After a brutal season-opening matchup against No. 2 Alabama, the road gets a little bit easier for Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri. But the first road game of Drinkwitz's tenure is no cake walk. Missouri will travel to Knoxville to face No. 21 Tennessee. The Volunteers have won seven games in a row dating back to last season, including a win at Missouri. That's the longest active winning streak by any Power Five school in the country.
Here’s all the information you need to get set for the matchup.
Kickoff Information
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly/Howard Richards/Chris Gervino)
Spread: Tennessee -12.5
Series history: Mizzou leads 5-3
Last meeting: Tennessee won 24-20 on Nov. 23, 2019
The Matchups
When Missouri has the ball:
Even though Drinkwitz didn't commit to one quarterback this week, and we will probably see Connor Bazelak get a series or two once again, Shawn Robinson is expected to play the majority of the snaps behind center. With Robinson at the helm against Alabama, the Tiger offense featured lots of creative plays designed to get the ball on the edges of the formation: quick passes, jet sweeps, option runs and more. Even though the Crimson Tide largely bottled those plays up, that looks to be the foundation of the offense, and it's certainly possible that the Tigers could find more success against a defense that's not so fast or athletic.
That's not to say Tennessee's defense will be easy to move the ball against. The Volunteers excelled at pressuring the quarterback and bottling up the run in their Week One win over South Carolina. Led by defensive end DeAndre Johnson, who recorded two-and-a-half sacks, the unit as a whole had four sacks and nine tackles for loss. South Carolina mustered just 89 rushing yards on 35 carries. The Volunteers also forced two turnovers: a fumble and an Interception.
Tennessee has a solid pair of cornerbacks in Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson, but the area to attack its defense appears to be the middle of the field. The Volunteers looked vulnerable there against the Gamecocks. Of South Carolina quarterback Colin Hill's 25 completions, 21 came between the numbers. The middle of the field accounted for 245 of his 290 yards and his lone passing touchdown. Look for Drinkwitz to attack the middle with slot receivers like Jalen Knox and Dominic Gicinto, as well as to feed the ball to running back Larry Rountree III. With 67 yards on 14 carries, Rountree ran well against Alabama, and Drinkwitz said after the game he should have given the senior more inside carries. If the Tigers can't get the running game established and faces lots of passing situations on second and third downs, it might be a long day for the offensive line.
ADVANTAGE: Tennessee
When Tennessee has the ball:
Typically, as senior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano goes, so goes Tennessee. As usual, Guarantano was a bit up and down against South Carolina, but he made enough throws to win the game, passing for 259 yards and a score. Despite the departures of Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway at wideout, the receiving corps appears to still be solid, led by seniors Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson. The Volunteers' strength should be its offensive line, which features four former four-star recruits and two five-stars, including Georgia transfer Cade Mays, who received a waiver this week making him eligible to play on Saturday. The line wasn't perfect against South Carolina, allowing a couple sacks, but it also paved the way for the team's one-two tailback punch of Ty Chandler and Eric Gray to combine for 126 yards on 25 carries.
The biggest challenge for Missouri's defense will likely be holding its own against that offensive line, especially when Guarantano drops back to pass. Guarantano struggled when he was under pressure against South Carolina, completing just two of eight passes and losing a fumble when faced with pressure, compared to completing 17 of 23 attempts with a clean pocket. Missouri has struggled to rush the passer, at least without sending blitzers, for most of the past two seasons. Even for a secondary that appears to be solid, it will be difficult to keep tight coverage if Guarantano has all day to throw like Mac Jones did on Saturday.
ADVANTAGE: Push
Special teams
Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia missed a 46-yard field goal last week, but the senior is a proven commodity, having made 23 of 27 kicks last season. Missouri freshman Harrison Mevis is the inverse, having looked good on both of the field goal attempts in his first college game, but he hasn't yet been asked to kick from further than 37 yards out. Tennessee found a couple big plays in the return game last weekend, getting a 20-yard punt return from Gray and a 40-yard kickoff return from Velus Jones Jr. That will be something to monitor in a game that might not feature a ton of points.
ADVANTAGE: Tennessee
Missouri's keys to the game
1. Get off the field on third downs.
After the first drive of the game, the Missouri defense struggled mightily to stop Alabama on third downs last week. The Crimson Tide turned nine of 14 third downs into first downs. Can we just chalk that up to Alabama being really good? This week should provide the answer, because Tennessee's most glaring weakness from its first game of the season was its third down offense. The Volunteers converted their initial third down of the game, then failed to convert on 11 in a row, finishing the game one for 12. The biggest key to continuing that trend for Missouri will likely be making Guarantano uncomfortable, as discussed above.
2. Keep the quarterbacks upright.
The effectiveness of the pass rush on the other side of the ball should be a deciding factor, as well. Drinkwitz talked all camp about the challenges faced by the offensive line — replacing three starters, season-ending injuries, opt-outs, COVID-19 quarantines — and he appeared scared to throw downfield behind that line against Alabama. The Tigers will likely have to take a few more downfield shots this week, and when they do, the offensive line has to slow down Robinson and the rest of the Tennessee pass rushers.
3. Feed Rountree.
The only player on Missouri's offense to earn preseason all-SEC honors, Rountree looked like the unit's best weapon last week. He ran hard, especially between the tackles, despite often not having a ton of room to operate. He probably should have gotten the ball more than 14 times, and Drinkwitz admitted as much after the game. This week, with a quarterback in Robinson who didn't throw downfield much in Week One and facing a defense well equipped to pressure the passer on third down and long, it will be important to establish Rountree early and use the running game to put the offense in manageable late-down situations.
Numbers to Know
7: Tennessee's current win streak. Its last loss came on Oct. 9, 2019 at Alabama.
415: The number of passing yards for Guarantano when Tennessee and Missouri met last season, a career-high for him and the most the Tigers allowed all of last season. Missouri was without starting cornerback DeMarkus Acy for the matchup and lost fellow starter Jarvis Ware to injury midway through. Ware is considered day-to-day for this week's matchup.
246: The yardage differential between these two teams last season. Despite out-gaining the Tigers 526-280, the Vols only won by four points, in large part because of two missed field goals.
11: The number of times a Missouri wide receiver or tight end touched the ball behind the line of scrimmage against Alabama. In all 12 games last season, the pass-catchers combined for 21 such touches.
3.5: Tackles for loss by Missouri sophomore safety Martez Manuel last week, the most in the SEC in Week One.
PowerMizzou predictions
Mitchell Forde: I saw some things to like from Missouri last week, and I don't know that Tennessee is really a top-25 caliber team. That said, I think the Vols are the better squad on both lines of scrimmage, which is tough to overcome. I wouldn't be surprised if Missouri finds a way to move the ball, but I think there's still going to be some growing pains on offense, and I think Tennessee's experience will win out. Tennessee 30, Missouri 23.
Gabe DeArmond: This isn't the Herculean task of last week, but make no mistake, the Vols have separated themselves from teams like Mizzou and South Carolina in the last couple years. A win would help the Tigers close the gap again. I think we'll see a much more relevant test of where Missouri's program stands as Eli Drinkwitz tries to get it pointed back upward. I also think it has a little further to go than most people reading this probably do. Tennessee wins 27-17.
