Mizzou vs. Kentucky Notebook: Rinse & Repeat for Tigers Offense and Defense
The Missouri Tigers headed into Saturday's home bout with the Kentucky Wildcats after picking up arguably their best win of the season.
A 23-10 road victory over the then-No. 25 South Carolina Gamecocks showed that the Tigers -- behind another strong performance from their defense -- were trending in a positive direction as the final stretch of the season approached.
And in a game where Mizzou found itself with a fighting chance late due to another impressive performance by its defense and despite inconsistent play from the offense, it was a controversial penalty that all but put the Tigers' chance at a potentially huge win over Kentucky to bed. Missouri fell 21-17 in another heart-breaking finish.
Let's look at a few takeaways from the game.
Tigers defense dominant again, post season-high sack total
A week after allowing only 10 points to South Carolina, the Tigers' defense gave up 21 points Saturday to a Wildcats offense that, despite some struggles, remains dotted with potential NFL talent. Mizzou has now held all of its SEC opponents to 26 points or less.
The Mizzou defense finished with a season-high six sacks, all of which came from six different contributors. The Tigers had four sacks in the first half and were forcing the Wildcats into tough down-and-distance scenarios because of this.
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was efficient as a passer but finished with his second-fewest passing yards of the season (160). After he helped give the Wildcats a 14-3 lead early in the third quarter, the Mizzou defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs.
The defense once again did its job before the controversial roughing-the-kicker penalty. However, the brutal ending to the game shouldn't overshadow the performance of Mizzou's defense.
Mizzou passing attack brutally poor
The Tigers had just 19 passing yards in the first half after getting next to nothing going down the field. Mizzou was also 0 of 6 on third down through the first two quarters. The lack of efficiency on the "money down" continued till the end of the contest, as the Tigers finished a brutal 2 of 13 on third-down tries.,
Tigers quarterback Brady Cook had his second-lowest passing total of the season (143) and had some embarrassing misses.
Cook had a chance in the third quarter to get a big completion to Barrett Banister but missed the wide-open receiver badly. Luckily, Burden had a toughly-contested catch on the sideline that gave the Tigers their first third-down conversion with five minutes left in the third.
But overall, it was Cook's legs -- he had two rushing scores for Mizzou's only touchdowns of the afternoon -- that helped make up for what was a tough and forgettable day against a stout Kentucky defense.
Luther Burden III looking comfortable
With Dominic Lovett getting shutout, Burden III emerged as the clear No. 1 option for Cook. He led all players with six catches for 60 yards.
The six grabs matched Burden's season-high while the yardage total was the second-highest of his freshman season. Despite a few under-throws from Cook, who played poorly, Burden still managed to come up with an important 35-yard grab -- tied for his longest of the season -- that helped spark a Mizzou touchdown drive which gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead early in the fourth.
Burden has had his fair share of ups and downs this season, but he's continued to prove he's the future of Mizzou alongside Lovett. Now, the Tigers will need to figure out their quarterback situation.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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