No. 14 Football Squares Off With No. 13 Tennessee

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 14 University of Missouri football team returns home Saturday to celebrate Military Appreciation Day against No. 13 Tennessee. The teams will kick it off on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2:30 p.m. CT inside Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. The game will air on CBS and Tiger Radio Network. 

MU (7-2, 3-2 SEC) dropped a 30-21 decision at No. 1 Georgia. The game was tied at 10 at the half and the Tigers led 13-10 in the third. MU leads the nation in red-zone offense and logged 30+ points in 7/9 games. Saturday’s game is sold out, the fourth-straight sellout at Memorial Stadium, the first time since 1980 that feat has been achieved.

THE SERIES
Mizzou and Tennessee meet for the 12th time, all since the Tigers joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012. The Vols have won the last four matchups, including two in-a-row in CoMo. According to PowerMizzou.com research, Saturday’s game between 16 Mizzou and 14 Tennessee is the first matchup of teams ranked in the AP top 16 at Faurot Field since September 29, 1979 when No. 4 Missouri lost to No. 5 Texas.

MISSOURI TIGERS
Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz
Record at Mizzou 24-21 (Fourth Year)
Overall Record 36-22 (Fifth Year)

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Record at School 25-10 (Third Year)
Overall Record 53-18 (Sixth Year)

GAME INFORMATION
Facility Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Capacity 62,621
TV CBS
Radio 1580 AM / 105.1 FM / SiriusXM 94 or 192
Online The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”
Series Record Tennessee leads 6-5
In Columbia, Mo. Tennessee leads 3-2
Last Meeting Nov. 12, 2022 (A), UT W, 66-24

TV: CBS
• Play-by-Play: Brad Nessler
• Analyst: Gary Danielson
• Reporter: Jenny Dell
• Online: CBSSports.com/watch
• Mobile App: Paramount+

RADIO: TIGER RADIO NETWORK
• Play-by-Play: Mike Kelly
• Analyst: Howard Richards
• Sideline Reporter: Chris Gervino
• Host: Matt Michaels
• Engineer: Jeremy Washington
• Local: 1580 AM / 105.1 FM
• Satellite: SiriusXM 94 or 192 and on the SXM App
• App: Mizzou Tigers / The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”

THE COACHES
ELIAH DRINKWITZ is in his fourth season as Mizzou’s head coach. He had led the Tigers to bowl appearances in each of his first three seasons, joining former head coach Warren Powers as the only two MU head coaches to achieve that feat. Additionally, only Powers won more games in his first two seasons at MU (1978-79, 15) than Drinkwitz (11). Prior to taking the Mizzou job, Drinkwitz was 12-1 as the head coach at Appalachian State in 2019. He had previous stops as the OC at NC State, Boise State and Arkansas State.

Josh Heupel is 25-10 in three years at Tennessee and 53-18 in six years as a collegiate head coach. 

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS … 
• Mizzou is playing its 133rd season of college football and is the 33rd FBS school to reach the 700-win milestone.
• Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz has led Mizzou to a bowl in each of his first three seasons — and hit the six-win threshold in season four — only the second coach in school history to do so along with the late Warren Powers (1978-84). 
• The 2023 roster features 32 players who have started at least four games in the collegiate career at the FBS level. 
• Thirty-eight student-athletes on the team are from Missouri, including eight from the 573 area code, 19 from the St. Louis metropolitan region, nine from the Kansas City area and two from southwest Missouri.
• Mizzou finished nonconference play undefeated for the 10th time since 2000, and first since 2018.
• MU leads the NCAA FBS in red-zone offense, converting at a 97.4-percent (37-of-38) clip.
• The Tigers’ two losses have both came in SEC play by a combined margin of 19 points to ranked teams.
• CB Kris Abrams-Draine is a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, leads the SEC and is No. 2 in the FBS in passes defended (15). He’s tied for eighth nationally with 4 INTs.
• LB Ty’Ron Hopper is one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award. He has caused havoc on the field all season long leading the MU defense with 53 tackles, six for a loss along with 3.0 sacks, six QB hurries and three pass break ups.
• WR Luther Burden III is fifth nationally with 905 receiving yards and tied for sixth overall with 61 catches. 
• RB Cody Schrader — former walk-on and semifinalist for the Burlsworth Award — leads the SEC and is 12th nationally in rushing (102.11 ypg). His 10 rushing TDs are second the conference. His 112 yards were the most against No. 1 Georgia this season – a team who entered the game leading the SEC in rushing defense.
• K Harrison Mevis (364) eclipsed Jeff Wolfert’s (362) Mizzou scoring record with two field goals and a PAT at UGA. 
• Attendance is up 8.5% over 2023, a mark which leads the SEC and ranks among the Top 15 Power 5 teams.
• Limited tickets remain for the Tigers’ final home games against Florida next week.

LAST TIME OUT – GEORGIA 30, MIZZOU 21
• Two third-quarter touchdowns and two fourth-quarter field goals enabled top-ranked Georgia to come from behind for a 30-21 victory over the Tigers in Athens.
• With the win, Georgia extended its win streak to 26 consecutive games, while notching its 10th victory in a row vs. Mizzou.
• After playing to a 10-10 deadlock through two periods, Mizzou took a three-point lead on a 42-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis early in the second half. That kick made Mevis Mizzou’s all-time leading scorer.
• Georgia reclaimed the lead, 17-13, minutes later with a 15-yard touchdown run to the right by Kendall Milton then widened its lead to 24-13 with :38 left in the third quarter on a five-yard pass to Oscar Delp.
• The Tigers responded with a Schrader 12-yard scoring run. The senior RB led all rushers with 122 yards on 22 carries for the game.
• Peyton Woodring kicked a pair of fourth-quarter field goals from 30 and 48 yards to extend the Bulldog advantage to nine points.
• The Georgia defense came up with a pair of takeaways in the final period, with Nazir Stackhouse and Javon Bullard each picking off Cook in the closing minutes to seal the outcome.

TOUR OF TENNESSEE
• Missouri’s meeting with Tennessee on Saturday will complete a rare scheduling feat for the Tigers, who have already played each of the other three FBS programs from the state of Tennessee this season.
• With a victory over the Vols, the Tigers would become the first program to defeat all four Tennessee FBS programs in the same season.
• Mizzou would also level the series with the Vols, who have claimed each of the last four meetings with Mizzou (since 2019) after the Tigers won five of the first seven SEC meetings with UT from 2012-18. 
• Offense has been prevalent in the series, with the winning club racking up 50 points or more in five of the 11 contests. 
• Mizzou has put up an average of 42.2 points in its five victories against the Vols. UT has averaged 44.8 points in its six wins over the Tigers, including three victories (2016, 2021 and 2022) in which the Vols have scored at least 62 points. 
• Mizzou has not permitted 60 points or more against any other conference foe since joining the SEC (2012).

MIZZOU ‘O’ ON A ROLL
• Missouri’s offense topped the 30-point barrier for the seventh time this season Oct. 21 vs. South Carolina.
• The Tigers are averaging 32.4 points per contest, which ranks fifth in the SEC and 35th nationally.
• Mizzou has topped the 500-yard mark for total offense on three occasions this season and currently ranks 36th nationally in total yards per game (434.1).
• Mizzou’s passing attack ranks fifth in the SEC, averaging 284.9 yards per outing; the Tigers’ 18 passing TDs on the year are tied for third in the conference.

TIL FURTHER NOTICE
• LB Chad Bailey will miss the rest of the season due to a core injury suffered early in camp. The senior captain was limited to five games this season with 17 tackles.

IN THE ZONE
• Mizzou’s offense has been nearly unstoppable in the red zone this season, converting 33 consecutive scoring opportunities inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, dating back to the season opener vs. South Dakota (Aug. 30).
• The Tigers lead the nation in red zone offense, converting 97.4% (37-of-38) of their opportunities this season.
• Mizzou has reached the end zone in 25 of those 38 chances, scoring 15 rushing TDs and 10 passing TDs, in addition to 12 field goal conversions.
• Conversely, the MU defense ranks third in the SEC in red zone defense (84.4%), stopping the opposition on five (of 32) trips to date.

LIMITED TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
Limited reserved seats and Hill tickets are available for the Florida game by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or buying online. 

FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Missouri football (@MizzouFootball) and Coach Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) on X. You can also find the Tigers on Instagram and Facebook.