The Missouri Tigers rid themselves of some demons, had a defensive bounce-back and strung together a winning streak in their 20-10 beat-down of the Kentucky Wildcats.
While the rest of the SEC enjoyed offensive shootouts, Missouri (2-2) and Kentucky (2-3) put together a slug fest on the ground on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in front of 11,738 fans. There weren’t huge passing totals or touchdown outbursts, but there were plenty of rushes. MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s squad has won two games in a row.
It was a defensive grind Saturday — and Mizzou stood up to meet the ‘Cats. Drinkwitz spoke all week about how Kentucky had a five-game winning streak over the Tigers. That streak is no more as Mizzou defeated Kentucky for the first time since 2014.
The Missouri defense posted its best game of the season, limiting the Wildcats to 10 points and 145 total yards. Joshauh Bledsoe added a fumble recovery and Nick Bolton had seven tackles with one sack as the Tigers stood strong against Kentucky.
Offensively, it was the MU running backs who seized the game. Larry Rountree III finished with 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Tyler Badie had 52 yards on 13 rushes.
Mizzou quarterback Connor Bazelak didn’t have another career day, but the Tigers didn’t need him to as they were more conservative against a stout Kentucky secondary. Bazelak still impressed in his limited attempts. Bazelak, making his third career start, completed 21 of 30 passes for 201 yards.
The Tigers are set to travel to No. 10 Florida for their next game. Keep an eye on if that game is played as scheduled as the Gators haven’t practiced in weeks because of COVID-19.