COLUMBIA, Mo. - Tennessee knew it would be in a grind-it-out kind of football game at Missouri against one of the SEC's stingiest defenses.
Everything about how the Volunteers won fit that description.
In spoiling Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel's home finale, Tennessee used its ground game and defense to notch a 19-8 SEC victory in sub-freezing temperatures Saturday night at Missouri's Faurot Field.
"Any win's a great win," quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "It's our first time beating Missouri. We remember the feeling coming out of here two years ago when we lost (31-3) in my first start.
"It's great to come back to Columbia and get the victory."
The Vols (7-4, 4-3) ran for 248 yards and held Missouri's SEC-worst offense to 223 yards (88 rushing), 3.8 yards per play and 10 first downs in beating the Tigers (5-6, 1-6) for the first time since they joined the SEC in 2012.
Jalen Hurd recorded his first 100-yard performance since the Florida game and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season by rushing for 151 yards on 34 carries, and Dobbs and running back Alvin Kamara added 97 yards as Tennessee held the ball for more than 36 minutes.
Dobbs' 8-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half and four Aaron Medley field goals were enough as the Vols won despite passing for 89 yards, their fewest since 2003.
"Obviously it was concerning that we had to kick field goals in the red zone, but our players just kept their poise and kept their patience," Butch Jones said after his first win as Tennessee's head coach when the Vols scored fewer than 21 points.
Tennessee forced two turnovers, with Cameron Sutton intercepting a pass in the game's opening minutes and Darrin Kirkland Jr. recovering a fumble forced by LaTroy Lewis later in the first half, and held Missouri to 2-of-15 on converting third downs in to firsts.
"We were just going out there and doing our job," Sutton said. "The coaches did a great job with instilling the game plan, but X's and O's don't breathe. We've just got to go out there and make it happen and execute on the field."
Tennessee's offense did a poor job of taking advantage of favorable field position, particularly in the first half, when Dobbs appeared to miss Kamara open in the flat for a would-be touchdown and Josh Malone dropped a touchdown pass on a drive that ended with Medley's miss from 31 yards.
The Vols were able to overcome those struggles for a big score just before halftime.
"That was a critical drive," Jones said. "Josh made some big throws in that drive, then the great second and third effort to get the ball in the end zone. That was big for us."
The Vols allowed 19 yards, including minus-1 passing, and one first down on Missouri's four opening possessions, and the Tigers had 18 passing yards when freshman quarterback Drew Lock hit Wesley Leftwich for 44 yards late in the third quarter.
"I just felt we played good across the board," defensive end Derek Barnett said. "Our game plan was to get after the young guy at quarterback. We knew he was a freshman. I feel like we got after him."
Only three of Missouri's 14 possessions crossed midfield, but the third one ended Tennessee's hopes of consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2002 with a little less than 10 minutes left.
Lock's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal ended an eight-quarter scoreless stretch, Tennessee's longest since 2002, that dated back to the fourth quarter against South Carolina.
"We were just trying to get that shutout," linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "After it, Barnett was like, 'Dang, we blew the shutout.' I just wanted to hold them and not let them put any more on the board when we got back out there.
"We'll keep preparing like we've been preparing, and hopefully we can get a shutout next week."
Missouri's hopes weren't doused until the Vols ran nearly five minutes off the fourth-quarter clock to avoid the late drama they've had to deal with in many of their games this season.
"We talk about being able to close games out and getting some critical first downs, and that drive was absolutely critical," Jones said. "That drive, to really end the game, was big for us. It was good to see, because we've been stressing that all year."
Tennessee is a win against Vanderbilt away from its first five-game winning streak since 2007.
"We really just had a whole team win tonight," left tackle Kyler Kerbyson said. "The defense had our back, we had their back and it's a great feeling to win four in a row."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.