No. 9 Football Faces Florida On Senior Day

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 9 University of Missouri football team closes out the home slate with Senior Day, against Florida on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, inside Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. The Tigers (7-2, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) will kick it off with the Gaotrs (5-5, 3-4 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and Tiger Radio Network.

SENIOR SALUTE
Twenty-seven seniors are set to be honored pregame on Saturday, prior to their final contest in Memorial Stadium — Kris Abrams-Draine, Chad Bailey, Jaylon Carlies, Joseph Charleston, Mookie Cooper, Xavier Delgado, Javon Foster, Nyles Gaddy, Realus George Jr., Caimin Hayes, Shawn Hendershot, Ty’Ron Hopper, Demariyon ‘Peanut’ Houston, Jayden Jernigan, Marcellus Johnson, Josh Landry, Micah Manning, Harrison Mevis, Nathaniel Peat, Bence Polgar, Ennis Rakestraw, Jr., Darius Robinson, Cody Schrader, Tyler Stephens, Ben Straatmann, Theo Wease Jr.  and Riley Williams

THE SERIES
The Tigers and Gators meet for the 13th time on Saturday with the all-time series knotted at six wins apiece. 

MISSOURI TIGERS
Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz
Record at Mizzou 25-21 (Fourth Year)
Overall Record 37-22 (Fifth Year)

FLORIDA GATORS
Head Coach Billy Napier
Record at School 11-12 (Second Year)
Overall Record 51-24 (Sixth Year)

GAME INFORMATION
Facility Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Capacity 62,621
TV ESPN
Radio 1580 AM / 105.1 FM / SiriusXM 106 or 191
Online The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”
Series Record Tied 6-6
In Columbia, Mo. MU leads 3-2
Last Meeting Oct. 8, 2022 (A), UF W, 24-17

TV: ESPN
• Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore
• Analyst: Jesse Palmer
• Reporter: Katie George
• 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 106 or 191 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.

Billy Napier is 11-12 in his second year at Florida and 51-24 in six seasons 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 97.7-percent (42-of-43) 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 Bednarik and Thorpe Awards, leads the SEC with 16 passes defended and 12 PBUs. His four INTs – a single-season best for the senior – are second in the SEC and tied for ninth in the FBS. 
• 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 — a semifinalist for the 87th Maxwell Award — is third in the SEC in receiving, racking up 984 yards on 68 receptions. He needs 16 yards to become Mizzou’s eighth 1,000-yard receiver.
• RB Cody Schrader — former walk-on and semifinalist for the Burlsworth Award — leads the SEC and is 12th nationally in rushing (112.4 ypg). He had 205 yards rushing and 116 yards receiving against Tennessee and is the the first SEC player to rush for 200+ yards and have 100-yards receiving in the same game.
• DE Darius Robinson was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the week after the Tigers 36-7 win over Tennessee.
• Attendance is up 9.6% from 2022, a mark which leads the SEC and ranks among the Top 11 Power 5 teams.

LAST TIME OUT – MIZZOU 36, TENNESSEE 7
• RB Cody Schrader turned in a game for the ages, rolling up the second most yards from scrimmage ever by a Tiger, and the Mizzou defense gave a suffocating performance as MU throttled No. 13 Tennessee, 36-7, before a sellout crowd at Faurot Field.
• After Tennessee took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, Missouri scored 33 unanswered points to snap a four-game losing streak to the Volunteers and even the series at six wins apiece. 
• Schrader totaled 321 yards – 205 rushing and 116 receiving – becoming the first Tiger to record 100 rushing and 100 receiving yards in the same game.
• Tennessee’s defense entered the day ranked among the nation’s stingiest against the run (97.3 yards/game), but the Tigers gashed them for 255.
• In the second half, the Missouri defense pitched a shutout – forcing four punts and a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers that turned into touchdowns, and a missed 41-yard field goal on UT’s final possession. 
• A fumble by UT quarterback Joe Milton III was recovered by S JC Carlies and led to a 21-yard touchdown pass from QB Brady Cook to WR Luther Burden III.
• Just three plays later, S Daylan Carnell scored the Tigers’ final points when he intercepted Milton’s third-down pass and returned it 38 yards for a TD.
• Tennessee came into the game as the nation’s No. 3 rushing team, averaging 227.8 yards per game. But the Missouri defense limited the Vols to just 83 and 35 of those came on their last possession. 
• Reserve LBs Triston Newson and Chuck Hicks led the charge. Newson had eight tackles including one for loss, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. Hicks added six stops and recovered a fumble.
• Missouri held Tennessee to its lowest point total since 2020 and held the Vols to nearly 120 total yards below their average.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• MU is ranked ninth in the latest College Football Playoff poll, the highest CFP ranking in program history and the first appearance in the Top 10 of any national poll since the end of the 2013 campaign when the Tigers finished the season at No. 5 in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
• Missouri’s defense has played a starring role in the Tigers’ 8-2 start, including shutdown performances in each of MU’s last three victories.
• Mizzou blanked a high-powered Tennessee offense in the second half and outscored the UT offense after intermission, getting a Daylan Carnell pick six to cap the second-half shutout of a unit that ranked 13th nationally in total offense entering the game.
• Against South Carolina, the ‘D’ recorded a season-high six sacks and held the Gamecocks to four field goals.
• Mizzou ranks fourth in the SEC in red zone defense (81.82%) and fifth in the league in sacks (28).
• The defense came up big at No. 23 Kentucky (Oct. 14), locking down the Wildcat offense over the final three periods to help MU secure the 38-21 victory.
• After UK scored the first 14 points of the night and piled up 150 yards of total offense in the opening quarter, the Mizzou D held the Wildcats to just 149 yards and seven points over the final 45 minutes.
• MU’s defense has been particularly impressive against the run; MU ranks 20th in the FBS in rush defense, allowing just 111.2 ypg.
• The Tigers allowed a season-low 41 rushing yards to Vanderbilt on Sept. 30 and didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher until Week 6 vs. LSU.
• The pass rush has produced 28 sacks, including at one sack in six straight games by DL Darius Robinson.
• DB Kris Abrams-Draine leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation in passes defended (1.6 per game), including a career-high four interceptions. 

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.