Lock leads Mizzou in rout of Arkansas
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Three years ago, Drew Lock’s freshman season ended with a dismal performance in a blowout loss to Arkansas in a chilly downpour. A losing season coupled with the retirement of longtime coach Gary Pinkel had the quarterback questioning whether Missouri was the right school for him.
On Friday, only the opponent and the weather was the same. Lock threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to guide Missouri to a 38-0 victory over Arkansas in his final home game. After a rocky start to his career, Lock has led the Tigers to two straight winning seasons and positioned himself to be a high NFL draft pick, which explained Denver Broncos general manager John Elway’s presence at Friday’s game.
“The best way to put it is it just felt right walking off the field,” Lock said.
Missouri (8-4, 4-4 SEC) held Arkansas (2-10, 0-8 SEC) to just 187 total yards and broke the game open by converting two second-quarter turnovers into 14 points.
Lock completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards. He went over 3,000 passing yards for the third straight season. With a bowl game left to play, Lock’s career total of 11,820 passing yards is second in SEC history to Georgia’s Aaron Murray, who threw for 13,166 yards from 2010-13.
“He’s done a heck of a job of being Drew, being what we need him to be and playing really well at a high level,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “He left his mark.”
Lock had plenty of help on both sides of the ball against Arkansas. Emanuel Hall caught six passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Larry Rountree carried 29 times for 119 yards to go over 1,000 yards on the season.
Arkansas had no answer. Starting quarterback Ty Storey threw an interception into the chest of linebacker Terez Hall in the second quarter, setting up Missouri’s second touchdown. On the next series, Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott sacked Storey and forced a fumble that Akial Byers recovered in the end zone to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead. Elliott, who entered the game without a sack, racked up three against the Razorbacks.
“I did not think we played well up front,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. “We’ve got guys that have been playing those positions all year long. … Our inability to sustain some blocks was disappointing and put us behind the chains.”