Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Thanks to a fast start by Missouri in its first official game as a member of the Southeastern Conference, Southeastern Louisiana's first game in the
Ron Roberts era got off to a slow start.
Missouri used a pair of defensive touchdowns in a 28-point first-quarter explosion while T.J. Moe and Kendial Lawrence scored TDs as the Tigers opened their first year in the Southeastern Conference with a 62-10 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in a rain-soaked contest before an announced crowd of 62,173 Saturday at Faurot Field.
Marcus Murphy became the first player in school history for Missouri (1-0) to return a pair of punts for touchdowns, scampering 70 yards for a third quarter score before running one back 72 yards in the fourth.
Playing the majority of the game in steady rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac that hit the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Missouri's high-octane offense collected 452 yards total offense and forced four turnovers, including two in the first quarter. Southeastern (0-1) was held to 223 yards total offense with the Missouri defense limiting the Lions to 58 yards rushing on 34 carries.
Southeastern, playing its third straight season opener against a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision, scored its first touchdown when freshman
Jeff Smiley caught a 21-yard pass from
Nathan Stanley with 2:32 remaining.
Mizzou took the opening drive 75 yards in 11 plays as James Franklin found Moe in the back of the end zone on a 2-yard scoring pass
Two plays later, Zavier Gooden stepped in front of a Stanley pass and sprinted 20 yards down the left sideline for a 14-0 lead with 10:26 remaining in opening quarter.
After a 51-yard punt by Southeastern's
Beau Mothe, Lawrence gave Missouri a 21-0 lead when he took a handoff and sprinted down the right sideline with 7:35 remaining and the Tigers added their second defensive touchdown in the period when Kony Ealy forced a fumble and Michael Sam scooped it up and scored from 7 yards out for a 28-0 lead with 7:19 left.
Southeastern got on the scoreboard at the end of the first half as it took advantage of a pair of Missouri penalties and drove 69 yards in nine plays with
Seth Sebastian connecting on a 31-yard field goal as the half expired.
The Lions fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Missouri drove 25 yards in three plays with Lawrence scoring from a 1-yard out for a 34-3 lead.
On its next possession, Andrew Wilson forced a fumble by
Michael Chaney and Kip Edwards recovered for the Tigers at the SLU 30. But the Lions held as
Marice Sutton stopped Franklin short on fourth-and-12 at the SLU 21.
Murphy added a touchdown for the Tigers when he fielded a punt at his own 30, broke a couple of tackles and scored on a 70-yard TD to give Missouri a 41-3 lead.
Corbin Berkstresser tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Jimmie Hunt before scoring on a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter to give Missouri a 55-3 lead with 11:38 left.
Franklin finished 13-for-21 for 131 yards for Missouri while Lawrence rushed for 121 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Dorial Green-Beckham, regarded as the top high school prospect in the 2012 recruiting class, caught three passes in his Tiger debut.
Stanley, who was making his first start since playing at Ole Miss in 2010, finished 21-for-33 for 165 yards. Smiley, who entered fall camp as a cornerback before being converted to wide receiver two weeks ago, finished with a game-high five catches for 44 yards with
Tony McCrea,
Stanley Moore and
Jeremy Meyers catching three passes each.
Sutton tallied a game-high 10 tackles for Southeastern with
Tyler Stoddard adding five.
Cqulin Hubert, who played the past two seasons at Texas Tech, finished with four stops along with newcomer
John Graves,
Robert Alford and
Tay Alford.
Southeastern will return home to face Missouri Valley Football Conference member South Dakota State on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or on-line at www.LionSports.net.
