COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brady Cook rolled up 290 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns, Theo Wease Jr. had career receiving highs and the Missouri defense pitched its second consecutive shutout as the No. 9 Tigers (2-0) downed the Buffalo Bulls (1-1) 38-0 Saturday night before the seventh straight sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium.
It was Mizzou’s 18th consecutive win over a non-conference opponent at home dating back to Oct. 21, 2017, tying the school record set previously from Sept. 17, 2005, to Nov. 17, 2012.
The last time Missouri opened a season with two shutouts was in 1935, which was Don Faurot’s first season as head coach. The last time Missouri had back-to-back shutouts at any point in a season was 1966 (at Kansas State, Oklahoma). The Tigers have not allowed a TD in 12 quarters … a span of 165 minutes, 48 seconds – since the fourth quarter of the Arkansas game last year. And Missouri has not allowed a point in 11 straight quarters — the longest such streak since the 1941 team went 16 quarters without allowing a point.
The Mizzou defense forced Buffalo into four three-and-outs and stopped the Bulls (1-1) twice on fourth downs and limited the visitors to 169 total yards, just 55 of which came through the air. Tigers linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. was the leading tackler with six. MU sacked Buffalo quarterback C.J. Ogbonna three times, had five tackles for loss, including two by Johnny Walker Jr., and Marvin Burks Jr. had his first career pass interception in the first quarter.
Cook completed 28 of 36 passes for 228 yards and rushed five times for 62 yards and two TDs. He upped his career passing total to 6,701 yards and moved past Blaine Gabbert for sixth place on the Mizzou career passing chart.
Wease Jr. established career highs for catches and receiving yardage with 13 receptions – nine came in the first half – for 149 yards.
Blake Craig opened the scoring for the Tigers, kicking a 51-yard field goal with 10:47 left in the first quarter after the MU defense forced a Buffalo three-and-out on the game’s opening possession.
In the second quarter, Luther Burden III capped a 64-yard drive that he began with an 18-yard gain on a reverse to the right with a three-yard touchdown run – the 20th TD of his career.
Wease Jr. keyed the next Missouri drive, catching three passes for 56 yards, including a 39-yarder that got Mizzou inside the Buffalo 5-yard line. Four plays later, Cook ran it in from three yards out to up the MU advantage to 17-0. For Cook, it was the fifth straight regular season game in which he has had a rushing touchdown.
After taking over on downs near midfield, Cook capped a 55-yard drive with a 31-yard TD run – the longest scoring run of his career – on which he made a nifty move to step out of an attempted tackle near the line of scrimmage and then dove over a pair of tacklers at the goal line giving MU a 24-0 halftime lead.
Late in the third quarter, the Missouri defense forced a Buffalo three-and-out deep in its own territory and took over after a punt at the Buffalo 47-yard line. On third-and-11, Cook hit Wease Jr. for 27 yards to set up Nate Noel for a four-yard touchdown run that made the score 31-0.
Backup quarterback Drew Pyne led a late scoring drive on which Jamal Roberts scored on a three-yard run with 31 seconds left. It was the second straight game in which four different Tigers had rushing touchdowns.
Missouri had 518 total yards – 263 passing and 255 rushing – the team’s most since having 530 against Tennessee last season.
UP NEXT
The Tigers remain at home next week to host the Boston College Eagles. Game time on Saturday, Sept. 14, is 11:45 a.m. at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised on the Network, and it will be Missouri’s eighth consecutive sellout.
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