COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football RS freshman TE Albert Okwuegbunam (Springfield, Ill.) was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, announced Monday by the league office. Okwuegbunam (pronounced Oh-coo-way-boo-nahm) caught four passes for 57 yards, including three TD grabs, tying the school record for touchdowns in a single game by a Mizzou TE. The three TD grabs tie him with former Mackey Award winner Chase Coffman, who had three against Colorado in 2007, and Swayne Blakley, who had three against Western Michigan in 1999.

At 6-5, 260 pounds, Okwuegbunam is emerging as the Tigers’ top red zone threat as all three of his scores Saturday came from inside the 20 yard line (scores of 19, 18 and 10). All three grabs came in the first quarter as Mizzou raced to a 34-7 lead, its most points ever in a single quarter of action.

Okwuegbunam has been part of a TE renaissance at Mizzou under the direction of second-year OC Josh Heupel. The group has combined to haul in 20 catches for 403 yards and are on pace for the most yards by a Mizzou TE group since 2010. The group also has eight TD grabs, highlighted by Okwuegbunam’s team-high five, the most by a Mizzou TE group since 2008.

Mizzou will be back in action Saturday as it heads to UConn for its final nonconference game of the season. The game will air on ESPN 1550 at 5:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — In a team meeting Monday, Missouri coach Barry Odom set ablaze scouting reports, game plans and other remnants of a disappointing first half of the season. Five days later, the Tigers started the second half of the season by torching Idaho’s secondary.

Missouri ended a five-game losing streak with a 68-21 victory on Faurot Field.

“I think the display in the team meeting room Monday was perfect,” quarterback Drew Lock said. “I think we’re all buying into the whole second season. Starting off 1-0 is what we needed. I think we can keep building on that. We’ve got a lot of winnable games coming up, and we just need to believe in it.”

Lock completed 23 of 33 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns. He fell one touchdown pass short of the school record he set in the season opener. J’Mon Moore caught 11 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.

The game began ominously for the Tigers (2-5). Armond Hawkins intercepted Lock on the first play, and the Vandals (2-5) proceeded to score on a 7-yard pass from Matt Linehan to Kaden Elliss, a linebacker who moonlights on offense.

“There was a very pointed discussion between our offensive coordinator and him,” Odom said, referring to Josh Heupel and Lock. “It would not be G-rated.”

Lock, in his third year starting for a team that hasn’t posted a winning record since 2014, said he has developed thick skin.

“I’ve handled a lot of adversity since I’ve been here, so throwing a pick on the first play, I’ve been in a lot worse situations here,” Lock said.

Missouri responded with five first-quarter touchdowns, including three TD passes from Lock to tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. By halftime, Missouri led 51-14 and had accumulated 465 yards.

Idaho entered the game ranked sixth nationally in pass defense, but it hadn’t played a Power 5 conference opponent until Saturday. The Tigers rely on run-pass option plays, and Lock chose the pass option frequently in the first half. The Vandals gave Missouri receivers big cushions — seemingly conceding short passes to prevent big plays — but Lock still connected on a 45-yard pass to Emanuel Hall and a 50-yarder Johnathan Johnson in the first quarter. Idaho was repeatedly gashed down the middle of the field by Missouri’s tight ends, including Kendall Blanton’s 62-yard reception.

Missouri was missing leading rusher Damarea Crockett, who injured his shoulder last week against Georgia and is expected to be out “for a while,” Odom said. In his place, freshman Larry Rountree rushed 12 times for 97 yards, including a 53-yard rush in which he plowed over Idaho defensive back Dorian Clark.

“I was just hitting the first person I saw in front of me,” Rountree said. “I’m not trying to be soft. I’m not afraid of contact.”

Missouri’s offensive output wasn’t entirely unexpected. The Tigers scored 72 points in their season-opening win over Missouri State and compiled a combined 62 points in losses at Kentucky and Georgia the last two weeks.

Missouri has been plagued by poor special teams, but the kicking game was a strength against Idaho. Richaud Floyd scored on an 85-yard punt return, and another TD was set up when Ronnell Perkins recovered a muffed kickoff in the first quarter.

Missouri entered Saturday ranked 122nd nationally in total defense after giving up an average of 499 yards per game. Idaho managed just 278 yards. Linehan completed 19 of 32 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Alfonso Onunwor caught eight passes for 89 yards, and Aaron Duckworth carried 13 times for 74 yards. Backup quarterback Mason Petrino got some playing time late in the game and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to David Ungerer with 48 seconds left.

“They just played way better than we did,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “Offensively, they got after us. Defensively, they won one-on-one matchups. You’ve just got to give them credit.”

THE TAKEAWAY

A NOD TO THE PAST: It was homecoming at Missouri, and the Tigers honored their past by wearing throwback helmets with block M logos on the side, rather than the modern Tiger head logos. Also, Missouri opened the game lined up in the Split-T formation — invented by former coach Don Faurot in 1941 — before shifting into a spread formation.

MISSING KICKER: Missouri played without kicker Tucker McCann, but it didn’t miss him. McCann was suspended for a violation of team rules, and in his place, Nick Bartolotta made two field goals and converted 8 of 9 extra-point attempts. The 5-foot-6 Bartolotta also made a solo tackle on a kickoff. Odom said McCann will return to his starting role this week.

THE RETURN OF D-LINE ZOU: In the last decade, Missouri was so prolific at cranking out NFL defensive linemen that it adopted the nickname “D-Line Zou.” That line had been quiet in 2017 until it faced Idaho. The Tigers finished with five sacks. Defensive tackle Terry Beckner, a preseason All-SEC pick, had only two sacks in the first six games. He was far more active against the Vandals, posting two sacks and six tackles.

GOING BOTH WAYS: Ellis was one of the few bright spots for Vandals. In addition to his touchdown catch, he had three tackles for loss, including a sack.

UP NEXT

MISSOURI: The Tigers will try to put together their first winning streak of the season when they visit Connecticut.

IDAHO: The Vandals will meet Louisiana-Monroe at home.

— Associated Press —

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball’s Michael Porter, Jr. (Columbia, Mo.) was picked as the Southeastern Conference Preseason Co-Player of the Year by a panel of SEC and national media members, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday. Porter was joined in a three-way tie for the preseason honor with Georgia senior forward Yante Maten and Texas A&M sophomore forward Robert Williams.

Porter was also named Preseason First-Team All-SEC, adding to a run of honors that include: Athlon Sports Preseason All-America First Team (Oct. 9), Blue Ribbon Preseason All-America First Team (Sept. 18) and NBC Sports Preseason All-America First Team.

Considered the nation’s No. 1 recruit coming out of high school, the current Tiger averaged an impressive 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington, in 2016-17. Prior to his stint in the Northwest, Porter led Father Tolton Catholic High School to Columbia’s first high school state basketball championship in 54 years as a junior in 2015-16. The 6-10 forward averaged an outstanding 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game during that campaign.

Porter’s selection as a conference preseason player of the year marks the first time since prior to the 2012-13 campaign that a Mizzou student-athlete received the honor. Mizzou guard Phil Pressey was selected as the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year by league media, along with a preseason first-team nod.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball was picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference by a select voting panel of both SEC and national media members. The selection is the highest predicted finish for Mizzou since the Tigers joined the league.

The only two teams picked to place higher than Mizzou in 2017-18, South Carolina and Mississippi State, earned trips to last season’s National Championship game.

Sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was one five players in the league to receive Preseason All-SEC recognition in the media poll. Cunningham was the only other player outside of South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson to garner votes for Preseason SEC Player of the Year.

In 2016-17, Cunningham averaged a team-best 17.5 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per contest. She earned First Team All-SEC honors and received AP All-America Honorable Mention recognition after pouring in 19.1 points per game during league play and reaching double figures in 26 of 31 games. Cunningham has 989 career points heading into her junior season, the second-most by any Tiger sophomore through two campaigns in program history.

As a team, Mizzou is coming off back-to-back 22-win seasons and victories in consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. The Tigers finished tied for third in the SEC last season, their highest conference finish since 1990. Mizzou went 15-1 at home in 2016-17 and the Tigers are 31-4 at Mizzou Arena since Feb. 5, 2015.

PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
Order of Finish
1. South Carolina
2. Mississippi State
3. Missouri
4. Tennessee
5. Texas A&M
6. Kentucky
7. LSU
8. Georgia
9. Alabama
10. Auburn
11. Vanderbilt
12. Florida
13. Ole Miss
14. Arkansas

Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina

Preseason All-SEC
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
Morgan William, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee

— Mizzou Athletics —

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Sony Michel ran for two touchdowns as No. 4 Georgia found its running game after a slow start and took control with 26 unanswered points to beat Missouri 53-28 on Saturday night.

Georgia (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) recovered from an early scare by gaining 696 total yards, including 370 on the ground. Missouri (1-5, 0-4) suffered its fifth straight loss as it faded following a 21-all tie in the second quarter.

Georgia’s Mecole Hardman scored on a 35-yard run in the first quarter and a 59-yard catch from Jake Fromm in the fourth quarter.

Missouri showed the big-play potential in its passing game on Emanuel Hall’s two 63-yard touchdown catches in the first half. Drew Lock also threw a 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.

Lock threw for 253 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.

The Tigers stacked their defense against the run and gave up only 45 yards on the ground in the first quarter. The strategy put pressure on Fromm, the freshman.

Missouri linebacker Cale Garrett’s interception in the first quarter set up Lock’s scoring pass to Okwuegbunam.

D’Andre Swift ran for 94 yards, including a 71-yarder, Michel had 86 yards and Nick Chubb added 70 yards to lead Georgia’s deep ground attack. Fromm threw for 326 yards with two touchdowns and added a 4-yard scoring run.

Georgia allowed a combined 17 points in its first three SEC wins, a total topped by the Tigers in the first half.

Following the last tie at 21-all, Georgia scored the final 13 points of the half and the first 13 points of the second half.

The first half was a painful reality check for Georgia’s defense, which ranked second in the nation with its average of 10 points allowed per game and led the SEC with its average of 118.3 yards passing allowed in conference games.

Missouri linebacker Tavon Ross was ejected after his head-first hit on Hardman, who was returning a kickoff, in the fourth quarter. The targeting call followed a video review.

THE TAKEAWAY

Missouri: An abysmal defense allowing 40 points per game couldn’t slow the Bulldogs. Missouri gave up 407 yards in the first half.

Georgia: The test against the best passing game Georgia has faced uncovered problems in the Bulldogs’ defense. Georgia’s secondary was torched by on the two long scoring catches by Hall. The Bulldogs’ pass rush also had difficult putting pressure on Lock at times. Ultimately, Georgia turned to its strength — the running game — to put the game away.

INJURIES

Georgia wide receiver Terry Godwin left the game in the first half with injured left ribs. He was escorted to the locker room and did not return for the second half. Offensive guard Pat Allen suffered an apparent left leg injury in the fourth quarter. Missouri running back Damarea Crockett suffered a right shoulder injury.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers will take a break from their SEC schedule when they host Idaho on Saturday.

Georgia: Following an off week, Georgia will play Florida on Oct. 28 in Jacksonville, Florida.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Football QB Brad Smith is Mizzou’s representative in this year’s 2017 SEC Football Legends Class, a collection of former football standouts who will be honored at events surrounding the SEC Football Championship Game in Atlanta in December.

The 2017 Football Legends Class includes 14 former stars who excelled on the gridiron and helped write the rich history of the sport at their respective institutions. This year’s class includes All-Americans, All-SEC selections and Academic All-Americans. The group represents teams that won National and SEC Championships and are represented in state, school and college football halls of fame.

Smith helped lead the Mizzou program to national prominence in his record-setting quarterback career, as he left holding 69 school, conference and NCAA game, season and career records. Smith became the first player in NCAA Division I-A history to throw for 8,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards in a career, and he broke the NCAA record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback.

He led Mizzou to a pair of bowl games in 2003 and 2005, as well as 25 wins in four years as a starter. Smith was an outstanding student as he was named a finalist for the prestigious Draddy Award, also known as the Academic Heisman, and was named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. He was a fourth-round pick by the New York Jets in the 2006 NFL Draft, and played in 104 games over nine seasons with the Jets, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles before retiring after the 2014 season.

The class will be honored at the 2017 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 1-2 in Atlanta, Ga. The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be held Fri., Dec. 1 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta and the group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sat., Dec. 2.

— Mizzou Athletics —

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Austin MacGinnis kicked four field goals, including two in the fourth quarter, and Stephen Johnson and Benny Snell each had two touchdowns as Kentucky outlasted Missouri 40-34 in a back-and-forth marathon Saturday night.

Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) led by double digits three times but allowed Missouri to eventually tie the game at 27 late in the third quarter and 34 early in the fourth. MacGinnis’ 53-yard field goal with 9:40 remaining provided a three-point edge before Lonnie Johnson blocked Tucker McCann’s 45-yard field goal attempt with 6:15 left, setting up MacGinnis’ 20-yard kick with 1:48 left that gave the Wildcats a cushion in a game that lasted nearly four hours.

Before that Johnson threw touchdown passes of 14 and 64 yards while Snell ran for scores of 71 and 6 yards. Those scores merely provided breathing room as Tigers quarterback Drew Lock threw TD passes of 50, 58 and 75 yards, the last of which tied the game. Lock’s 48-yard completion set up his 1-yard TD run.

Missouri (1-4, 0-3) outgained Kentucky 568-486 but lost its fourth in a row.

Kentucky reserve quarterback Luke Wright was taken away on a stretcher with a medical emergency in the fourth quarter, but there was no immediate word on what caused it.

THE TAKEAWAY

Missouri: Entering the game ranked ninth nationally with six plays over 50 yards, the Tigers used big plays to stay close and eventually tie. Lock connected with J’Mon Moore for a 50-yard touchdown, Emanuel Hall for a 58-yard score and Johnathon Johnson for 75 yards that tied the game. Lock finished 22 of 42 for 355 yards. Turnovers did in the Tigers, as two fumbles led to Kentucky touchdowns.

Kentucky: Eager to rebound from a subpar offensive effort against Eastern Michigan, the Wildcats scored on four straight first-half drives and built three double-digit leads. Good thing, since they also allowed the Tigers to claw back. Johnson’s 22-of-36 passing for 298 yards was huge, as was Snell’s 71-yard TD run. MacGinnis finished with 16 points to surpass Lones Seiber as the program’s career scoring leader.

UP NEXT

Missouri visits No. 5 Georgia next week.

Kentucky has a bye before traveling to Mississippi State on Oct. 21. The Wildcats won last year’s meeting 40-38 on a last-second field goal that turned their season around.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Kerryon Johnson had no idea how many touchdowns he had scored, even as they kept adding up.

The Auburn running back was simply focused on his much-awaited return to the field after two weeks off following a hamstring injury.

Johnson made the most of that return on Saturday night, scoring a career-high five times as the No. 15 Tigers (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) made quick work of struggling Missouri (1-3, 0-2) in a 51-14 victory.

The junior did most of his work in short-yardage situations, scoring three times on 1-yard runs and adding others from 2 and 7 yards out. More than anything, his presence – along with 48 yards rushing on 18 carries – provided a boost for an Auburn offense that had struggled to find its expected explosiveness in recent weeks.

”It was fun, it’s been a long two weeks, but it was good rest, and just getting back out there with those guys and competing was fun for me,” Johnson said.

As productive as Johnson was, he had plenty of backing in the form of Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham and a defense that forced four Missouri turnovers.

Stidham started the fun for Auburn’s offense with a 58-yard completion to Kyle Davis on the school’s first possession, and he rarely let up from there – finishing with 218 yards passing and a touchdown on 13-of-17 passing.

Preseason All-SEC cornerback Carlton Davis accounted for one of Auburn’s forced turnovers, snaring a tipped pass by Missouri quarterback Drew Lock in the first quarter and setting up Auburn’s second score of the game.

”First of all, I’m very pleased with the win on the road in the SEC,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. ”We were pretty balanced. I thought our defense played outstanding again.”

For Missouri, the loss was yet another disappointment in a season full of them – even in the school’s up-and-down 72-43 win over Football Championship Series rival Missouri State to open the season.

Lock finished 23-of-39 passing for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Missouri, which allowed its most points since a 63-37 loss to Tennessee last season.

”It’s unfortunate that we again get into a situation where we were minus four in the turnover margin, gave up explosive plays on defense and didn’t sustain drives offensively,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. ”For us, right now that’s who we are.”

THE TAKEAWAY

AUBURN: The Tigers’ offense entered the game looking like anything but a Malzahn-coached team, having allowed 11 sacks in a loss to Clemson and committing five turnovers in last week’s win over Mercer. Aided by Johnson’s return, Auburn returned to its high-scoring form from the start – highlighted by completions of 58 and 46 yards by Stidham in the first half.

”Collectively as a team, I think we’re starting to kind of find our edge, kind of get in our groove,” Stidham said.

MISSOURI: Missouri’s season-long struggles with defense continued on Saturday night, with the Tigers allowing 482 yards of total offense by Auburn. Missouri entered the game 103rd in the country and last in the SEC in total defense, and its problems showed in particular in the first half – when Auburn scored 31 points and scored on all four of its red zone chances.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Regardless of how big the margin of victory, a win over lowly Missouri was unlikely to help Auburn re-establish itself as the SEC’s top contender to No. 1 Alabama. The re-emergence of the Tigers’ offense, however, should be a good sign with six straight SEC games on the horizon.

UP NEXT

AUBURN: The Tigers play their first game against an SEC West Division opponent when they host No. 17 Mississippi State next week.

MISSOURI: After four straight home games to open the season, Missouri is off next week before traveling to Kentucky on Oct. 7.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball will play 10 games on national television during conference action in 2017-18, including up to three on ESPN2, as the Southeastern Conference announced television designations and tipoff times on Wednesday. Six of Mizzou’s eight home conference matchups are slated to be on national television.

The Tigers’ home matchup against defending national champion South Carolina on Jan. 7 (1 p.m. CT) will be broadcast on ESPN2. After a road contest at Ole Miss on Jan. 18 (8 p.m. CT) on SEC Network, Mizzou hosts border rival Arkansas on Jan. 21 (4 p.m. CT) on SEC Network. The Tigers’ return trip to South Carolina on Jan. 28 (5 p.m. CT) will be aired on ESPN2.

Mizzou then returns to Mizzou Arena for a three-game homestand against 2017 national runner-up Mississippi State on Feb. 1 (7:30 p.m. CT), Florida on Feb. 5 (6 p.m. CT) and Kentucky on Feb. 8 (8 p.m. CT). All three of those matchups will be broadcast on SEC Network.

Mizzou travels to Arkansas on Feb. 11 (4 p.m. CT) to face the Razorbacks on SEC Network before returning home to take on Tennessee on Feb. 18 (1 p.m. CT or 4 p.m. CT) on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The Tigers’ final nationally broadcasted game is against Texas A&M on Feb. 25 (3 p.m. CT) on SEC Network.

All remaining league games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus via the WatchESPN app. All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network) will also be available through the ESPN app, which is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The full 2017-18 Mizzou Women’s Basketball schedule can be viewed here.

— Mizzou Athletics —