1 day Ago By Adam D. Busack
STARKVILLE, Miss. — For the first time all season, the wide receiver room that was billed as among the nations' best played a crucial role in lifting Mizzou football to victory Saturday. Graduate wideout Theo Wease Jr.
and junior Luther Burden III complimented a dominant rushing attack, serving as key contributors to a Tigers offense that has struggled to consistently find the scoreboard this season. The pair reeled in a combined 10 catches for 163 yards in Mizzou's 39-20 win against Mississippi State on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, leading the Tigers (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) to their first victory over the Bulldogs (2-9, 0-7 SEC) since a 47-30 victory on Sept. 22, 1984, in Columbia.
Burden and Wease, both of whom are projected selections in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, were the cornerstones of an offensive unit which ranked among the SEC's best in their first season together last year. But on the backs of hefty expectations that emerged out of the Tigers successful 2023 season, pressure was put on the wide receiver tandem to replicate their production again in 2024. If the duo didn't quite live up to expectations in the early goings of the season, Saturday was surely a return to form for Missouri's offensive engines.
"They just keep going to work," Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "And they're pros, you know. They are pro's pros.
" Out of the receiver tandem, it was Burden who reached pay dirt, with a 28-yard touchdown reception over the middle that had a little pizzazz on it late in the second quarter. Missouri quarterback Brady Cook, who was forced to improvise a pass after being flushed out of the pocket, threw a pass in the direction of a streaking Burden over the middle of the field. Burden, who saw that the ball was thrown behind him and that Mississippi State safety Corey Ellington was unaware of the fact, continued his route until the very last second before plating his feet and diving to his back shoulder, hauling in a highlight-reel worthy touchdown to give Missouri a 21-10 lead.
The junior wide receiver, who caught seven passes on eight targets for 91 yards and the score, eclipsed both T.J. Moe and Danario Alexander to move into 4th all-time on Missouri's reception leaderboard with 192.
Burden has now scored in back-to-back contests after breaking a streak of six straight games without a touchdown last week in South Carolina. "You know, it hasn't gone exactly the way we all dreamed it this this season, right? And especially for him," Drinkwitz said. "But for him to be such a great teammate, to do his job consistently, to not complain.
I never once heard from him, his parents, never heard a complaint. He just shows up and does his job every day at practice, and the game knows. The game rewards you.
" Despite reeling in two more catches than his counterpart, Burden only outgained Wease by 14 yards in Saturday's contest. The graduate wideout caught all four of his targets for 72 yards on the day. Wease's 38-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter was the Tigers' second longest play from scrimmage, behind only Speedy Johnson's 45-yard first quarter reception that was in the midst of a seven play, 75-yard drive, which culminated in a Marcus Carroll 2-yard rushing touchdown.
Carroll finished the game with three scores: his second hat trick of the year. "I tell this to (NFL) scouts and GMs — like, that league's got a lot of players who always demanding, demanding, demanding. You're gonna be able to put Luther with a vet or a rookie, and he's never going to inhibit their growth, because he's not going to be a jerk to him.
He's just going to consistently say, 'I'll do my job, and if the play dictates I get the ball, then I'm going to do a great job with ball my hands.' And if it doesn't, then next play," Drinkwitz said. "You could say the same thing for Theo too.
" For Wease, Saturday's contest was personal. Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, who was Wease's former offensive coordinator during the receiver's final season in Oklahoma, potentially played a big part in Wease's decision to enter the transfer portal after the 2022 season. In Saturday's contest and against Oklahoma, Wease carried an extra chip on his shoulder into each.
Across the pair of revenge games, the Tigers team captain recorded four receptions in each, picking up 70 and 72 yards apiece. Wease also caught two touchdowns against the Sooners on Nov 9. Missouri quarterback Brady Cook was a main beneficiary from Wease and Burden's productive outings.
Cook, who was 15-of-20 passing on the day for a season-high 268 yards, finished with a blistering 204.1 passer rating on the night..
