No. 21 Football Faces No. 23 LSU In Sold-Out Faurot Matinee

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 21/22 University of Missouri football team returns home Saturday to take on No. 23 LSU in front of a sold-out crowd at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. The dualing Tigers kick off at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN and Tiger Radio Network.

Mizzou (5-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) picked up its first road win of the season, a 38-21 victory in Nashville over Vanderbilt. Brady Cook threw for over 300 yards for the third straight game and Luther Burden III had more than 100 receiving yards for the fourth week in a row in the win at FirstBank Stadium. Cook completed 33-of-41 passes for a career-high 395 yards and four touchdowns. Burden caught 11 passes for 140 yards and Theo Wease Jr. snared 10 for 118 – both marks his highs since transferring to Missouri. They’re the first MU duo with over 100 yards receiving since 2018 (Albert Okwuegbunam, 159, and Jalen Knox, 109, against Memphis).

THE SERIES
The two programs – Mizzou founded in 1890 and LSU in 1893 – meet for only the fourth time on Saturday and second in Columbia. Missouri leads the all-time series 2-1 and won the only matchup in CoMo, 45-41 in 2020. 

MISSOURI TIGERS
Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz
Record at Mizzou 22-19 (Fourth Year)
Overall Record 34-20 (Fifth Year)

LSU TIGERS
Head Coach Brian Kelly
Record at School 13-6 (2nd)
Overall Record 297-103-2  (34th Year)

GAME INFORMATION
Facility Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Capacity 62,621
TV ESPN / ESPN+
Radio 1580 AM / 105.1 FM / SiriusXM 109 or 190
Online The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”
Series Record Missouri leads 2-1
In Columbia Missouri leads 1-0
Last Meeting Oct. 10, 2020 (H), MU W, 45-41

TV: ESPN
• Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
• Analyst: Robert Griffin III
• Reporter: Kris Budden
• Online: WatchESPN.com
• Mobile App: ESPN

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 109 or 190 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.

Brian Kelly is in his second year at LSU and 34th as a collegiate head coach. 

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS … 
• Mizzou is playing its 133rd season of college football.
• Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz has led Mizzou to a bowl in each of his first three seasons, 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.
• The offense topped 500-yards of total offense for the second-straight week, finishing with 532 yards at Vandy.
• WR Luther Burden III leads the NCAA FBS with 644 rec. yds. and tops the SEC with 45 rec. and an 128.8 ypg avg.
• QB Brady Cook racked up 300 passing yards for the third-consecutive week, becoming just the fourth Tiger to do so, joining Connor Bazelak, Drew Lock and Chase Daniel, the first since Bazelak (Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 2021) two years ago.
• RB Cody Schrader ranks fourth among active NCAA players in rushing yards with 4,277. Schrader is second in the SEC in rushing, averaging 92.6 ypg. His 5.7 yards per carry average leads all SEC backs with 80 or more totes.
• WR Marquis Johnson has two TD catches over the last two games with each score coming from 40 yards or more.
• The MU defense allowed a season-low 41 net rushing yards on 20 carries at Vandy, the Tigers best day against the run since holding South Carolina to 32 yards in 2022.
• LB Chad Bailey made his first start of the season at Vanderbilt, recording three tackles and a PBU.
• CB Kris Abrams-Draine has picked off a pass in three-straight games, matching his 2021 career best total of three.
• K Harrison Mevis has scored 328 career kicking points and needs 34 points to tie Jeff Wolfert’s MU record. 
• Limited tickets remain for the Tigers’ last three home games against South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

LAST TIME OUT – MISSOURI 38, VANDERBILT 21
• The No. 23 Tigers stormed to a 38-21 road victory in their SEC opener at Vanderbilt.
• QB Brady Cook completed 33-of-41 passes for a career-high 395 yards and four TDs,  extending his streak of pass attempts without an INT to an SEC record 348 – breaking the old mark of 325 held by former Kentucky QB Andre Woodson.
• WR Luther Burden III caught 11 passes for 140 yards  – his fourth-straight 100-yard game – and WR Theo Wease Jr. snared a season best 10 for 118. 
• The tandem of Burden and Wease becomes the first MU duo with over 100 yards receiving in the same game since Oct. 20, 2018 vs. Memphis (Albert Okwuegbunam, 159, and Jalen Knox, 109).
• Missouri scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 17-7 lead into intermission, then scored again early in the third to extend the lead.
• Vanderbilt threatened late in the third quarter, converting a fourth-and-three play with a 21-yard completion to the MU 10-yard line, but on the next play, DB Kris Abrams-• Draine intercepted Seals’ pass in the end zone – his third interception in as many games.
• The Tigers rolled up 532 total yards to Vandy’s 300 and had nearly a 12-minute edge in time of possession. 

TIGERS IN THE POLLS
• MU moved up two spots to the No. 21 position in this week’s Associated Press poll; Mizzou maintained its No. 22 spot in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
• MU’s position in this week’s AP poll represents its highest since checking in at No. 21 on Sept. 8, 2015.
• Mizzou is 16-8 (.667) as a ranked team during the SEC era (2012-present).
This week mark’s the 257th week the Tigers have been ranked in the AP poll since 1939.

HE IS HIM
• WR Luther Burden III continued his noteworthy start to the 2023 season with his fourth-consecutive 100-yard receiving performance in MU’s win at Vandy.
• The last Missouri receiver to post four-straight 100-yard performances was J’Mon Moore in 2016-17. 
• Burden’s total of 644 receiving yards leads the nation and represents the most in Mizzou history for any receiver through five games, while his average of 8.6 receptions per outing ranks third among all FBS receivers this season.
• Burden also recorded his sixth-straight game with seven receptions or more – his 11 catches at Vandy were a career high and handed him Mizzou’s program record for consecutive games with at least seven receptions (surpassing Danario Alexander in 2009

Group and single-game tickets for Missouri’s remaining home games are available for purchase now 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.