Missouri is heading to the SEC Championship game, after beating Arkansas 21-14. Missouri will face either Alabama or Mississippi State. Alabama wins the west with a win or a Mississippi State lose.
Missouri didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter on a four yard pass from Maty Mauk to Jimmie Hunt. They followed that up with an impressive two point conversion to tie up the game at 14.
Marcus Murphy would score the go ahead touchdown to give the Tigers a 21-14 lead with 4:38 left in the game.
Arkansas lead the first three quarters and the touchdown by Missouri in the fourth quarter was the first touchdown that the Razorbacks had given up in 11 quarters.
I thought this would be a low scoring game and it turned out to be one. Missouri will have a tough time next week no matter who they play. I think Missouri deserves a top 10 rankings now, but the one thing keeping them out is the lose to Indiana earlier this season.
Missouri’s quarterback Maty Mauk finished 25-for-42 with 265 yards and a touchdown. Russell Hansbrough (pictured above) ran for 91 yards on 20 carries. Marcus Murphy added 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Missouri’s receivers had a lot of drops in the game, but came through in the end. Senior Bud Sasser caught nine passes for 127 yards. Jimmie Hunt added five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Brandon Allen completed 13-of-33 passed for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Allen has improved vastly throughout this season and will return for his senior season next year. Jonathan Williams finished with 72 yards on 13 carries, while Alex Collins finished with 59 yards on 14 carries. I expect both running backs to return next season, with Collins being a junior and Williams being a senior next year. Williams might consider leaving, but I highly doubt that he will.
This is Missouri second back-to-back 10 win seasons under Gary Pinkel, who I believe is the most underrated head coach in college football.
Arkansas looked much improved this season and will now await their bowl destination. The Razorbacks will have a lot of players returning next season and could be next year’s Mississippi State.
