LEXINGTON, KY—All season, Barry Odom has coaxed, chided and begged his team to respond to adversity. When it hits, bounce back. The Tigers hadn’t all year. In a 40-34 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night, they finally did. But it wasn’t enough.
“We can’t just say this is another loss because that’s kind of like a negative mentality,” offensive tackle Paul Adams said. “We really need to build on it. There’s a couple plays here and there that we could have put together that gave that game a different outcome.”
“I know what this team needs. They need to build on that and to gain some confidence,” Odom said. “Show them the strides that we’ve made. Gosh dang it, we’re close. We’ve got to find a way to go get, to go cross and break down that wall.”
Missouri had multiple opportunities to fold, most notably after it fell behind 10-0 with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. It was the third week in a row the Tigers had trailed by two scores less than 12 minutes into the game.
But this time, Missouri found an answer. Multiple answers, actually. The Tigers fought back to tie the game, first at 27, then again at 34. Austin MacGinnis gave Kentucky a 40-34 lead with two fourth quarter field goals.
“I’d like that guy to have missed one tonight,” Odom said.
But even then, Mizzou showed some fight. They stopped Kentucky on two consecutive running plays from the two-yard line with two minutes to play, forcing the second field goal attempt and allowing the offense a chance to win the game on the final drive.
“Tried to take the approach of just give us a place to stand and find a way to get them into a field goal situation,” Odom said.
It was a chance Drew Lock didn’t think Missouri would get. Facing fourth-and-goal from the two with a three-point lead and 1:45 to play, Lock expected Kentucky to keep its offense on the field.
“I thought that’s what they would do,” Lock said. “I thought either punch it in, go up ten and then put it out of reach with however much time was left or if you don’t get it, you make us drive 99 yards. That’s what I thought would happen.”
The Tigers got the ball back with 1:42 to play and moved 47 yards before stalling out with Lock’s final pass falling short of Albert Okwuegbunam in the end zone.
WITTER SPARKS THE TIGERS
The Missouri offense started slowly, but ended the night with 568 total yards and five different players accounting for at least 74 yards from scrimmage. The spark plug? The oft-criticized Ish Witter.
Witter ran for 139 yards on 17 carries. He had three catches for 24 yards. On the final ill-fated drive, he gained 17 on fourth down and two and picked up Missouri’s final two first downs on receptions.
“He had a lot of really good plays, especially there at the end he got a lot of clutch first downs for us,” wide receiver Emanuel Hall said. “He’s a big part of our offense. Damarea (Crockett) is a big part of our offense. I think they’re both really good running backs.”
Witter receives little recognition from those outside the Missouri locker room and more than his share of criticism. But on this night, he was the key to an offense that finally showed some of the pre-season potential it hadn’t flashed against an FBS team this year.
“I looked at him straight in the eyes before the game and I was like ‘This is gonna be a physical game. You’re going to lower your shoulders and you’re going to get those extra yards,” Adams said. “I was really excited to see him do the things that he did tonight. It’s been a long time coming.”
“He’s a heck of a player,” Odom said. “Great competitor and I appreciate everything he does for our program. He’s a soldier, man. Just keeps on grinding and fighting and does a great job in protection and runs really tough. He pours himself into it and I appreciate it.”
“He gave us leadership for sure,” Lock said. “He was very calm throughout it all, was a hard-headed back tonight. Fought through a lot of tackles and just wanted to be out there in that last moment, which is big.”
The Tigers showed a diversified offense that featured tight end Kendall Blanton frequently lining up in the backfield for Crockett and Witter.
“Offensively, Josh (Heupel) spent a little more time in the bye week on just trying to find schematically an advantage and that seemed to do it,” Odom said. “There were some other things we were trying to do that we didn’t quite get to tonight. Maybe we’ll get to it next week.”
EMANUEL HALL FILLS THE VOID
In his first game as a starter after Dimetrios Mason was dismissed from the team, Emanuel Hall had a big night. The junior had four catches for 129 yards. He had a 58-yard touchdown and another long catch that was initially ruled a touchdown but spotted at the one-yard line after review. Lock ran for a touchdown on the next play.
“I think Emanuel did a great job,” Lock said. “I think Emanuel is who we know Emanuel is. He can run by anyone that he needs to and that’s an unreal vertical threat for us.”
WOES CONTINUE IN THE KICKING GAME
Mizzou’s problems in the kicking game continued on Saturday night. Tucker McCann missed two field goals, including a 45-yarder that would have tied the game that was blocked. But these misses weren’t on the kicker.
“We rolled two back there and then we had one high snap,” Odom said. “Hadn’t had that leading up to tonight. Not very good. Was proud of the way that Tucker competed. We’ve got to have the guys, starting with the snapper, get the ball back there and have a chance to kick it. We didn’t do that.”
The first miss came in the second quarter, with the Tigers trailing 10-0. The second would have tied the game at 37. Missouri had already scored 17 second half points (three coming on a McCann 27-yard reprieve that happened when Kentucky was flagged for running into him on a miss wide right from 32) and was moving the ball well. On third and eight, Lock tried to go deep to Okwuegbunam, but came up empty. Missouri considered leaving the offense on the field, but opted to kick.
“If we would have got a couple more yards on the third down, we were going to go for it on fourth,” Odom said.
It didn’t work out.
ODDS AND ENDS
Missouri cornerback DeMarkus Acy was ejected from the game for targeting in the first quarter. Because the play occurred in the first half, he will not miss any time next weekend in Athens. With Acy out, Jerod Alton and true freshman Adam Sparks got extended playing time…The Tigers had trouble with defensive penalties again. Markell Utsey was offside three times, though one didn’t count because Kentucky scored a touchdown on the play. Sparks was flagged for pass interference in the end zone in the third quarter, helping to set up a Kentucky touchdown…Larry Rountree took over the kickoff return duties in the second half. Those duties had been handled by Mason throughout the season and Richaud Floyd returned the first few on Saturday night. Rountree’s only return went for 35 yards…Tight end Jason Reese played very little after he was hurt in warmups (Odom did not specify the injury). Defensive tackle Walter Palmore broke his hand, but returned to the game.
