COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Connor Bazelak squeezed a full day of production into one half Saturday as he led Missouri to a 59-28 victory over Southeast Missouri.
Bazelak completed 21 of 30 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers (2-1).
“You hope within two quarters that you play well enough and put enough points on the board,” Bazelak said. “We did. I’m kind of glad I got to sit out the second half.”
He spread the ball to 10 receivers. The big plays included a 46-yard touchdown pass on a deep post route to D’onte Smith and a tunnel screen to Chance Luper that the freshman took down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
After Missouri built a 38-0 halftime lead, Bazelak handed the keys to backups Brady Cook and Tyler Macon.
“You’ve got to play to a standard, and I thought we did a nice job of playing to a standard,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “You’ve got to convert third downs, you’ve got to stop the run, you’ve got to get off the field. We were able to do all those things effectively in the first half.”
The Missouri offense continued that trend in the second half. Cook threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Young on his only drive, and Macon connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass to JJ Hester on his first career pass attempt.
Missouri’s defensive reserves had less success against SEMO (0-3). Redhawks quarterback CJ Ogbonna carried 12 times for 96 yards. Shamenski Rucker scored two rushing touchdowns, and Q’Nairies Anderson sprinted up the middle untouched for a 75-yard touchdown on his only carry. The Redhawks outscored Missouri in the second half and finished with 294 rushing yards.
The Tigers visit Boston College next Saturday.