Despite an early lead, the No. 12 Missouri football team fell to the unranked Texas Tech Red Raiders for the Tigers’ second straight loss Saturday night, 24-17. The Red Raiders were led by quarterback Taylor Potts, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Tigers got off to a fast start, breaking two huge touchdown runs early in the first quarter. Freshman tailback Marcus Murphy broke loose down the right sideline for a 69-yard touchdown run, giving Missouri a 7-0 lead. Sophomore tailback Kendial Lawrence increased the margin to 14 with a 71-yard touchdown run five minutes later.
The Red Raiders finally answered back with a field goal with six minutes left in the first quarter. Missouri tacked on three more on a 27-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 17-3.
However, Texas Tech would come roaring back behind Potts, who entered the game for the struggling Steven Sheffield. Potts came in with five minutes left in the first half and immediately made an impact. The senior put together a 16-play drive that ended in a Red Raider touchdown, cutting the Tiger lead to 17-10.
The Tiger offense stalled throughout the second half, despite the Red Raiders coming in with a pass defense ranked 119th out of 120 teams in the country. Junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert could not piece together a successful drive, and finished a dismal 12 for 30 for only 96 yards. The Tigers only managed three first downs in the entire second half.
Texas Tech tied the game at 17 early in the third quarter as Potts connected with senior wideout Lyle Leong on a 16-yard touchdown pass. The Red Raiders got the ball back midway through the third and pieced together a 12 play, 85-yard drive that resulted in another touchdown for Leong, putting Texas Tech ahead by a touchdown. Gabbert and the Tigers could not overcome the late deficit and lost for the second straight week.
Missouri could not get into a rhythm on offense throughout the game, and had extreme difficulty moving the ball on crucial downs, finishing an abysmal 1 of 12 on third down conversions. Missouri also was dominated in ball control, finishing with 20:19 time of possession to Texas Tech’s 39:41, as well as running only 61 offensive plays to Tech’s 101. The Red Raider defense came in to Saturday’s contest allowing 317.38 yards per game through the air, yet Gabbert could only manage 95 in the game.
Missouri’s record fell to 7-2 on the season with the loss, While Texas Tech improved to 5-4. Nebraska overcame Iowa State in overtime, taking command of the Big 12 North standings. Missouri now needs to win the rest of their games and have Nebraska lose twice to play in the Big 12 Championships in early December.
The Tigers will try to turn things around as they return home to face the Kansas State Wildcats Saturday at Faurot Field.