Rapid Reaction: Tennessee routs Mizzou as Tigers turn in embarrassing defensive effort
By Adam Spencer
Published:
It didn’t take long for Tennessee to find its groove in Columbia on Saturday morning.
Mizzou got the ball first and immediately went 3-and-out. Then, the Vols needed only 5 plays to put the ball in the end zone.
The opening score came via a beautiful Hendon Hooker pass to JaVonta Payton:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444334328402432006
From that point on, the rout was on. Tennessee quickly scored again on this easy run:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444340033998127106
Then, Tiyon Evans had a 92-yard run where he was untouched by the Mizzou defense:
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN!!! pic.twitter.com/tnp5MjDz1I
— Houston Kress (@VolRumorMill) October 2, 2021
The Mizzou offense was struggling too. Here was a really bad interception thrown by Connor Bazelak:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444345071860523008
This screen pass summed up the abysmal defensive performance. Multiple Tigers had a chance to tackle Velus Jones Jr., but he pinballed his way not only to a first down, but a touchdown, too:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444350510014746629
Tennessee took a 45-10 lead into halftime. After a field goal to start the second half, the Vols gave up a 100-yard kickoff return to Kris Abrams-Draine.
This was one of the only bright spots of the day for the Tigers:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444369290954608643
The Vols didn’t slow down, though. Even when facing a 3rd-and-18, they did whatever they wanted against the porous Tiger defense. Here’s a 24-yard TD catch by Cedric Tillman:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444371495786987522
The final score ended up being 62-24 in favor of the Vols. Tennessee ran for a whopping 452 yards, led by Tiyon Evans, who had 156 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Mizzou will host North Texas next weekend. Tennessee will host South Carolina. We’ll see if the Vols can keep the momentum going. Meanwhile, we’ll see if Steve Wilks and the Mizzou defense figure out how to tackle.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
