Thanks to the up-and-down play of the Georgia Bulldogs, it's the Missouri Tigers that control their destiny in the SEC East and can earn another trip to the SEC Championship Game with just two more wins. The first of those opportunities comes against the Tennessee Volunteers that have been hot since Joshua Dobbs took over as the starting quarterback.
How to watch Missouri vs. Tennessee: Game guide, TV/streaming, odds
Missouri can keep its conference championship hopes alive with a win against Joshua Dobbs and Tennessee.
In two starts and time against Alabama, Dobbs has already racked up seven passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns as the Volunteers offense has found its stride. The challenge will be keeping that going against a Missouri defense that has been playing its best as of late.
After allowing 13 rushing touchdowns through the first seven games, the Missouri defense has kept opposing rushers out of the endzone for three consecutive weeks and have six interceptions in the last four.
Offensively, the Tigers are led by Maty Mauk who started the year strong, struggled for a stretch, and has rebounded some recently. After zero touchdowns and five interceptions in a three-game span, Mauk tossed five touchdowns and just one interception in the last three games for the Tigers. Against a Tennessee pass defense that is one of only 31 teams that allows fewer than 200 passing yards per game, Mauk will need to keep that positive trend going.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN (Chris Fowler/Kirk Herbstreit)
Online streaming: WatchESPN
The numbers
Rankings and records: Missouri enters this game ranked 20th in the College Football Playoff rankings, and is 8-2 (5-1 SEC). Tennessee is 5-5 (2-4 SEC). The two teams have only faced each other twice all-time and Missouri won both, including a 31-3 victory in 2013.
Vegas: Tennessee opened as a 3-point favorite, and that line has remained steady in some sportsbooks and increased to 4 points in others. The over/under for this game is 49, per OddsShark.
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny with a high of 58.
Two things at stake
Missouri’s chances at messing up everything. Perhaps no team in the nation is better positioned to throw some serious chaos into the College Football Playoff than Missouri. With two more wins the Tigers will play in the SEC Championship and with a win there, the Tigers would throw a wrench in everything. Before we get ahead of ourselves and imagine what that scenario would entail, Missouri must first get through Tennessee on Saturday.
Bowl eligibility for the Vols. Tennessee needs just one more victory to earn bowl eligibility, and while that could certainly be had against Vanderbilt in the season finale, the Volunteers can put themselves in better shape by just sealing that on Saturday against Missouri. Tennessee is ranked third in the nation in all-time bowl appearances and one more would be a 50th bowl game for the Volunteers; however, the school hasn’t earned a spot in a bowl game since a loss in the Music City Bowl to North Carolina in 2010.
One big matchup
Joshua Dobbs vs. Missouri pass rush. A season-ending shoulder injury for Justin Worley forced sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs into action, but with 95 points in the last two weeks with Dobbs at the helm, the Volunteers offense has been producing at its best all season. That will be a challenge to keep going against Missouri, a defense that has racked up 32 sacks through 10 games. Only 13 teams have racked up more sacks and the Tigers will face a Tennessee offensive line that has allowed the ninth-most sacks in the nation.
Further reading
For more on Missouri, check out Rock M Nation. For more on Tennessee, head over to Rocky Top Talk.
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