Missouri football suffers first loss of 2023 season to LSU. Here are three takeaways
No. 21-ranked Mizzou football came crashing back down to Earth on Saturday, getting ripped in the second half of a 49-39 loss to No. 23 LSU in Columbia.
The loss broke a five-game winning streak for coach Eli Drinkwitz’s team and snapped MU’s unbeaten start to the season.
Here are three takeaways from Missouri’s loss, as the Tigers dropped to 5-1, 1-1 in SEC play:
LSU comes alive in second half
A timid first half from the visitors turned into a second-half show.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels, on third down, ran 35 yards and into the end zone, then completed a two-point conversion to Malik Nabers to give LSU the lead with eight minutes to go.
The quarterback with Heisman potential found Brian Thomas Jr. wide open in the third quarter for 42 yards, dropping a pass on a dime over the top of the hapless MU defense.
LSU gashed the Tigers’ highly ranked rush defense for 274 yards.
Despite only throwing for 70 yards in the first half, the visitors finished with 259 yards through the air.
Nabers finished with 146 receiving yards, and running back Logan Diggs and Daniels both had more than 100 yards rushing.
LSU scored 32 points in the second half.
Missouri mostly navigates blips on offense
Theo Wease Jr. dropped a pass in the end zone on MU’s opening drive.
Two plays later, Mizzou called the same play — right back to Wease on a fade left. It worked, and MU doubled down with a two-point conversion.
So went the day — a lot of what Missouri did on offense worked just fine.
See Luther Burden’s 149 yards — a fifth straight 100-yard outing.
See Cody Schrader’s three-touchdown day, or Brady Cook’s career-high 411 passing yards, even as his interception-less streak ended at 366 passes.
But the home side spent much of the day making up for mistakes.
A fumble didn’t derail Cook on drive No. 2.
Running back Nathaniel Peat fell on the trundling ball before a gold-and-purple jersey could snatch it up. Three plays later — including an inch-perfect high-point to Burden and a first-career catch for Daniel Blood — Schrader, Peat’s partner in an increasingly successful running back tandem, followed left tackle Javon Foster’s lead and scampered home for a 21-yard score.
And a stale start to the second half, nearly punctuated by a Cook fumble that was quickly overturned, came unstuck by a long Schrader dash, a snag from Wease on third down at the goal line and, finally, Schrader’s drive home.
The one the home team couldn’t overcome: Cook’s picked pass at the death, which LSU returned for a touchdown.
Kris Abrams-Draine shined, but MU’s defense was so-so
LSU could have run away with the game much quicker than it did Saturday.
LSU had a chance to tie the score on the first drive of the second half. Daniels to Nabers was the connection they wanted — it’s worked wonders so far this season, after all.
But there was Kris Abrams-Draine, first to the ball in the back corner of the end zone for the pass breakup.
LSU settled for a field goal.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, LSU faced goal to go without Daniels on the field due to injury and a chance to take the lead. Garrett Nussmeier was in at quarterback, and he also looked for Nabers in the end zone.
Abrams-Draine was there for the breakup again.
The MU cornerback saved two touchdowns, but there were plenty of concerning looks from MU.
Missouri was called for disconcerting signals on Ty’Ron Hopper, unsportsmanlike conduct on Johnny Walker Jr., plus a facemask violation on Darius Robinson inside the MU 10, gifting LSU eight chances from 8 yards before Logan Diggs dived home for LSU’s opening touchdown.
Walker was later ejected for a second unsportsmanlike conduct call, leading to another LSU score.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.
