Missouri football emerged victorious in the 122nd chapter of the Border War after standing tall in the face of adversity. Woes on special teams, struggles with run blocking and an inability to bring down Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall dug the Tigers an early hole, but these three plays were crucial in keeping them in it and pushed them past the Jayhawks.
Technically two plays here, but both functioned the same. The fifth-year transfer linebacker from Auburn, Woodyard, first forced a fumble from Marshall and recovered it to set the Tigers up at the 34-yard line. Missouri marched down the field and scored a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead early in the third.
Woodyard's next snap on the field, Kansas' first play of its next offensive drive, also resulted in a turnover. He intercepted Marshall to give Missouri the ball back at the Jayhawks 12-yard line, setting the Tigers up to score in two plays.
"Not only (was) he all over the field making tackles, now he's making interceptions, forcing fumbles," MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Woodyard. "I mean, he was a nightmare over there. So really proud of him."
Woodyard's forced turnovers in Jayhawk territory gave Missouri its two easiest - and arguably most important - scores of the night, giving the Tigers a cushion entering an intense fourth quarter.
After a poor showing in Week 1 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Missouri followed it up with another worrisome performance across the border against the Jayhawks. Only one of Missouri's starting linemen had a PFF run-blocking grade of 70 or higher, that being Mississippi State transfer and starting right tackle Luke Work.
The unit as a whole struggled to create space, let alone lanes for the Tiger ball-carriers, who averaged 4.2 yards per carry and 3.41 yards after contact. Drinkwitz acknowledged that while not perfect, the every yard in the run game counts - Roberts' 64-yard pop was crucial, as it was the Tigers' first score of the game during a period in which they struggled to generate consistent offense.
"We still got work to do, but I mean, they all count. So they're all punches. They're all body blows," Drinkwitz said. "The run game is all about body blows, body blows, body blows, and we had to have it. You know, we got it in the end zone... they all count."
Donta Simpson, who a sophomore defensive tackle transfer from Miami, didn't make much of an impact in his season debut against Arkansas Pine Bluff. He exploded in the fourth quarter against Kansas, breaking through for 1.5 sacks against the Jayhawks offensive line.
Simpson's first sack was to push Kansas back from a third down into a fourth-and-16 facing a 31-21 deficit with 3:40 left in the game. Daeden Hopkins and Darris Smith met in the middle a play later to force a turnover on downs and effectively end the game.
Considering Missouri's defensive line garnered just one sack against UAPB in Week 1, getting production out of a young transfer like Simpson should provide promise for pressure in future games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/missouri as Three key plays from Mizzou's Border War win over Kansas .
