(Photo Credit: Denny Medley- USA Today Sports)
Missouri sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk showed up to play once again on Saturday as he led the 20th ranked Missouri Tigers to their third win of the season over the Knights of Central Florida 38-10. Mauk threw for four touchdowns on 144 yards passing and one interception.
After a quick three and out by the Knights the Tigers took advantage of the quality field position. Following a pair of big runs from tailbacks Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy, Mauk found senior wide out Jimmie Hunt in the end zone for an 11-yard score to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
On the next possession UCF led what appeared to be a touchdown drive, but the Tiger defense had other ideas. With the Knights threatening inside the Missouri 5-yard line the Tigers were able to shut down the run and force a 19-yard field goal, which Shawn Moffitt connected on putting UCF on the board 7-3.
Missouri’s next drive was short lived as Jacoby Glenn intercepted Mauk’s pass intended for Darius White. The Knights capitalized on the turnover as William Stanback caught a 2-yard pass from Justin Holman to give UCF a 10-7 lead.
The deficit didn’t last long though as Mauk responded with a 14 play 75-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard completion to Hunt to give the Tigers the lead back at 14-10. Hunt’s two touchdown grabs were his only receptions of the game, but proved worthwhile as the Tigers took the 14-10 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter it was the Tiger defenses turn to do some damage. Missouri defensive end Shane Ray came up with a huge sack to force UCF to punt and give the crowd a much needed energy boost. Then after a stalled Missouri drive the Tiger defensive line took it upon themselves to keep that turnover streak alive as Josh Augusta intercepted a Holman pass. The streak now moves to 47 straight games that the Missouri defense has forced at least one turnover.
Mauk took advantage as he came right back down the field and hit Bud Sasser in stride for a 21-yard touchdown score to extend the Missouri lead to 21-10. Then on Missouri’s next drive it was more of the same as Mauk found Sasser for a 22-yard score to push the Tiger lead to 28-10.
Missouri went on to add a field goal and a forced fumble returned for a touchdown by Durron Singleton giving the Tigers the 38-10 victory.
The Tigers padded the stats today in what was another blowout over an average team. Mauk’s four touchdowns were a great sight to see, but he looked nervous in the pocket. He often opted for scrambling rather than sitting in the pocket and looking for the good play. He has to trust in his offensive line if he wants to have a chance in the tougher games, which include road contests at South Carolina, Florida, and Texas A&M. Though with that being said Mauk has a high ceiling for improvement. We’re no where close to seeing Mauk at his best, and that’s a promising thought.
As for the defense, I thought they played well overall. They held UCF to just 10 points throughout the game and had some quality stands to keep the Knights out of the end zone. The defensive line combination of Ray and Marcus Golden combined for three and half sacks on the day and five tackles for a loss. The defensive line was also credited for the interception as well as the forced fumble. Like I said last week I’ll be interested to see how this defense handles the SEC running backs, but we’ll just have to wait a couple more weeks for that.
The Tigers are in action next week when they take on the Indiana Hoosiers at home. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT
Follow me @NickYahl for more Mizzou sports updates
