How Fourth-Down Success Sealed Victory for Mizzou Over Kansas

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri football faced rival Kansas on Saturday, and the highly-anticipated matchup did not disappoint. The Tigers overcame a 15-point deficit and prevailed 42-31.

Like it did so many times last season, Missouri came back from a slow start and sizable deficit to grab the win. A huge factor for Missouri was the gutsy decisions by head coach Eli Drinkwitz. He took some risks, particularly with fourth-down attempts, but they paid off big.

Missouri found itself in a 21-6 hole at the end of the first quarter. The fan engagement began to fizzle, the energy lowered, and it seemed as if the Tigers might be in trouble.

Undeterred, the team began to climb the 15-point mountain ahead. With 10:10 left in the second quarter, Missouri faced a fourth-and-2. The team was at the Kansas 3-yard line, so it would have been a short field goal even for a shorthanded Missouri special teams unit.

Missouri starting kicker Blake Craig was injured in the team’s opener against Central Arkansas, an ACL injury that will sideline him for the entire season. His backup, Robert Meyer, is a freshman who had never attempted a field goal as a Tiger before the Jayhawks came to town.

That may have influenced the decision to continuously attempt fourth downs, or maybe it was never a question for an occasion like this. Whatever the reasoning, Drinkwitz elected to keep the offense on the field instead of kicking the short field goal. 

Quarterback Beau Pribula chucked a quick pass at Kevin Coleman Jr., who hauled it in for the touchdown, cutting the Tigers’ deficit to 21-13.

"There were a couple of fourth-down situations that we knew we had to be prepared for because of the field-goal situation," Drinkwitz said. "I didn't want to put Robbie (Meyer) out there and test his confidence early."

Later in the second quarter, with 4:21 on the clock, Missouri encountered another fourth down. This time, it was a more intimidating 10 yards that the team needed to grab.

In a wild play, Pribula sailed a pass to freshman Donovan Olugbode, who reached up and snagged it with one hand. The grab led to a 25-yard field goal later in the drive, and suddenly the Tigers trailed by a slim 21-18 margin.

"It was a huge momentum swing," Drinkwitz said of Olugbode's catch "We were in the red area, we needed it. He made a one-handed catch."

Missouri got the ball with 28 seconds left in the half. Rather than have his team take a knee, Drinkwitz wanted to put points on the board. While a “two-minute drill” situation could have resulted in a disastrous mistake, it was executed almost perfectly.

Ahmad Hardy first rushed for a gain of 39, then Kevin Coleman Jr. took a pass for 50 yards. With just 3 seconds in the half, Missouri nailed a short 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 21 apiece.

"That drive was definitely important," Coleman said. "We needed momentum."