Missouri Scores 45 in Homecoming Rout of No. 8 Florida

No. 25 Missouri handed No. 8 Florida a lopsided Homecoming loss on Saturday in Columbia, the Tigers' first regular-season win over a Top 10 opponent since 2013.

No. 25 Missouri turned its Homecoming matchup with No. 8 Florida into a runaway SEC win on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri, scoring 45 points. The Oct. 3 victory gave the Tigers their first regular-season win over a Top 10 opponent since 2013.

The performance answered a difficult stretch for the program. Missouri had lost on the road to Mississippi State the previous week and played Saturday without All-American running back Ahmad Hardy, the team's most dangerous player, whose return did not appear to be close.

The defense set the tone. One week after an uneven night against Mississippi State's Fluff Bothwell, the SEC's second-leading rusher, the Tigers held Florida's Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries. Baugh arrived with award-level recognition and a case as possibly the best running back in the country, but multiple Missouri defenders converged on him nearly every time he carried. Gators coach Jon Sumrall said at halftime that Missouri's defenders "are doing a really good job."

Missouri did it shorthanded. Starting edge defenders Darris Smith and Langden Kitchen were unavailable, and the Tigers dealt with additional injuries on the defensive line and at linebacker as the game went on.

With Hardy sidelined, Jamal Roberts took charge of the running game. Even with the All-American out, much of the discussion around the position had centered on Hardy's absence rather than Roberts, who answered with more than 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Two long runs in the second half broke the game open, and he gave quarterback Austin Simmons a reliable checkdown option.

Simmons completed multiple passes to five different receivers. Lee and Olugbode have been his primary targets this season; Olugbode caught six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Cayden Lee added multiple catches. Caleb Goodie supplied two explosive receptions plus a score, and Naushaun Montgomery emerged as another fast target for Florida to track. Tight end Brett Norfleet, back in the lineup, converted a key first down late in the first half to set up a field goal before the break.

Kicker Blake Craig rebounded from a rough moment. He pushed a 50-yard attempt wide right in the first half, then made a 50-yard field goal to end the second quarter and a 52-yarder late in the third that put the game out of reach. Craig was accurate as a true freshman, and the two long makes followed his early miss.

The victory came on the 115th edition of Missouri's Homecoming, the oldest Homecoming tradition in college football. It also kept the road loss to Mississippi State from becoming a losing streak and reduced the damage of that defeat to the Tigers' season.

Missouri will try to carry the result into next weekend's game against Texas A&M. Florida heads home to Gainesville after the lopsided loss.