In a matchup of Tigers Saturday afternoon, Missouri asserted itself as dramatically superior to the visitors from Memphis. In rolling up 646 yards against an overmatched Memphis defense, Missouri scored the most points against the Tigers in 39 years. (Florida State beat the Tigers 66-17 on November 17, 1979.)
Memphis quarterback Brady White entered the contest having thrown but one interception in seven games. He threw two in the loss, the first of them returned 42 yards for a touchdown by Christian Holmes early in the first quarter to give Mizzou a 14-0 lead. The Tigers closed the deficit to four points (21-17) early in the second quarter when White connected with Tony Pollard for a 30-yard touchdown. But Missouri scored four touchdowns over the final nine minutes of the first half to put the game out of reach. Two of the touchdowns were scored by Albert Okwuegbunam, who caught a third scoring strike from Mizzou quarterback Drew Lock in the third quarter.
Okwuegbunam finished the game with 159 yards on six receptions. Lock completed 23 of 29 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns.
The country’s leading rusher, Memphis tailback Darrell Henderson, was limited to four carries (for 15 yards) by a hamstring injury and did not play in the second half. Patrick Taylor rushed for 103 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. White completed only 15 of 37 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Damonte Coxie caught eight of the passes for 111 yards and a score.
The loss is the 28th in 31 games against SEC foes for Memphis since the Tigers upset of Tennessee in 1996. Their next SEC tilt will be against Ole Miss in the 2019 season opener. (Missouri will visit Memphis in 2023.)
The loss drops Memphis to 4-4 while Missouri improves to 4-3. The local Tigers have a bye week before traveling to East Carolina where they’ll resume American Athletic Conference play on November 3rd.
