COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – James Franklin orchestrated two lengthy touchdown drives and added another score on the ground in the second half to help Missouri break open a 41-19 win over Arkansas State in wet conditions Saturday night.
Missouri scored 21 points in the final quarter to finish their nonconference schedule with a 4-0 record.
Franklin led drives of 94 and 87 yards after his team trailed 16-14 with 11:31 remaining in the third quarter. The Tigers failed to convert any of their first four third-down opportunities and only possessed the ball for 9:12 in the first half.
Bryan Davis kicked a 33-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the game to pull his team within 27-19 but it couldn’t get closer. He also converted from 41, 21 and 44 yards and has made all seven of his attempts this season.
Missouri only ran 25 plays in the opening 30 minutes Saturday, but Franklin got things going in the third quarter with a 13-yard pass to L’Damian Washington on a third down at Missouri’s 36-yard-line to keep the team on the field. After Franklin ran for 18 yards to the Arkansas State’s 17-yard-line, he found Washington in the corner of the end zone from five yards out for a 20-16 lead.
Missouri held the Red Wolves to a 3-and-out on their subsequent possession before Franklin flipped the ball to Henry Josey for a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:25 remaining for a 27-16 advantage.
Franklin then scampered for a 9-yard score and Marcus Murphy added a 3-yard run after an E.J. Gaines interception to finish the scoring. The Tigers finished with 495 yards of offense, including 239 rushing yards and 256 through the air.
Missouri played most of the game without senior cornerback Randy Ponder, who became the second Tiger this season to be ejected for targeting with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter. Ponder led with his helmet in a tackle on McKissic, resulting in a 15-yard penalty that gave the Red Wolves the ball at the Missouri 39-yard-line and set up a 21-yard field goal by Davis for a 6-0 lead.
Arkansas State looked like it would take the halftime lead when it drove 95 yards to the Missouri 2-yard-line within the final minute. But the Tigers stuffed David Oku twice, setting up a 3rd-and-1 situation. With no timeouts and 14 seconds remaining, Kennedy threw to Oku well behind the line of scrimmage for a 22-yard loss after being pressured by Markus Golden. Time elapsed, and Missouri escaped with a 14-13 lead.