. And Missouri had all three timeouts. On the sideline, first year head-coach Eli Drinkwitz approached his offense — and his kicker — with a calm, simple message: “Let’s go win the game.”

Six plays and 42 seconds later, that kicker, true freshman Harrison Mevis, stood on the Arkansas 23-yard line, staring at the biggest kick of his life. Arkansas called timeout to give him time to think about the magnitude of the boot. Then another. Finally, Mevis took two steps and hit the ball with his right foot, sending it through the uprights and sending the Missouri sideline onto the field in celebration.

Mevis’ field goal, his fifth of the game, completed the largest fourth-quarter comeback in Missouri history. It gave the Tigers a 50-48 win as time expired in a game that will go down as an instant classic.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any doubt, but I felt good about it,” Drinkwitz said of Mevis’ kick. “Honestly, I looked across the field, I was about the 50 and Sam (Pittman) was on the 50, and so I just watched him, and when the ball was kicked and he stuck his head down, I knew we’d won.”

The annual Battle Line Rivalry matchup between Missouri and Arkansas, much more anticipated this season than the past few years due to the Razorbacks’ resurgence and the presence of Barry Odom on the opposing staff, featured a bit of everything. On the very first play of the game, Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak took a low hit and looked for a moment like he might have suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arkansas for the second year in a row. He missed just one play. Jefferson’s start came as a surprise to the Missouri staff after Franks dressed and warmed up. Missouri jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but then gave up touchdowns on four straight possessions. Arkansas gained 20 yards on a fake field goal. The Razorbacks gashed Missouri on the ground and got a studly performance from Traylon Burks through the air, as he caught 10 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. Missouri’s offense generally moved the ball at will, as well, scoring points on 10 of 13 possessions. The two teams combined for 1,212 total yards, 71 first downs, 171 plays.

The game looked like it might be over early in the fourth quarter. Missouri had kicked a field goal to cut the Razorback lead to seven points, then Arkansas put together a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by the third rushing touchdown of the day for Trelon Smith, who finished with 172 yards. At that point, the Razorbacks had scored touchdowns on six of their past eight possessions, and chants of “Woo, Pig Sooie" echoed.

Yet it took just two plays and less than a minute for Missouri to answer. Bazelak hit Damon Hazelton, who had slipped down the depth chart in recent weeks but got promoted back to the first-team offense Saturday with Tauskie Dove battling an injury, for 29 yards. The next play, Tyler Badie found a massive hole on his first handoff of the game. Badie sprinted down the left sideline, juked one defensive back and carried another into the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown.

“Throughout the game, no matter the highs and lows or ups and downs, we were confident,” wide receiver Keke Chism said. “Even when we were down 14 in the fourth quarter we still had confidence that there was time on the clock and we were going to come back and get the win. So we just had to stay the course.”

It had taken just 44 seconds for Missouri to get the momentum back, and the Tigers would keep it — at least until the final minute. For just the third time all game, the defense forced an Arkansas punt. Missouri then embarked on its longest drive of the game, 82 yards. A misdirection run opened up the left side of the field for Larry Rountree III to walk into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game and tie the score at 40 points apiece. The defense got another stop when Martez Manuel broke up a pass on third down, and the offense traveled 80 yards in just four plays, three of them on the ground. Badie scored from 25 yards out.

Missouri had scored 21 straight points in fewer than eight minutes. With 4 minutes, 47 seconds to play, the Tigers led for the first time since midway through the second quarter.

At that point, it would have been difficult to believe that, less than a quarter earlier, Missouri’s sideline had been the deflated one. The Tiger players leapt and danced, and the limited-capacity crowd made as much noise as it could muster.

Multiple times on the following Arkansas drive, it looked like Missouri had gotten a stop and sealed the win. Linebacker Devin Nicholson stripped Smith, but an Arkansas player fell on it. Then Brooks met Burks two yards behind the line of scrimmage and three shy of the line to gain on a fourth-down handoff, yet Burks broke the tackle and dove forward, extending the ball. A measurement revealed he had the first down by less than a foot. The next play, Jefferson lobbed a pass to Woods in the end zone, bringing Arkansas within a point with less than a minute to play.

The flukey two-point conversion stunned the home crowd into silence. Brooks laid on the turf behind the end zone, his hands on his head. But on the sideline, with three timeouts left, Drinkwitz and the offense were unfazed.

“I know the defense was disappointed because they felt like they had a chance to intercept that ball right there and didn’t get it done, but just told them let’s hustle off the field, we’re going to get it done for you,” Drinkwitz said.

“We’ve prepped that in practice, so it was no flinching or anything in our offense,” Rountree said. “We already knew we were going to get down there and score.”

As usual, Bazelak took the field looking like he was playing a pick-up game in the park. On the first play, he hit Hazelton on an out-route for 14 yards. Then he found Barrett Banister over the middle for 18, moving Missouri into Arkansas territory. Another out to Hazelton produced 12 yards and put the Tigers on the edge of field goal range. After Badie lost a yard with a handoff, Bazelak started to scramble but kept his eyes downfield and saw Banister come open in the middle of the zone, then delivered a perfect ball for 10 more yards. Bazelak finished the drive a perfect four-of-four, and Chism credited him with keeping the entire offense poised.

“I seen a quarterback who was in complete control, poised in every moment and every situation,” Chism said. “He’s the leader of our offense, and we go as he goes. It was never a moment where he was rattled or overwhelmed, and just to have a quarterback with that confidence, it really gives you a belief that no matter what situation that you’re in that he’s going to lead us to victory.”

Missouri ran one more play, a handoff to Badie that Drinkwitz said he was hoping would catch Arkansas off-guard and result in a touchdown. Even though it only went two yards, the Tigers let the clock wind to three seconds and called timeout, setting up Mevis’ kick from 33 yards to be the final play of the game.

Mevis had already made four field goals and five extra points Saturday, but this kick came with an entirely different level of pressure. Yet he wasn’t worried, he said. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, Drinkwitz said, the team has Mevis practice field goals while he and others scream in Mevis’ face, trying to distract him. Drinkwitz likes to call him “Janimisski,” a play on former Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Compared to those drills, a game-winning kick didn’t feel too scary.

“They’re all in my face and they’re all trying to get me to miss and stuff like that, and I think that gives me perseverance,” Mevis said. “Trying to make a kick. Obviously it’s harder to make a kick when they’re doing that in practice, and it makes games easy.”

Arkansas called timeout to try to ice Mevis. Then another. Mevis said he anticipated the stoppages and relished them, because it gave him more time to think about the kick. “Advantage me,” he said.

Mevis’ kick landed perfectly in the hands on the “Allstate” net behind the center of the goalposts. His teammates piled on him at midfield. In the locker room after the game, Drinkwitz presented him the game ball. Brooks, spared of regret from his two miscues, tweeted after the game “I LOVE YOU” and tagged Mevis.

“He’s a stud,” Drinkwitz said. “I mean, true freshman, moment’s not too big for him, he just focuses on his job, and he’s been that way since he’s been here. ... He just did what he’s supposed to do, and he’s got nerves of steel.”

Missouri’s celebration on the field lasted longer than usual, even longer than after the Tigers upset defending national champion LSU earlier this season. After Mevis was mobbed, seniors who had been honored before the game took a rock from the hill behind the South End zone, then teammates carried them the length of the field. As Rountree did an on-field interview with the SEC Network, the remaining fans in the stands chanted “Lar-ry, Lar-ry.” Even Bazelak, usually averse to showing any emotion, acknowledged after the game the importance of winning on Senior Day, beating Odom, pulling off the largest comeback in school history.

Mevis, who originally committed to Missouri under Odom, also indicated that his game-winner meant just a bit more than other kicks in his young college career. As he took the podium to speak with reporters after the game, Drinkwitz told him not to “drink the Kool-Aid” — not to buy into his own hype. Asked if he’d drink the Kool-Aid, Mevis smiled.

“I might be tonight.”

The most significant blow to Missouri’s defensive momentum came on a play that initially looked like it might be the game’s first turnover. Late in the second quarter, Arkansas got the ball back, looking to score its fourth touchdown in as many drives and take its first lead. Jefferson threw high over the middle to receiver John David White. White left his feet to snare the pass, and as he returned to the turf, Bolton arrived. Bolton delivered a vicious hit with his shoulder, knocking White backward and sending the football flying.

Not only was the pass ruled incomplete, it was deemed targeting on Bolton. That foul calls for both a 15-yard penalty and an ejection. After review, the penalty was upheld.

The flag precipitated a chorus of boos from the home crowd, which persisted into the second half whenever the officials made an announcement. But Drinkwitz declined to take issue with the call.

“I think it’s the right call based on what the definition of targeting is, upward motion to the head and neck area,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know. There was no intent to harm by Nick, he just got caught in that scenario. So you take the penalty. They reviewed it and upheld it, so that means it’s what it was, and that’s just some adversity.”

Regardless of the fairness of the call, it meant Missouri would be without its leading tackler and potential first-round draft pick for the remainder of the game. (Because the foul occurred in the first half, Bolton can return for next week’s game against Georgia.) Redshirt sophomore Chad Bailey and Brooks split reps in Bolton’s absence.

Perhaps because of Bolton’s absence and perhaps because of a sound gameplan, Missouri couldn’t stop Arkansas’ offense for much of the game, especially on the ground. The Razorbacks ran for 292 yards, the most allowed by Missouri all season. Their 566 total yards were the most surrendered by the Tigers since Sept. 15, 2018 against Purdue.

Even with Jefferson replacing Franks, Drinkwitz said Arkansas didn’t do anything Missouri hadn’t seen before. The Tigers just struggled to execute. Inside draws following fake runs to the perimeter gave the Tigers particular trouble.

“They ran the ball really well and threw the ball to 16 really well,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know that that was any different than what we thought they were going to do, I just don’t think we played really well defensively. So gotta get it corrected, but it’s always good to get it corrected after a win.”

Mevis and Bazelak weren’t the only Missouri players to deliver in important spots. The Tigers got clutch catches from three different receivers throughout Saturday’s game, including a pair of graduate transfers who had looked underwhelming at times this season.

Chism led the way among Missouri pass-catchers, grabbing six passes for 113 yards. He’s the first Missouri wideout to surpass 100 yards in more than a year, since Johnathon Johnson did so against Ole Miss last season. Chism made a pair of impressive over-the-shoulder grabs in the red zone, both of which set up touchdowns.

Yet Chism wasn’t targeted on the game-winning drive. On that possession, Bazelak looked for Banister and Hazelton. Banister served as a first-down machine all game. Of his six catches for 60 yards, four moved the sticks, three of those coming on third down.

“You always know where he’s going to be,” Bazelak said of Banister. “He’s kind of a security blanket. When you throw it to him, he’s going to catch it. He’s going to get open and get those yards after the catch and that first down.”

Hazelton’s involvement came as more of a surprise. The Virginia Tech transfer had seen his playing time dip precipitously after several early-season drops. The only reason he played late Saturday was because Dove was “dinged up” according to Drinkwitz. Yet Bazelak said he knew that Hazelton could beat single coverage. He caught five passes for 98 yards on six targets, five of them coming in the second half. Drinkwitz said his performance showed “mental toughness.”

“You gotta decide that when my moment is called, I’m going to be prepared to do my job,” Drinkwitz said. “And that’s what happened today. Tauskie got dinged up and we went (Hazelton), and he did an unbelievable job. I mean, he was routing people up out there, made great catches, getting yards after catch.”