3 days Ago
In what has become common practice for Missouri in the last two seasons, the No. 19 Tigers rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Iowa 27-24 in the Music City Bowl on Monday afternoon. Missouri (10-3) trailed the Hawkeyes (8-5) by 10 points late in the third quarter before mounting a 75-yard touchdown drive.
After knotting the score at 24-24 following a 51-yard field goal with 10:10 remaining, Missouri kicker Blake Craig then put the Tigers ahead with a 56-yard field goal with 4:36 left. It was the sixth field goal of 50-plus yards this season for the redshirt freshman. Advertisement Mizzou then held Iowa to a three-and-out but then punted on its next possession.
Defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. came up with his second sack on first down. Then, when the Hawkeyes faced fourth-and-1 at the Mizzou 46-yard line, the Tigers stopped quarterback Brendan Sullivan for no gain to seal the win.
ABSOLUTELY STUFFED 😤💪 MIZ DEFENSE HOLDS FOR THE WIN @MizzouFootball x 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/3OlB3NXM63 — Southeastern Conference (@SEC) December 30, 2024 It marked Missouri’s 14th come-from-behind victory in the last two seasons and the ninth that took place in the second half.
For just the third time in school history, Missouri earned double-digit victories in consecutive seasons. “(We had) 11 wins last year. We got 10 this year,” Missouri quarterback Brady Cook told ESPN’s Alyssa Lang.
“The whole month, ‘Let’s go get 10. Let’s go get 10. Let’s finish.
Let’s be finishers.’ And that’s what we did. I’m just so proud of that.
” Missouri played without three of its top offensive playmakers, but that didn’t limit Cook’s effectiveness. The senior quarterback completed 18 of 32 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for 54 yards. Likely first-round draft pick Luther Burden III , a first-team All-SEC wide receiver, opted out to prepare for the draft.
Tight end Brett Norfleet and receiver Mookie Cooper were out with injuries and receiver Theo Wease Jr. left the game with an upper-body injury after sustaining a big hit from Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa shortly before halftime. Iowa All-American running back Kaleb Johnson also opted out, but that didn’t affect the Hawkeyes running game.
Iowa rushed for 166 yards on 38 carries with Kamari Moulton leading with 96 yards. All-American kick returner Kaden Wetjen put the Hawkeyes ahead 14-7 in the second quarter on a 100-yard kickoff return and Iowa led 24-14 midway through the third quarter. Then Mizzou chipped away with a 4-yard touchdown run by Joshua Manning , followed by Craig’s two field goals.
Advertisement Missouri’s defense stifled the Hawkeyes in the second half, holding Iowa to just 102 total yards and three points. Cook now ranks second in Missouri’s all-time passing yardage list with 9,013 career yards. He’s the first Missouri quarterback to start four consecutive bowl games and has 27 career victories to rank second behind Chase Daniel (30) in school history.
“It meant everything to me, to the 12-year-old version of myself,” Cook told Lang. “I’m living out that little kid’s dream, and it’s meant everything to me. I’m just so glad we finished on top.
” The Tigers’ rally thwarted Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz’s chance at tying Ohio State coach Woody Hayes atop the Big Ten’s coaching victory pedestal. Ferentz, who has won 204 games with the Hawkeyes, sits one game behind Hayes (205) after 26 seasons. Hayes had 205 wins in 28 seasons with the Buckeyes from 1951-1978.
Required reading (Photo: Carly Mackler / Getty Images).
