Saturday’s double-overtime win at Auburn looked like classic October SEC football—tense, physical, decided by inches. As Georgia’s Kirby Smart put it after his own grinder vs. Ole Miss: “It’s another day in the SEC — one-possession games have become the norm.” Mizzou fans can relate.
Missouri (6–1, 2–1 SEC) escaped Jordan-Hare stadium with a 23-17 2 OT victory, leaning heavily on a defense that refused to fold while the offense sputtered for long stretches.
Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s unit owned the night. Edge Zion Young led the front with two of MU’s five sacks, and the Tigers repeatedly flipped drives with pressure. Linebacker Josiah Trotter Jr.and DL Sterling Webb added sacks, Chris McClellan notched another, and Toriano Pride Jr.’s first-quarter interception set up early points. In the second OT, MU’s defense allowed just six yards on four plays to close it out.
This was survival more than style on offense. Ahmad Hardy scored twice but had 58 yards on 24 carries (2.4 YPC), and MU finished with under 100 rushing yards as a team—limited explosives and long-yardage third downs kept the Tigers behind the chains. (Independent recap logged 91 team rushing yards; the official box confirms Hardy’s line.) When the ground game isn’t biting—this week and last vs. Alabama—MU’s production narrows and its margin thins.
QB Beau Pribula finished 23-of-40 for 252 yards (two interceptions) and won it with a 3-yard keeper in the second OT after a key 12-yard toss to Kevin Coleman Jr. to start the period.
Kicking remains a haunting storyline for the Tigers. Robert Meyer hit from 24 in the first quarter but missed a 38-yarder in the first OT, sending the game to double overtime. Auburn’s Alex McPherson missed three field goals (40 before half, 38 off the upright early 3rd, and 50 in OT), which loomed large as the game went along.
Mizzou heads to Vanderbilt next. In last week’s rankings the Commodores sat one spot behind the Tigers (MU No. 16, Vandy No. 17). After Vanderbilt’s 31–24 upset of No. 10 LSU on Saturday, that gap will likely flip heading into Nashville. Either way, it’s another razor-thin SEC matchup.