Kentucky holds off Missouri

Missouri wide receiver Emanuel Hall catches a touchdown pass behind Kentucky cornerback
Lonnie Johnson during the first half of Saturday night's game in Lexington, Ky.
Missouri wide receiver Emanuel Hall catches a touchdown pass behind Kentucky cornerback Lonnie Johnson during the first half of Saturday night's game in Lexington, Ky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The bye week was definitely a good thing for Missouri.

A much-improved offense, led by Drew Lock and Ish Witter, not only racked up yards but found the end zone with consistency against Kentucky.

The end result was no different from the Tigers' other three FBS games in the loss column, but the team looked reinvigorated despite a 40-34 loss Saturday night to the Wildcats.

Witter had 139 yards on 17 carries against one of the nation's top run defenses, and Drew Lock completed 22-of-42 passes for 355 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

The game came down to kicking and turnovers, as it so often does. Missouri (1-4, 0-3 SEC) intercepted Kentucky's Stephen Johnson early in the third quarter and took possession deep in Kentucky territory. But Damarea Crockett fumbled on the very next play and the Wildcats went 66 yards in nine plays to extend their lead to 27-17 and negate a chance for the Tigers to tie or take the lead.

Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 SEC) opened scoring with a short-field touchdown thanks to a Josh Allen strip sack of Drew Lock. The ball was recovered inside Missouri's red zone and the Wildcats scored three plays later.

The game would have been tied late if not for two missed field goals from Missouri. Tucker McCann finished 2-of-4, but both of his misses were on bad snaps, a problem head coach Barry Odom said hadn't reared its ugly head before Saturday night.

For the third straight game, the Tigers had a double-digit deficit entering the second quarter. Missouri hasn't scored in the first quarter of a game since Tucker McCann kicked a field goal against South Carolina, while the defense allowed 14 first-quarter points to both Purdue and Auburn and 10 to the Wildcats. The Tigers trailed 20-7 at one point late in the first half, pulling to within three before Crockett's fumble.

Missouri never led.

There was also some controversy surrounding spotting of the football on the Tigers' last drive, especially after J'Mon Moore's was downed with 21 seconds left on the clock. Lock didn't get a chance to spike the ball until there were three seconds remaining, and though Odom hinted he saw a Kentucky defender knock the dead ball out of Moore's hands to waste time, he abstained from criticism of the officiating crew.

Missouri missed Jason Reese, who was hurt in warmups; Anthony Sherrils, who did not travel with the team due to concussion protocol; and DeMarkus Acy, who was ejected for targeting in the first quarter.

Emanuel Hall was one player who stepped up on offense. He finished the game with four catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, and was a couple feet from scoring three TDs. Lock's passing scores came on a 50-yard, in-stride laser completion to Moore down the sideline, a 58-yard strike over the top to Hall and a short slant to Johnathon Johnson that the speedster took 75 yards to the house.

"I think, in this offense, once you get one big play, everyone kind of works off of that," Hall said. "After the first quarter, we got things moving.

"What we can build on is the confidence we got from moving the ball and putting up a lot of points. I think there are positives that came out of this game, even though we lost.

Missouri plays No. 5 Georgia in Athens next Saturday.