Game Week: Missouri

Tennessee took care of business against lowly North Texas on Saturday, but it wasn’t pretty.

The Vols (6-4, 3-3 SEC) beat the Mean Green 24-0, but it was a game that they were favored to win by 41 points in.

The win did however propel Tennessee into bowl eligibility, the earliest that the Vols have reached six wins since 2009.

This week, the competition gets tougher as Tennessee will travel to Columbia to take on Missouri.

Missouri has fallen a bit from their back-to-back SEC East titles, but still possess a championship level defense, even if their offense has had a lot of struggle.

Here’s a look at Tennessee last road trip of the 2015 season:

Tennessee Volunteers at Missouri Tigers

Game Information

Kickoff: Saturday at 7:15 PM EST

TV: ESPN2

Line: Tennessee by 9

Venue: Faurot Field (Capacity 75,598)

Last Meeting: Missouri 29, Tennessee 21 (11/22/14)

Missouri Tigers (5-5, 1-5 SEC)

Head Coach: Gary Pinkel (15th season, 2015 is his last season)

Offensive Coordinator: Josh Henson

Defensive Coordinator: Barry Odom

2015 Season Notes

- Picked by media to finish 3rd in SEC East.

- Ranked 24th in preseason AP Poll, went as high as 21st in week two before falling out of rankings in week four after loss to Kentucky.

- Freshman quarterback Drew Lock took over for suspended Maty Mauk for South Carolina game on Oct. 3, and has started ever since.

- Head coach Gary Pinkel was announced to be retiring at the end of this season due to health concerns on Nov. 13. Tennessee game will be his last home game.

Missouri player to watch:

Drew Lock, quarterback

As mentioned above, Lock was thrust into action against South Carolina when junior Maty Mauk was suspended, and ever since then he has been the starter for the Tigers.

Lock is 2-4 as a starter, and the offense has averaged just 11.5 points per game with him at the helm.

Lock’s stat line isn’t much better than his record, as he has completed 51.9 percent of his passes for 1,114 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Lock’s freshman year has been rough, but he could be hitting his stride at the right time.

His performance against BYU on Saturday was his best of the season, and he as well as the rest of the team will be playing with extra motivation once again this week with it being Pinkel‘s last home game.

Tennessee’s secondary hasn’t been extremely reliable this season, but Lock will provide a test that will be one of the easier ones the Vols face.

Lock’s performance will be a determining factor in if Tennessee can break their three game losing streak to the Tigers.

#missouri