Missouri 29, Tennessee 21: Tigers move to 9-2 with dominant defense, late offense

On September 20, Missouri lost to Indiana. On October 11, the Tigers got blasted by Georgia. And on November 28, Mizzou will play for a second straight trip to Atlanta. Maty Mauk threw for 230 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Marcus Murphy scored twice in the first half, and the Tiger defensive line absolutely wreaked havoc. The result: a 29-21 win, the Tigers' 10th straight on the road (!), fifth straight overall, and third straight over Tennessee.

Mizzou's defensive dominance and timely offense were enough to overcome an absolute special teams self-destruction. Tennessee scored on a fake field goal and punted better than Mizzou, Tiger blockers committed multiple illegal blocks on Murphy returns, Andrew Baggett missed a field goal and two extra points (!), and technically Missouri recovered neither of two onside kicks with under two minutes left (though Tennessee committed penalties on both). It was an awful night in that regard, especially considering how good Mizzou was in this regard until the last two games. But if you outplay your opponent on both offense and defense, you can survive. Mizzou outgained the Vols by a 403-279 margin and survived.

That sets up the first regular-season Missouri-Arkansas game in more than 50 years, and it is positively enormous. Can't wait.

More tomorrow. Until then ... CELEBRATION THREAD, COMMENCE.