QUICK RECAP: Mississippi State lays another egg in 39-20 loss against Missouri
Mississippi State had early and late momentum vanish as the Bulldogs dropped a 39-20 ball game to Missouri for the 12th-consecutive SEC defeat dating back to 2023.
Missouri overcame some late momentum from Mississippi State on Saturday to take a 39-20 road win.
Brady Cook commanded an offense that had its best day in SEC play this season. The Tigers had SEC highs in points (39) and yards (473) in the win.
The game turned into a blowout late after the Bulldogs had a chance to cut the game to a one possession game at the start of the fourth quarter. With momentum in hand and trailing 31-20 inside the red zone, Jeff Lebby decided to go for it on 4th and 3 instead of kick a field goal.
After the Bulldogs were stopped on 4th down, Missouri drove down the field and put together a 14-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:43 as Marcus Carroll scored from 1 yard away.
The Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) had 473 yards of total offense and held the ball for 37:23 while the Bulldogs had it for just 18:09. Mizzou was 11-of-17 on 3rd down and averaged 6.4 yards per play.
Cook was 15-of-20 passing for 268 yards and one touchdown and had seven catches from Luther Burden for 91 yards. Nate Noel led a running back group that had 205 yards on 56 carries and Noel had 25 carries for 95 yards. Carroll finished with 14 carries for 61 yards and three scores.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Strength of Schedule
CFP Top 25 SOS ranking
- 2
Alabama needs a prayer
Tide can make the CFP but needs help
- 3
3 ACC teams in CFP?
Path for ACC outlined
- 4
Taco Bell offers Oklahoma
Brent Venables story pays dividends
- 5
New CFP Top 25
College Football Playoff rankings revealed
For the Bulldogs (2-9, 0-7 SEC), the team had just 338 yards of offense. Michael Van Buren was 16-of-28 for 191 yards and one touchdown but saw the game turn early on a fumble.
With a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and with great field position, Van Buren fumbled, and it was scooped up for a 66-yard touchdown by Dylan Carnell.
Davon Booth had a big game on the ground for the Bulldogs with 12 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown notching his second-straight game of 100 yards. State finished 2-of-10 on 3rd downs and had three red zone trips that could have led to touchdowns finish with a total of six points.
BIG PICTURE:
Missouri is out of the playoff discussion but headed to its fifth bowl game in as many years under coach Eli Drinkwitz. The Tigers will have a chance to have another 10-win season with two more victories.
Mississippi State is on the verge of a winless SEC season for the first time since 2002.
UP NEXT:
Mississippi State plays Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg on November 29.
Missouri will host Arkansas on November 30