Rapid Reaction: SEC East champ Missouri puts together beautiful fourth quarter
Here are some quick thoughts on Missouri’s 21-14 win against Arkansas.
What it means: The Missouri Tigers are back-to-back SEC East champions. Gary Pinkel deserves consideration for national coach of the year. After a mid-season sag, the offense has played under control and free of mistakes. The defense has leveraged its athleticism to win close games, as it did again today. This team is stupefying, but any talk of this team being overrated or undeserving is ignorant, and has been for some time. You don’t string together 22 wins in two seasons in the SEC, even in a down East, without being good.
What I liked: The two fourth-quarter touchdown drives were a thing of beauty — the first with some explosive passing plays, the second with a relentless rushing attack and a two-point conversion worthy of play of the week consideration. The Missouri defense swarmed Brandon Allen after falling behind 14-3, allowing the Tigers to slowly reel in the Hogs. Maty Mauk and this offense came alive in the fourth quarter once again. Andrew Baggett, possibly the worst placekicker in the SEC heading into this week, drilled two field goals of longer than 50 yards.
What I didn’t like: Jimmie Hunt couldn’t catch the ball. Even on a fourth-quarter catch that created buzz, he made it spectacular only because he bobbled the initial grab. Murphy fumbled one punt and took a fair catch way too close to the end zone on another. Dan Skipper blocked a Baggett field goal. With an SEC East title on the line, Missouri allowed Arkansas to push to a 14-3 lead. The Razorbacks nearly put the game away before the fourth quarter.
Who’s the man: The Missouri offensive line. Sure, Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough made some good runs, but the big boys up front blew the Arkansas defensive line off the ball and opened up huge chasms.
Key play: Markus Golden recovered an Alex Collins fumble with 2:13 left on the Missouri 35-yard line. Arkansas would’ve faced a fourth-and-short down a touchdown and just outside of the red zone. Instead, the Tigers literally ran the clock to triple zeros.
What’s next: For the second consecutive season, Missouri will advance to the SEC championship as the East Division representative. Not bad for a team that migrated to the conference three years ago from the Big 12. If Alabama wins or if Mississippi State loses on Saturday, the Tigers will face the Crimson Tide next Saturday.