Missouri seeks first conference win, hosts No. 12 Kentucky
Missouri amassed a season-high 646 yards of offense in its 65-33 homecoming victory over Memphis last Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Now, the Tigers turn their sights to 12th-ranked Kentucky seeking their first SEC win of the season.
Kentucky boasts the second-best rushing offense and rushing defense in the conference, averaging 231.6 rushing yards per game while allowing only 112, neither of which favors Missouri.
The Tigers rank sixth in the conference in rushing offense, averaging 200.1 rushing yards per game, and seventh in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 131.6.
“They’re 6-1 for a reason,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said of Kentucky. “They run the ball extremely well and they play great defense. They’re well coached. … They’re assignment-sound, they play extremely hard and they don’t make mistakes throughout the course of a game. They play consistent. They understand the scheme on what they’re being asked to do, and I think they tackle well.”
In facing such a daunting run defense, Missouri should be encouraged by the recent play of its backfield. In its win against Memphis, Missouri rushed 40 times for 273 yards, led by Larry Rountree III, who had nine carries for 118 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, including a 59-yard score.
“I think Larry’s biggest thing is just vision,” Missouri quarterback Drew Lock said Tuesday.
“A lot of the stuff we did last year was more of hit the crack or the center and try to feel a gap to the right or to the left … it’s all a lot of different run scheme to where, at first, it takes the running backs a little while to kind of see it and feel it. …
“I think Larry’s vision overtime has been good so far, and it keeps getting better every single week, so that’s awesome to see.”
The Tigers have dropped three straight to the Wildcats, who have steadily climbed the AP poll, thanks to signature wins over Florida and Mississippi State. Kentucky’s only loss of the season came on Oct. 6 at Texas A&M, 20-14 in overtime.
This will be Missouri’s third ranked opponent in its last five games, losing its conference opener to then second-ranked Georgia 43-29 Sept. 22 before falling to top-ranked Alabama 39-10 three weeks later.
Odom has yet to earn a victory against a ranked opponent since taking over the program in 2016, but dismissed any emphasis on doing so.
“It would be the next step for us on beating a really quality team,” Odom said Tuesday. “It’s a divisional opponent, which is another reason that it’s huge for us. I’m not going to get really tied into, ‘Man, we’ve got to beat a ranked team.’ … I want to win because it’s the next one.”