NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Blake Craig kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter, his second a 56-yarder with 4:36 left as No. 23 Missouri rallied to beat Iowa 27-24 on Monday in the Music City Bowl.
Missouri trailed 24-14 when the Tigers started the comeback, scoring the final 13 points for the win. Brady Cook threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Manning also ran for a TD to key the comeback. Marquis Johnson added 122 yards receiving and a TD catch.
Missouri (10-3) posted the program’s eighth 10-win season. Coach Eli Drinkwitz said the win total is only a piece, with the Tigers starting and finishing the season ranked a great accomplishment for his seniors.
“It’s something that they should take a lot of pride in back-to-back seasons,” Drinkwitz said. “Finishing ranked is an unbelievable accomplishment for our program and really, really proud of them.”
Cook, who also ran for 54 more yards, said there was never a decision for himself or fellow senior defensive end Johnny Walker not to play one last game for Missouri.
“We knew we were going to and getting that 10th win and leaving our legacy and going out with a win, going out winning a championship — no matter what the championship is, we won a championship today,” Cook said. “And that’s what we want to do every single year.”
Iowa (8-5) lost its second straight bowl, denying coach Kirk Ferentz a chance to move up the Big Ten ranks. He remains one behind Woody Hayes’ 205 wins at Ohio State for the most overall wins in league history and his 10 bowl wins keeps him tied with Joe Paterno for the most.
The Hawkeyes had two final chances, the last near midfield with 1:54 left.
Walker got his second sack of the game. Missouri made a stop just short of the first on third down, then stopped quarterback Brendan Sullivan for no gain on fourth-and-1 to start the celebration and chants of “S-E-C” from fans.
“It’s disappointing …,” Ferentz said. “We just didn’t have what it took to get it done.”
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 14-7 lead with Terrell Washington Jr. catching a 6-yard pass from Sullivan and Kaden Wetjen’s 100-yard kickoff return. Kamari Moulton’s 1-yard run gave Iowa a 21-14 halftime lead. Drew Stevens added a 38-yard field goal in the third.
Then Missouri started the comeback. After Manning’s TD late in the third quarter. Toriano Pride Jr. picked off a pass by Sullivan. The Tigers tied it up with a 51-yard field goal by Craig with 10:10 left before he kicked the game-winner.
Takeaways
Missouri: Theo Wease missed the second half with an upper-body injury after having five catches for 75 yards and a TD by halftime. It didn’t help that Luther Burden, who had a team-high 61 catches during the season, was on the sideline in his No. 3 jersey watching, having opted out of this game to prepare for the NFL draft.
Cook had help from Daniel Blood and Johnson, who set up Manning’s TD run with a 44-yard catch.
Iowa played without Big Ten rushing leader Kaleb Johnson, who opted out of this bowl to start preparing for the NFL draft. Moulton finished with 96 yards rushing on just 14 carries, and Jaziun Patterson added 74.
Up next
Missouri opens the season Aug. 30 hosting Central Arkansas. Drinkwitz will have Beau Pribula from Penn State to replace Cook through the transfer portal for 2025.
Iowa hosts Albany on Aug. 30. Ferentz added Hank Brown from Auburn through the portal to provide competition and depth at quarterback.
Originally Published:
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