Blake Craig kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter, his second a 56-yarder with 4:36 left as 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, No. 19 CFP) posted the program’s eighth 10-win season.
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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 went three-and-out on their final two possessions. The last came near midfield with 1:54 left.
Missouri defensive end Johnny Walker got his second sack of the game. Then Missouri made a stop just short of the first on third down, then again on fourth-and-1 to start the celebration and chants of “S-E-C” from fans.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 14-7 lead with Terrell Washington Jr. catching a 6-yard pass from Brendan Sullivan, and then Kaden Wetjen returned a kickoff 100 yards just inside the left sideline.
Cook completed 8 of his first 9 passes for 111 yards. He found Theo Wease for his first TD on an 8-yarder, then he connected with Johnson on a 7-yarder early in the second quarter.
Kamari Moulton’s 1-yard run gave Iowa a 21-14 halftime lead. Drew Stevens padded the lead with 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.
The Takeaways
Missouri: The Tigers offense took a big hit when Wease missed the second half with an upper body injury. Wease had 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. He watched, having opted out of this game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Cook finally got going again through the air thanks to 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. Coach Eli 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.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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