NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Location: Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field, Colombia, MO
Line: Missouri (-20.5)
The No. 22 Missouri Tigers (2-0) are looking to get back to the SEC Championship game for the third straight year as champions of the SEC East. But so far this season, they’ve played far from their best football. They will have to tighten things up before they hit their conference schedule and welcome in the Connecticut Huskies (2-0) for a non-conference tune-up.
UConn comes to Colombia with an unblemished record but have been seriously challenged in their first two games against lesser competition. They’ve posted wins over FCS Villanova and the Army Black Knights by a combined 10 points while averaging just 21 points and 361 yards per game. The Huskies have struggled to really get their running game going so far this season with their leading rusher, Ron Johnson, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry while racking up 108 yards on 41 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Missouri comes into this game after surviving a scare last week from the Arkansas State Red Wolves in a 27-20 road victory. Maty Mauk has struggled to consistently connect with his receivers so far, completing just 48.3 percent of his passes on the year. Against Arkansas State, he ultimately played the hero with a pair of third quarter passing touchdowns, but ended the day completing just 16 of 36 passes with a pair of interceptions. The Tigers offense has been hampered by the injury to senior running back Russell Hansbrough, who is nursing a sore ankle, and Missouri will not have him this weekend as they try to get him ready for SEC play starting next week.
The Tigers have high aspirations for the 2015 season but have not played up to expectations so far this season. Will Mauk be able to tighten things up with a depleted backfield and get Missouri ready to defend their SEC East crown?
Prediction: Missouri 31, Connecticut 17
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
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