A year ago, Missouri’s football team finished 5-7 (2-6 SEC) and failed to qualify for a bowl. The Tigers reminded themselves of that amid the disappointment of Saturday’s SEC Championship game loss.
“I’m not going to shed one tear,” wide receiver L’Damian Washington said after the 59-42 loss to Auburn. “I’m proud. I’m proud of every person on this team, proud of this season.”
“We grew a lot as a team from last year,” quarterback James Franklin said.
Still, Saturday’s loss was unmistakably painful for Missouri.
“They’re crushed,” coach Gary Pinkel said of his players. “I mean, they are absolutely crushed. And that’s good. I mean, that’s OK. They’re used to winning, and this game was real important to them.
“Hopefully, we get in this position again, and we’ll play better. Maybe we’ll handle it a little bit better. But … I’m proud of them, proud how they competed and battled.”
In its second season in the SEC, Missouri won the Eastern Division with a 7-1 regular-season league record, losing only to South Carolina in overtime. Despite Saturday’s loss, the Tigers will carry an overall record of 11-2 into a bowl.
“We won the East championship, and I felt good about that,” Pinkel said. “And then I felt bad because we lost the championship (game). We wanted the SEC championship. We’ve got to do better to win this game.”
He expressed excitement about his program’s future.
“I was excited about our program a year ago, too,” he said. “We do what we do, and I’m excited to keep building it.
“I think we’ve got a really good team and played well in a great conference. Just didn’t play our best game today, and I’m responsible for that.”
Missouri's offense: Franklin completed 21 of 37 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns as Missouri's offense kept the team in the game most of the way. Despite its defense's struggles, Missouri trailed by a point at halftime (28-27) and by only three entering the fourth quarter.
“There were some real positive things that happened,” Pinkel said. “We were battling right there until the fourth quarter, and then we just — we didn’t do well on either side of the football, and they finished the game.”
Missouri was outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter.
Tailback Henry Josey gained 123 yards rushing on nine carries for Missouri, including a 65-yard run over left guard to set up Mizzou’s final touchdown late in the third quarter. The game pushed pushed Josey, a junior, past 1,000 rushing yards for the season (1,074).
Franklin gained 62 yards rushing on 15 carries and ran for one touchdown.
Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham caught six passes for a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns. Green-Beckham, a sophomore, became the 18th player with 100-plus receiving yards in an SEC Championship game and the eighth with at least two receiving touchdowns. His touchdown catches covered 28 and 55 yards, both in the first half.
“You score 42 points, you did something (as an offense). Well, actually 35,” said Pinkel, noting that Missouri’s defense scored seven of its points. “But it wasn’t good enough.”
Early turnovers: Missouri's defense forced two turnovers in the first half, a big factor in Mizzou trailing by only a point at intermission. Missouri got 10 points off the turnovers.
The first, a fumble by quarterback Nick Marshall on Auburn’s first possession, was forced by defensive end Kony Ealy and recovered by defensive tackle Matt Hoch at the Auburn 43-yard line. That led to a Missouri field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The second, also a Marshall fumble, was again forced by Ealy and recovered at the Auburn 11-yard line by cornerback E.J. Gaines, who ran it in for a touchdown and a 17-14 Missouri lead.
Forcing turnovers is nothing new for Missouri. The Tigers have forced at least one in 43 consecutive games, the longest active such streak among FBS teams.
Missouri finished Saturday’s game with a 2-1 advantage in the turnover battle. The only turnover committed by Missouri was an interception thrown by Franklin.
The crowd: Although Auburn fans far outnumbered the Missouri contingent in the Georgia Dome, Pinkel said the SEC Championship game did not feel like a road game to him.
“No, not at all,” he said. “I don’t think so. I don’t think that at all.”
The attendance was 75,632, third highest for an SEC Championship game in the Dome.
Etc.: Missouri safety Braylon Webb set an SEC Championship game record with 20 tackles. … Franklin was sacked three times. … Josey's 65-yard run was the fifth longest in SEC Championship game history. … Missouri trailed at halftime only one other time this season, 14-7 against Texas A&M on Nov. 30. The Tigers came back to win that game 28-21 to clinch the SEC East title. … Saturday's game was Missouri's second ever against Auburn. The first was a 34-17 Missouri victory in the 1973 Sun Bowl. … Asked about his preference for a bowl destination, Pinkel said: "Honestly, I haven't thought about that at all."
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