# 2020 Missouri Tigers football team

The 2020 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
In a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers compiled a 5–5 record, all in conference games. The team was set to face Iowa in the Music City Bowl, but had to withdraw due to COVID-19 issues.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

### SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Missouri was predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.
Media poll (East Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Florida | 624 (53) |
| 2 | Georgia | 613 (43) |
| 3 | Tennessee | 434 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 405 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 287 |
| 6 | Missouri | 224 |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 101 |

## Personnel
### Staff

| Name | Position | Seasons at Missouri | Alma Mater |
| Eliah Drinkwitz | Head coach | 1 | Arkansas Tech (2004) |
| Charlie Harbison | Associate head coach / defensive backs | 1 | Gardner–Webb (1982) |
| Ryan Walters | Defensive coordinator / safeties | 6 | Colorado (2008) |
| Erik Link | Special teams coordinator | 1 | Drake (2003) |
| Brick Haley | Defensive line | 4 | Alabama A&M (1988) |
| Bush Hamdan | Wide receivers / quarterbacks | 1 | Boise State (2008) |
| Casey Woods | Tight ends / recruiting coordinator | 1 | Tennessee (2006) |
| David Gibbs | Secondary | 2 | Colorado (1990) |
| Marcus Johnson | Offensive line | 1 | Ole Miss (2004) |
| Curtis Luper | Running backs | 1 | Stephen F. Austin (1996) |
| D. J. Smith | Linebackers | 1 | Appalachian State (2010) |
| Andy Lutz | Director of football operations | 1 | Pacific (1991) |
| Zac Woodfin | Director of Athletic Performance | 1 | UAB (2004) |

### Roster
## Schedule

Missouri had games scheduled against BYU, Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, and Louisiana, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 2 Alabama | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ESPN | L 19–38 | 11,738 |
| October 3 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 21 Tennessee | | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | L 12–35 | 21,159 |
| October 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 17 LSU | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN Alt. | W 45–41 | 10,013 |
| October 24 | 3:00 p.m. | Kentucky | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | W 20–10 | 11,738 |
| October 31 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Florida | | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | SECN Alt. | L 17–41 | 12,049 |
| November 21 | 6:30 p.m. | at South Carolina | | Williams–Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN Alt. | W 17–10 | 13,603 |
| November 28 | 11:00 a.m. | Vanderbilt | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | W 41–0 | 11,053 |
| December 5 | 11:00 a.m. | Arkansas | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (Battle Line Rivalry) | SECN | W 50–48 | 11,378 |
| December 12 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 9 Georgia | No. 25 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | L 14–49 | 10,830 |
| December 19 | 2:30 p.m. | at Mississippi State | | Davis Wade StadiumStarkville, MS | SECN Alt. | L 32–51 | 11,748 |
| December 30 | 3:00 p.m. | Iowa | | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN | No Contest | |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||
    The game between Missouri and LSU was originally scheduled to take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, in light of Hurricane Delta, the game was moved to Columbia.
    The game between Vanderbilt and Missouri was originally scheduled to take place on October 17. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Vanderbilt program, the game was rescheduled for December 12. The SEC postponed Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt to facilitate the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt-Missouri game. The shuffling allows for the opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 regular-season games.

## Games Summaries
### No. 2 Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Alabama | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
| Missouri | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ALA −28.5 | 56 |
| Statistics | Alabama | Missouri |
| First downs | 22 | 20 |
| Total yards | 414 | 322 |
| Rushing yards | 111 | 69 |
| Passing yards | 303 | 253 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:25 | 28:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Alabama | Passing | Mac Jones | 18–24, 249 yards, 2 TDs |
| Alabama | Rushing | Najee Harris | 17 carries, 98 yards, 3 TDs |
| Alabama | Receiving | Jaylen Waddle | 8 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TDs |
| Missouri | Passing | Shawn Robinson | 19–25, 185 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 14 carries, 67 yards |
| Missouri | Receiving | Jalen Knox | 5 receptions, 63 yards |

### At No. 21 Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| No. 21 Tennessee | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
* Date: October 3
* Game time: 12:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 21,159
* Referee: Steve Marlow
* TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), and Dawn Davenport (sidelines)

### No. 17 LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 LSU | 14 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 41 |
| Missouri | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Tigers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at Faurot Field, Columbia, MO
* Date: October 24, 2020
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 48 °F (9 °C) • Wind: NW 12-17mph
* Game attendance: 11,738
* Referee: Lee Hedrick
* TV: SECN
| Statistics | UK | MIZ |
| First downs | 8 | 26 |
| Total yards | 145 | 421 |
| Rushing yards | 95 | 220 |
| Passing yards | 50 | 201 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 16:50 | 43:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Kentucky | Passing | Terry Wilson | 4/11, 38 yards, TD |
| Kentucky | Rushing | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | 9 carries, 48 yards |
| Kentucky | Receiving | Josh Ali | 4 receptions, 47 yards, TD |
| Missouri | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 21/30, 201 yards |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 37 carries, 126 yards, 2 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Jalen Knox | 5 receptions, 60 yards |

### At No. 10 Florida

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| No. 10 Florida | 6 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL
* Date: October 31, 2020
* Game time: 7:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
* Game attendance: 12,049
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (SECN Alt.): Mike Morgan, Hutson Mason, Taylor Davis
* Boxscore
Game information :
First quarter
Florida – Chris Howard 28-yard field goal, 9:07
Florida – Chris Howard 32-yard field goal, 2:10
Second quarter
Missouri – Jarvis Ware 59-yard interception return (Harrison Mevis kick), 12:54
Florida – Kadarius Toney 18-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Chris Howard kick), 1:41
Florida – Kadarius Toney 30-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Chris Howard kick), 1:08
Third quarter
Florida – Kadarius Toney 16-yard run (Chris Howard kick), 10:36
Florida – Justin Shorter 2-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Chris Howard kick), 0:22
Fourth quarter
Missouri – Harrison Mevis 29-yard field goal, 10:56
Florida – Trevon Grimes 18-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Chris Howard kick), 7:50
Missouri – Larry Rountree III 5-yard run (Harrison Mevis kick), 3:18
Passing leaders
MIZZ – Connor Bazelak – 26/40, 208 yards
FLA – Kyle Trask – 21/36, 345 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception
Rushing leaders
MIZZ – Larry Rountree III – 14 carries, 36 yards, 1 touchdown
FLA – Kyle Trask – 6 carries, 47 yards
Receiving leaders
MIZZ – Keke Chism – 5 receptions, 68 yards
FLA – Kyle Pitts – 5 receptions, 81 yards
Tackling leaders
MIZZ – Devin Nicholson – 13 tackles
FLA – Jeremiah Moon and Brad Stewart – 6 tackles :

### At South Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Gamecocks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
at Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC
* Date: November 21, 2020
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: • Temperature:
* Game attendance: 13,603
* TV: SECN Alt.
* Pregame line:
| Statistics | MIZ | SC |
| First downs | 19 | 18 |
| Total yards | 301 | 283 |
| Rushes/yards | 34/98 | 36/114 |
| Passing yards | 203 | 169 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21-33-1 | 20-33-1 |
| Time of possession | 28:34 | 31:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Missouri | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 21-33, 203 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 21 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Keke Chism | 6 receptions, 57 yards |
| South Carolina | Passing | Luke Doty | 14-23, 130 yards, 1 INT |
| South Carolina | Rushing | Luke Doty | 11 carries, 59 yards |
| South Carolina | Receiving | Nick Muse | 6 receptions, 67 yards |

### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Commodores | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tigers | 7 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 41 |
Statistics
| Statistics | VAN | MIZ |
| First downs | 13 | 31 |
| Total yards | 185 | 603 |
| Rushing yards | 82 | 223 |
| Passing yards | 103 | 380 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 27:10 | 32:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Vanderbilt | Passing | Ken Seals | 11/18, 79 yards |
| Vanderbilt | Rushing | Keyon Henry-Brooks | 15 rushes, 64 yards |
| Vanderbilt | Receiving | Camron Johnson | 5 receptions, 33 yards |
| Missouri | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 30/37, 318 yards |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 21 rushes, 160 yards, 3 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Tyler Badie | 7 receptions, 102 yards |

### Arkansas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Razorbacks | 6 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 48 |
| Tigers | 10 | 10 | 3 | 27 | 50 |
at Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri
* Date: Saturday, December 5, 2020
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind: W 3 mph
* Game attendance: 11,738
* Referee: Lee Hedrick
* TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline)
* Pregame line: Missouri −2.5 • Odds to win: Missouri 62.0%
| Statistics | ARK | MIZ |
| First downs | 34 | 37 |
| Plays–yards | 84–566 | 87–653 |
| Rushes–yards | 50–292 | 38–273 |
| Passing yards | 274 | 380 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–34–0 | 32–49–0 |
| Time of possession | 26:28 | 33:32 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Arkansas | Passing | KJ Jefferson | 18/33, 274 yards, 3 TD |
| Arkansas | Rushing | Trelon Smith | 26 carries, 172 yards, 3 TD |
| Arkansas | Receiving | Treylon Burks | 10 receptions, 206 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 32/49, 380 yards |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 27 carries, 185 yards, 3 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Keke Chism | 6 receptions, 113 yards |

### No. 9 Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Georgia | 14 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
| No. 25 Missouri | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### At Mississippi State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 7 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 32 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 51 |
Statistics
| Statistics | MIZ | MSST |
| First downs | 22 | 24 |
| Total yards | 342 | 446 |
| Rushing yards | 101 | 151 |
| Passing yards | 241 | 295 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 28:57 | 31:03 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Missouri | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 22–38, 225 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Missouri | Rushing | Larry Rountree III | 25 rushes, 121 yards, 2 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Keke Chism | 6 receptions, 64 yards, TD |
| Mississippi State | Passing | Will Rogers | 21–36, 295 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Mississippi State | Rushing | Jo'Quavious Marks | 12 rushes, 70 yards, TD |
| Mississippi State | Receiving | Jaden Walley | 5 receptions, 129 yards, TD |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | —* | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — |
| Coaches | — | —* | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | — | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 2 | 58 | Nick Bolton | ILB | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 4 | 143 | Tyree Gillespie | S | Las Vegas Raiders |
| 5 | 151 | Larry Borom | OT | Chicago Bears |
| 6 | 188 | Joshuah Bledsoe | S | New England Patriots |
| 6 | 198 | Larry Rountree III | RB | Los Angeles Chargers |