Instant Analysis of No. 16 Mizzou's Overtime Win Against Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. — It wasn't pretty, but the No. 16 Missouri Tigers found a way to get it done and pick up a road victory at Auburn.

There were multiple mistakes made by Missouri that would typically result in a loss. Whether it was quarterback Beau Pribula's two interceptions or the multiple deep balls that the Missouri secondary allowed Auburn's Jackson Arnold to connect on, it seemed like the visiting tigers were dead in the water.

Until they weren't.

A gritty drive placed Missouri into the red zone at the end of the fourth quarter in a drive that resulted in an Ahmad Hardy touchdown. The game then went into overtime, allowing Missouri to have a clean slate.

With that clean slate, Missouri stopped Auburn twice on defense and found itself in the endzone following a Pribula pitch and catch with wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., on third down, along with a rushing touchdown of his own.

Auburn did plenty to ensure that Missouri would have to work for the win. They limited Hardy to only 58 rushing yards on 24 carries. He did score two touchdowns, but they weren't exactly reflective of the game he had.

Pribula also struggled. He did finish with 250 passing yards, but that was on 23-for-40 passing with two interceptions sprinkled in. Pribula also recorded 28 rushing yards on 16 carries, a stat line that also featured the eventual game-winning touchdown.

The Missouri defense did come up big when it needed to, mainly thanks to the pass-rushing group. Defensive end Zion Young was seemingly everywhere in the victory, recording five tackles, two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. One of those sacks came in overtime that pinned Arnold and Auburn out of easy field goal territory.

Like usual, linebacker Josiah Trotter led the way with tackles. He recorded eight, along with a sack and two tackles for loss.

Missouri's secondary was the main glaring issue on the defensive side of the ball. They allowed far too many deep passes, even if Arnold was making good throws. Blown coverages continue to be an issue for Missouri's back end and, despite a win with not a ton of defensive production, the secondary was exposed.

Missouri looks ahead to another road matchup next week, one that might be its greatest test to date. The Tigers will take on Vanderbilt at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Nashville, Tennessee.