Tigers Maul Mountaineers
| <p>Matchup</p> | <p><img class="imageLoaded" src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/277.png&h=100&w=100"></p> | <p><img class="imageLoaded" src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/142.png&h=100&w=100"></p> |
|---|---|---|
1st Downs | 13 | 26 |
3rd down efficiency | 7-16 | 7-15 |
4th down efficiency | 0-1 | 1-1 |
Total Yards | 171 | 382 |
Passing | 141 | 150 |
Comp-Att | 16-27 | 17-28 |
Yards per pass | 5.2 | 5.4 |
Interceptions thrown | 3 | 0 |
Rushing | 30 | 232 |
Rushing Attempts | 32 | 50 |
Yards per rush | 0.9 | 4.6 |
Penalties | 4-40 | 10-100 |
Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown | 3 | 0 |
Possession | 29:01 | 30:59 |
Columbia, MO – The West Virginia Mountaineers took a beating from the Missouri Tigers 38-7 Saturday afternoon. WVU was looking to improve after a lackluster win over James Madison last week while Mizzou was looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss at Wyoming last week.
West Virginia won the toss and elected to differ the second half and in a bold move, the Mountaineers decided to go for a squib kick that was fair caught at the Mizzou 42.
The Tigers were unable to take advantage of the great field position but WVU couldn’t flip the field, going three and out.
Mizzou got the ball back at near midfield and gained 30 of their 34 yards on the ground to set up a 43-yard field goal for Tucker McCann to give the Tigers the early 3-0 lead.
The West Virginia offense was starting to get into a rhythm as Austin Kendall connected on his first three passes for 23 yards before Sam James took an end-around for 8 yards to get inside Mizzou territory. Then, Kendall threw a pass behind Tevin Bush, who got a hand on it but was picked off by linebacker Nick Bolton.
The Tigers would capitalize on the turnover and it started on the first two plays on the ground going for 31 yards. Then after a pass interference call, Kelly Bryant hit All-American tight end Albert Okwuegbunam for the 26-yard touchdown pass.
On the following possession, Austin Kendall hooked up with Sam James for 16 yards on third and 10 but two plays later linebacker Cale Garrett tipped Kendall’s pass over the middle and it landed in the hands of safety Ronnell Perkins as Mizzou took over at their own 41-yard line.
Missouri continued to pound the ball on the ground getting 41-yards that was capped off by a 10-yard run by Larry Rountree to put Mizzou up 17-0.
After showing promise the first couple of possessions, despite the turnovers, the WVU offense went completely flat, while the Tigers finished their final two drive of the half with a touchdown to take a 31-0 lead into halftime.
West Virginia finished the half with -2 yards on the ground and only 78 total yards.
The Mountaineers only mustered up 4 yards in the third quarter as the WVU offensive line continued to get whipped. The O-line was getting beat so bad that Austin Kendall didn’t even have enough time to throw a quick pass without getting sacked.
Brown put in Jack Allison to start the fourth quarter, but he stared down his receiver and Nick Bolton jumped in front of it and took it back for the touchdown and his second interception of the day.
West Virginia avoided the shutout midway through the fourth after Kendall hit George Campbell from 46-yards out.
The Mountaineers finished the day with 30 rushing yards after the Mizzou defense gave up 297 yards on the ground last week. WVU finished the day with 171 total yards.
