Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd breaks through a group of Missouri defenders during the Vols’ football game against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s wait for a bowl-clinching win will have to wait at least another week.
The black-and-gold team the Volunteers will see next week figures to be much more forgiving than the one they ran into Saturday night.
Needing a win to keep its hope for a return trip to the SEC championship game, 19th-ranked Missouri used its stingy defense to halt Tennessee’s red-hot offense and survived a couple of late onside kicks in a 29-21 win against the Vols in front of 95,821 at Neyland Stadium.
After notching their 10th consecutive road win, the Tigers (9-2, 6-1 SEC) need a home win against Arkansas next week to advance to Atlanta, while the Vols (5-6, 2-5) must beat lowly Vanderbilt in Nashville next Saturday to reach the program’s first bowl game since 2010.
“It’s very important,” freshman safety Todd Kelly said. “When we came into the season, we said that we were going to a bowl game, and now it’s right here in front of us. It’s a win or loss this next game to go to the bowl game, so we’re going to be really focused, have a great week of preparation and hopefully we’ll be bowling after that.”
Missouri outgained Tennessee 410-279 and held a 180-53 advantage in rushing yards, but Tennessee coach Butch Jones and his players will feel unlucky after a crazy late-game sequence followed quarterback Josh Dobbs’s touchdown pass to Jason Croom and two-point conversion run that brought the Vols to within a point with 1:52 left.
Von Pearson recovered an onside kick that deflected off Missouri receiver Jimmie Hunt, but a very close offside call nullified the recovery after replay review.
“I’m anxious to go back to the office,” Jones said, “and see how close we were on the offsides, because obviously that’s a pivotal call in a pivotal moment.”
On the re-kick, Justin Coleman caught the ball just barely before it went the required 10 yards, and after initial ruling of Tennessee ball, the officials gave Missouri possession, and the Tigers ran out the clock.
“It’s tough,” said Tennessee tailback Jalen Hurd, who totaled 80 yards on 17 touches. “We get the ball, we can win that game. How it turned out, it was unfortunate.”
It would have been a more unlikely rally than the one Tennessee used to beat South Carolina in overtime four weeks ago.
The momentum the Vols generated from that win and the rout of Kentucky already hit a rough patch earlier this week when All-SEC linebacker A.J. Johnson, their best player and defensive leader, and cornerback Michael Williams were suspended Monday amid a police investigation into accusations of rape and sexual assault.
With how Missouri handcuffed Dobbs and his offense, Johnson’s presence may not have made that big a difference.
“They were a good defense, and we definitely made some mistakes out there that we’ve got to clean up,” Dobbs said. “We knew coming into the game what was in front of us. We’ve got to fix the things we messed up on tonight and get ready for Vanderbilt. Our dreams, goals and aspirations are still in front of us, and we’ve got to get win six and get to a bowl game.”
Dobbs finished the game 24-of-37 passing for 195 yards with one touchdown and one interception — freshman receiver Josh Malone had a pass bounce off his hands and into those of Missouri cornerback Kenya Dennis with the Vols inside the Missouri 30-yard line — and netted 13 yards on 17 carries with a fumble.
Missouri, ranked 22nd nationally in total defense and the SEC’s leader in sacks, quickly made the Vols realize they’d stepped up in class from South Carolina and Kentucky, two of the worst defenses in the league.
Tennessee’s first three drives netted just 1 yard and zero first downs as the Vols turned two drives that began in Missouri territory into just three points.
The Tigers, led by the defensive-end duo of Shane Ray and Markus Golden, sacked Dobbs six times, registered 12 tackles for loss and harassed Dobbs with consistent pressure.
“Dobbs, he’s a good player man,” said Golden, who had two sacks. “He’s going to have a good future, so to stop him tonight and slow him down was great for us, because that’s what we needed to do to win the game.”
Jones called Missouri’s front seven “the best we’ve faced all year,” and Hurd reiterated that assessment.
“I’d definitely say,” he said, “that’s the best defense we’ve played.”
After rolling up 645 yards at South Carolina and 511 against Kentucky last week, the Vols only around 200 yards before the final desperation drive that brought them to within one possession and set up a bit of a controversial ending.
Still, five first-half drives reached Missouri territory, but those ended in just one touchdown – a fake-field-goal pass from holder Patrick Ashford to tight end Alex Ellis – along with two Aaron Medley field goals and two punts.
“You have to take advantage of the field position when you get the ball in scoring territory and when you get the ball at midfield and the minus-40,” Jones said. “We need to capitalize and come up with some points. We knew it was going to be that type of game, and that’s why we faked the field goal.”
Jakob Johnson, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound German-born freshman who moved to the United States a little more than two years ago, became the 11th true freshman to start for the Vols this season in A.J. Johnson’s place.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin thought A.J. Johnson’s absence wasn’t all that noticeable.
“Probably just him playing around and celebrating and stuff, but besides that, no,” said the sophomore linebacker. “Jakob did a good job with communication, and everyone was still hyped up on the defense. It wasn’t that big of a difference.
“I was definitely proud of (Jakob),” Reeves-Maybin added. “He did a great job with his communication. He was the voice of the defense out there, and he got everyone lined up and did his job. I feel like he didn’t have any have mental errors out there, so I was definitely proud of him.”
Williams’ absence came into play in the first quarter when star cornerback Cam Sutton missed a series, and sophomore Malik Foreman came in and broke up a third-down pass.
With starting safety Brian Randolph sitting out the first half following his targeting ejection in the third quarter last week against Kentucky, Kelly started and posted a team-high six tackles in the first half.
The Vols were let down again by their third-down defense, as Missouri converted 8 of 17 times. During a third-quarter drive that ended in a field goal, two defensive penalties wiped out third-down stops.
Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk’s two fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 73 yards to Hunt and 13 yards to Bud Sasser both came on third down against man coverage.
“I thought our defense, for the most part, did some very good things,” Jones said. “Again, it’s third down, though. When we work to get ourselves in third down, we have to get off the field, particularly in third-and-long situations.”
The Vols have to bounce back, though, with their season coming down to the finale in Nashville.
Said Jones: “It’s a one-game season.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com