Five weeks in a row, Mizzou has dominated its opponents in the box score on the way to victory.
The Tigers outgained UMass 521 yards to 124 on the way to a 42-6 win over the Minutemen on Homecoming, controlling time of possession and recording 31 first downs compared to just eight by their visitors from Amherst.
Mizzou quickly raced out to large statistical advantages across the board, recording 288 total yards in the first half to just 61 for UMass and nearly doubling the visitors’ time of possession
in the opening 30 minutes. Corey Batoon’s defense limited its opposition to 12 rushing yards in the first two quarters and 49 yards passing, and the Minutemen recorded just four first downs.
Looking only at the stat sheet would have led to a score prediction that had the Tigers far ahead by halftime, the game already in hand. The reality of the game, though, was a 21-6 Mizzou lead.
“We started fast and then got a little bit clunky there with the turnover,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the game, “but ultimately, we had game control most of the game.”
Mistakes and missed opportunities in the opening half kept the game relatively close between a top-25 squad and a team rated as the worst in the FBS by SP+.
Beau Pribula looked to pass on the run as the Tigers led 7-0 and were driving in UMass territory, but the Penn State transfer didn’t see Timmy Hinspeter sitting in coverage. The linebacker nearly returned the pick for a touchdown, only stopped by a strong effort from Jamal Roberts, and the Minutemen got on the board six plays later with their only score of the contest.
Pribula also took three sacks in the first half, unable to find a man downfield or escape the pocket with his legs.
“You don’t have to be Superman every play; throw the ball away,” Drinkwitz said of some of Pribula’s decisions, “I think that’s part of maturing as a quarterback. You want to make every play; throwing the ball away is a good play.”
Despite the interception and sacks, the Penn State transfer was ultra-efficient in the passing game. He recorded 241 passing yards with a gaudy 90% completion rate for the night, including a string of 21 straight completions that broke Chase Daniel’s record of 20 set back in 2008 against Buffalo.
Pribula consistently found his check downs and open receivers with room to run in the flat as UMass worked to take away the potential for explosive plays.
The plan worked, in part; Pribula averaged 9.3 yards per completion, with his longest pass completion of the night going 20 yards to Tavorous Jones in the third quarter.
The Minutemen allowed Kirby Moore and Eli Drinkwitz to focus on what their offense does best: control the time of possession and ground their opponents into submission with an elite running game.
The strategy looked like it might push the game into true blowout territory early in the third quarter.
Mizzou took the opening drive of the quarter 63 yards, culminating in Ahmad Hardy’s 16-yard run for his third touchdown of the night to move ahead 28-6.
But the score was followed by four consecutive punts as most of the third quarter saw drives that failed to gain traction or had momentum halted in its tracks by mishaps. Connor Weselman backed UMass into a corner with his second punt in that sequence, downing the visitors at their own three-yard line.
“Maybe he got too much work tonight,” Drinkwitz said of Weselman, “so he was able to be a little bit more consistent.”
No matter the reason, the pressure created by being backed into his own end zone served as a catalyst for AJ Hairston’s interception to Santana Banner that set the Tigers up with first-and-goal, helping break the scoring drought as the end of the third quarter drew near.
The team’s 35-6 advantage allowed Eli Drinkwitz to finally send in the second stringers (including Matt Zollers), and Tavorous Jones capped the scoring early in the final quarter of action with a three-yard rush into the end zone.
Drinkwitz felt confident enough to bring in Tommy Lock at quarterback for the final 11 minutes of the game, giving the graduate student his first game action in five seasons as a Tiger.
The move to send in the second stringers across the board allowed UMass to break into triple digits in total yardage for the game and tamped down on Mizzou’s late-game offensive output, resulting in the final score that seems misaligned with the statistics.
That misalignment seems to go deeper than late game personnel decisions, though, which would explain one game as a statistical oddity. One game is a coincidence, but three create a trend.
The Tigers outgained Kansas 595 to 254 in the Border War and dominated time of possession, but the team trailed with less than nine minutes remaining before two late scores lifted them to a 42-31 win. And just last week, Mizzou found itself trailing at the beginning of the fourth quarter against South Carolina despite outgaining the Gamecocks 456 yards to 293 and nearly doubling the visitors’ number of first downs.
The Tigers’ large advantage in time of possession during these contests helps partly explain why the large difference in total yardage don’t line up with the final scores.
Another explanation: explosive plays allowed by the defense, alongside sacks, interceptions and missed opportunities on the offensive end, have limited Mizzou’s ability to fully take control and jump out to sizable leads. The Tigers have found a way to work around their issues so far, maintaining an undefeated record and surpassing early season expectations.
But the stiffer competition brought on by an SEC schedule awaits, starting two weeks from now against Alabama.
“We know what’s next,” wide receiver Kevin Coleman, Jr., said, “We’re ready for the next game, we’re happy it’s time for SEC play.”
Continuing to work smooth out the team’s early season bumps will be critical for Mizzou to unlock its full potential as the group eyes another 10-win season and the possibility of a College Football Playoff bid.
“The mentality of our coaching staff and our players during the bye week [is] we’ve got to sharpen our edge; we cannot get complacent,” Drinkwitz said. And so having things to work on is positive.”
Now, the Tigers have two weeks to prepare for their biggest test of the 2025 season.
