Missouri wins thriller against Arkansas in Columbia

The Missouri Tigers improved to 5-3 Saturday after picking up a 50-48 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The game opened with a surprise, as everyone was expecting Feleipe Franks to line up under center for Arkansas, but as the game began it was revealed that Franks had a rib injury, leading to KJ Jefferson making his first career start. Jefferson excelled on short notice, finishing with 274 yards on 18-33 passing and three touchdowns. Trelon Smith opened up the rushing attack and made things easier for Jefferson, scoring three touchdowns and gaining 176 yards on 26 carries. Treylon Burks also made Jefferson’s job much easier, as he was a force to be reckoned with, hauling in ten catches for 206 yards.

Despite all of this, and despite a two touchdown lead entering the fourth quarter, and despite a 14 yard touchdown pass to Mike Woods and a successful two-point conversion to go up 48-47 with 43 seconds to go, it just wasn’t enough for Arkansas. Missouri got the ball back, drove down the field, and Harrison Mevis connected on his fifth field goal of the day for the 50-48 victory.

The ground attack was the story for the Tigers yet again, as well. Larry Rountree had his second straight three touchdown game, finishing with 185 yards on 27 carries for the three scores. Tyler Badie added a pair of touchdowns on six carries.

Mizzou quarterback Connor Bazelak had 380 passing yards on 32-49 passing, but no touchdowns or interceptions, which isn’t something you see every day.

The game wasn’t without it’s controversy, as Mizzou linebacker Nick Bolton was ejected for a targeting call that, uh, wasn’t targeting.