Notebook: 99 yards and change for the win

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In the moments after Tucker McCann missed a 31-yard field goal that would have given Missouri at least a guarantee of overtime against Vanderbilt, Drew Lock sat on the sideline. While 48,342 fans sweated (is that possible in an 18-degree wind chill?) and tried to convince themselves that there was no way this was going to happen to Missouri again, Lock talked with teammates Barrett Bannister and Lindsey Scott Jr.

“I’m like ‘Barrett, we’re going to win this game. We’re going to win this game,’” Lock said. “We’ve been through way too many upsetting things to happen. It’s time for one to go our way.”

Eventually, Lock’s wish came true. When Kyle Shurmur’s pass intended for Jared Pinkney fell incomplete in the front corner of the North end zone, Missouri had survived with a 33-28 win over Vanderbilt that clinched a bowl berth for the Tigers for a second straight season.

“Hope you got the full meal deal and the full value of a ticket. I’m kind of tired of those,” head coach Barry Odom said of Missouri’s heart-stopping finishes. “I thought it would be won or lost in the fourth quarter. So I’m proud of our team getting number six.”

“We’ve been through a lot here at the University, especially in the four years that I’ve been here,” Lock said. “The Missouri Tigers won and now we’re bowl eligible.”

That Missouri was in position to win this one was due to the fact that a football field is 100 yards long and not an inch shorter.

The Commodores led 28-26 and were perched on Missouri’s one-yard line as the fourth quarter began. Ke’Shawn Vaughn averaged 14.7 yards every time he ran the ball against Missouri on Saturday, but needing three feet to put his team up two scores, he couldn’t get it. The Tigers stuffed Vaughn mere inches from the goal line to keep the score 28-26.

“I don’t know who made it. There were a lot of guys taking credit for it,” Odom said. “We’ll see tomorrow who really made the play, but it was a big time stop.”

“It wasn’t me, I know that,” middle linebacker Cale Garrett said. “A lot of people around the ball, which is something you always want. I couldn’t tell you who made it first, but there were a lot of guys around the ball, I know that.”

Of course, Missouri was still behind. And the back end of the football was separated from the Tigers’ own goal line by a couple of blades of fake grass.

“It’s never fun starting on the one-yard line,” Lock said. “We thought we’d freeze them to start it off. They didn’t jump so we went to our ground and pound game. Once we hit them for eight or nine on that drive, it sounds crazy, but it was like, ‘All right, this is going to be our drive.’”

Larry Rountree III ran the ball on Missouri’s first five plays. He gained 31 yards. After two completions from Lock, including a 15-yarder to emergency starting tight end Daniel Parker Jr., Damarea Crockett took the baton, picking up 14 yards on three carries. On third and three at the Vandy 28-yard line, Lock hit freshman Dominic Gicinto on a crossing pattern for 25 yards. Lock kept the ball on a zone read on the next play, giving Mizzou its first lead of the game at 33-28 on a 14-play, 99-yard (and change), five minute and 38 second drive.

“At the end of it, you look and like that was a 99-yard drive to win the game,” Lock said. “But in the moment you’re just going play by play. It’s really cool to be able to look back on."

“That changes the whole mentality and the whole mood of the game,” Garrett said. “It’s just a huge momentum swing. That’s a big confidence booster for our offense to be able to take it from basically the most negative spot on the field for them and go score.”

If Vaughn gets another few inches, Missouri probably loses. If the offense gets a couple fewer inches, Missouri probably loses. But neither happened. For the defense, it was the continuation of a season-long trend. The Tigers have been much maligned on that side of the ball. But 19 times their opponents have attempted a fourth down. They have converted only five.

“You got to hold your end up,” linebacker Terez Hall said. “It’s like you live with your parents or something like that. You done graduated and stuff like that, you still ain’t got no job. You got to put something on the table, you know what I mean? That’s all what it is. Or you gonna get kicked out.”

Missouri didn’t get kicked out. Not on this day. For the fourth time this season, a Missouri game was decided on the final play. The Tigers are now 2-2 in this games.

“You can learn don’t get beat no more,” Hall said. “It ain’t really no special recipe behind it.”

It is impossible for an offense to be more balanced than Missouri’s was on Saturday. The Tigers rolled up 506 yards. They threw for 253 and ran for 253. On the 99-yard drive, Lock had 49 yards passing and the Tigers had 50 yards rushing.

But it was the ground game that set the tone for the Tigers to come back from a 21-10 deficit late in the second quarter. Damarea Crockett ran the ball 22 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. Larry Rountree III had 92 yards on 21 carries.

“Those guys put the game on their back,” Lock said. “When one little inch less than what they wanted they pounded through there and picked up a couple extra yards. I’m just proud of the way they performed. They ran their butts off. It’s what Coach (Derek) Dooley’s been preaching to them and Coach (Cornell) Ford has done a fantastic job with those backs.

“They’re the heart and soul of this offense.”

“I thought he ran tough today,” Odom said of Crockett. “Made some plays when there wasn’t much there and that was big. But also when the O-line and the tight ends blocked up front, he ran meaningful and I was excited for all those guys who stepped up.”

It wasn’t just the running backs, though. Lock ran five times for 27 yards, including the three-yard score on a zone read for the go-ahead touchdown.

“Proud of him. His demeanor is exactly where we need it and he’s making plays,” Odom said. “I was happy to see that out of him.”

Missouri made things a bit more interesting with the decisions on when to go for a two-point conversion and when to kick on Saturday. Trailing 21-19 after a touchdown on their opening possession of the third quarter, Odom opted to go for two. The play failed when Damarea Crockett was tackled short of the goal line on a swing pass.

After taking a 32-28 lead, Missouri eschewed the two-point play and a chance to lead by six for an extra point.

“We had shown a similar formation earlier and they adjusted well,” Odom said. “You always go into it three, four, five different things that you want to get done on fourth and one or two point plays and formationally, they were making some really good adjustments. I didn’t think that we had the play there late.”

In the end, the decisions did not hurt the Tigers, though both were questionable at the time.

Missouri played this game without its top two tight ends. Albert Okwuegbunam, officially, is still listed as week to week with a shoulder injury. Kendall Blanton missed his third straight game with a knee injury, although Odom said he could have gone in for a few snaps today if necessary.

Cornerback Adam Sparks was out for the second straight game with a bruised shin. Running back Tyler Badie injured his foot on his only carry against Florida and did not play. Wide receiver Nate Brown with a lingering groin injury that had kept him out of games earlier in the season. Defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside also missed his second consecutive game.

There were no new injuries during Saturday’s game to report.

Missouri wore special uniforms on Saturday as a nod to Veterans Day, which is Sunday. Every player wore not his own name on his jersey, but the name of a University of Missouri student who died in service in the first World War. The 100th anniversary of Armistice Day—the day Germany and the Allies signed a treaty marking the end of the war—is tomorrow.

“There’s so many things that line up with this game,” Odom said. “117 University of Missouri students lost their lives in World War I. We’ve got 117 guys on our roster. You look at the age of 18 to 23, all those things. The war was won on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. We kick off at 11 a.m. We spend a lot of time talking about stuff other than football and representing something that is a lot bigger than ourselves and that was one of them next week. I thought our guys took ownership in wanting to do the right thing with this.”

The Tigers wore the state seal of Missouri on their helmets. After the season, the school hopes to present the jerseys to family members of the 117 soldiers who were honored.

Missouri (6-4, 2-4) will travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers (5-5, 2-4) at 2:30 next Saturday. The game will be televised on CBS. The Vols beat Kentucky 24-7 on Saturday.