Mizzou Puts Together Clutch Last-Minute Drive to Beat Florida
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The Mizzou football offense found itself in a familiar spot on Saturday night at Faurot Field; a golden opportunity to win a game with less than two minutes remaining.
It seemed like the Tigers would fall short. While trailing 31-30 to Florida with just 38 seconds remaining, the Tigers faced a 4th-and-17 from their own 33-yard line.
But hope was restored when quarterback Brady Cook heaved a pass that a wide open Luther Burden III brought down at Florida's 46-yard line.
Cook was nearly perfect on the final drive, completing seven of 10 pass attempts for 67 yards. Following his fourth-down pass to Burden, Cook would connect with Mehki Miller on an 11-yard reception and a 16-yard pass to Mookie Cooper to place Mizzou at Florida's 13-yard line.
Rehearsing for his moment on the sidelines, kicker Harrison Mevis had full faith in his offense to set him up with the opportunity to win the game.
"I have a lot of belief in the offense," Mevis said. "If they give me a shot, I'm going to put it through."
When Mevis trotted out to kick, his teammates held the same amount of faith in their reliable kicker.
"We had a lot of confidence in Mevis," Cook said. "It was a cool moment. That's all for him right there. He deserves it."
Mevis' kick put Mizzou up 33-31, securing the Tigers fourth one-score win of the 2023 season, the same amount of one-score losses they suffered in 2022. The game-winning drive on Saturday again proved the vast difference between the two year's teams.
"It's a mindset, and our team has it," Cook said. "I don't think we win this game last year ... It comes from the experience of last year. We lost those games last year, some tough games. We know what it feels like to be at the bottom."
It seemed like Mizzou had reached the bottom multiple times in their victory against Florida. That the Tigers had ran out of luck. But instead of collapsing in the biggest moments, they roared back, including on a crucial fourth quarter turnover.
With Florida driving down the field, threatening to take the lead as the Gators trailed 23-21, defensive tackle Kristian Williams pounced on the ball quickly after it slipped through the hands of backup quarterback Max Brown, who was filling in for an injured Graham Mertz.
Two plays after Williams' fumble recovery, wide receiver Theo Wease sprinted down the tightrope of the sideline 77-yards to the endzone, extending Mizzou's lead to 30-21 and providing plenty of momentum for the Tigers.
Wease's incredible touchdown was only one part of a ping-pong match of explosive plays between both teams. Florida found success over what Drinkwitz described as a leaky Mizzou defense, scoring on touchdowns of 37-yards with running back Trevor Etienne and 39-yards for wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Ultimately, Mizzou's pot of gold ran deeper. Early on in the second quarter, running back Cody Schrader scored on a 42-yard rushing touchdown with the help of his offensive line opening up a clear path to the end zone. Schrader ended the game with 148 rushing yards, making it his fourth straight 100-yard performance. Schrader and Wease's touchdowns paired with the three big receptions on the Tigers' closing drive allowed Mizzou to move on to come out on top over Florida and move on to 9-2 on the season.
