Game Report: Missouri Tigers 27, Iowa Hawkeyes 24

Here’s a look at Iowa’s 27-24 loss Monday afternoon to Missouri at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Turning point

The big picture? Iowa’s offense was limited to 102 yards in the second half after gaining 195 in the first. That included a fourth-quarter interception thrown by quarterback Brendan Sullivan.

It had 59 yards rushing in the second half after accumulating 107 in the first. It went 2 for 8 on third down in the second half after going 4 for 5 in the first.

Blake Craig made field goals of 51 and 56 yards in the fourth quarter, the latter giving Missouri its first lead of the game, 27-24, with 4:36 to go.

The smaller picture? Look at Iowa’s final two offensive possessions. Opportunities squandered.

Iowa failed to convert a third-and-2 play on the ensuing possession, with wide receiver Jacob Gill dropping a Sullivan pass that would have been a first down. The Hawkeyes punted, but got the football back after a shanked Mizzou punt at its 45 with 1:54 left.

Plenty of time to at least move a short distance into position for a potential tying field goal. But it was no go.

Sullivan tripped trying to get out of pressure and was sacked for a 13-yard loss on first down. Terrell Washington Jr. caught an outlet pass from Sullivan on second down and got 19 yards to the Missouri 49.

On third-and-4, Gill caught a pass over the middle a half-yard shy of first down to the Tigers 46. On fourth-and-1, Iowa tried a quarterback sneak that went nowhere.

For one, Sullivan appeared to hesitate after taking the snap instead of just moving forward. For two, Missouri linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. clean jumped over Iowa’s center at the snap, which also bamboozled the play.

By the numbers

3 — Iowa points in the second half.

21 — Iowa points in the first half.

61 — The opening-kickoff temperature at Nissan Stadium. That’s not too shabby for Dec. 30.

100 — Official yardage on Kaden Wetjen’s kickoff return for touchdown for Iowa in the first quarter, even though he caught the ball a couple of yards deep. That’s the way the NCAA scores it.

Notebook

* Iowa had been 32-0 going into Monday when scoring 21 points or more. Missouri went 6-1 in games this season that were decided by one score.

* With star receiver Luther Burden opting out of the game to begin preparing for a NFL career, it was thought Missouri would be light at the receiver position in this game. But guys stepped up.

Marquis Johnson had seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. He’d previously caught 15 passes for 173 yards and no TDs in eight games this season.

Theo Wease Jr. had one TD reception in nine games going into Monday. He had a 5-75-1 line here despite not playing in the second half because of an upper-body injury.

Running back Tavorus Jones caught a pass for the first time in his career. So did redshirt junior wide receiver Logan Muckey.

* Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson played in his 73rd game Monday. That’s a NCAA record.

Jackson, of course, was given a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after a campus shooting killed three Virginia players. Jackson spent four seasons with the Cavaliers before transferring to Iowa last season.

* They share a border, but this was just the second time since 1910 that Iowa and Missouri played football against each other. The other time also was in a bowl game: the 2010 Insight Bowl in Phoenix, a game Iowa won, 27-24.

The schools played 12 times between 1892 and 2010. Missouri now leads the all-time series 8-6.

This also was the 37th bowl game each school has played in. They were supposed to play in this bowl against each other in 2020, but Missouri pulled out of the game after having numerous players test positive for COVID-19.

Injury report

Iowa was without all-Big Ten Conference center Logan Jones, who broke his right, snapping hand in a practice leading up to Monday’s game. He was replaced by senior Tyler Elsbury, who had two shotgun snaps in the game that were low and away from quarterback Brendan Sullivan, causing yardage losses on each play.

Also out with injuries for the Hawkeyes were defensive lineman Brian Allen Jr., defensive back Koen Entringer and wide receiver Seth Anderson. True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee played for the first time since being injured in an Oct. 28 game against Northwestern.

Next game

It’s 243 days (counting Monday) until Iowa’s next game. Begin the countdown. That’d be the 2025 season opener, which is Aug. 30 at Kinnick Stadium against Albany.