Massachusetts Minutemen at Missouri Tigers

Pribula completes Missouri-record 21 straight passes, No. 20 Tigers beat UMass 42-6

“It’s good to be undefeated with things to improve,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “I think that’s kind of the mentality of our coaching staff and our players. During the bye week, we’ve got to sharpen our edge. We cannot get complacent, so having things to work on is a positive.”

Hardy sparked the Tigers’ opening drive, gaining 41 yards on four carries before limping off the field after a tackle. While Hardy headed to the medical tent, Jamal Roberts finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

UMass (0-4) capitalized on a mistake by Pribula when linebacker Timmy Hinspeter returned an interception 63 yards to the 21. Six plays later, AJ Hairston threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Max Dowling. Defensive tackle Sterling Webb blocked the extra point to keep it 7-6.

After that, it was all Tigers.

“We started fast and then got a little bit of clunky there with the turnover, but ultimately, we had game control most of the game,” Drinkwitz said.

Pribula played virtually flawless after the interception, completing 21 consecutive passes to break the school record of 20 set by Chase Daniel in 2008. Pribula finished 26 of 29 for 241 yards and a touchdown.

“I think he does a really good job with his accuracy,” Drinkwitz said about Pribula, the Penn State transfer. “I think our pocket climbing is an issue right now. The pick was a tipped ball because we climbed too far in the pocket. It kind of happened to us with two other sacks, too."

Kevin Coleman Jr. led the Tigers in receiving with 12 catches for 108 yards.

Hardy entered the weekend as the No. 2 rusher in FBS. It was his seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game. The Tigers rushed for 268 yards, with Roberts chipping in 52 yards and backup Marquise Davis adding 77 yards, all in the fourth quarter.

Coleman compared Hardy and Roberts to the Detroit Lions running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

“I told them they both need each other,” Coleman said. “You just don’t want one guy getting all the carries. You want a break, you want a break from getting tackled, you want a break for your body wanting to stay healthy, but you need that one-two punch. I told them boys, “You all got to eat together. When one person is doing good, just next person wait your turn, and you’ll start doing good right after.’”

Hairston was 11 of 31 for 75 yards, along with a touchdown and an interception.

The Tigers’ pass defense bounced back after allowing 302 yards passing last week to South Carolina. An interception by safety Santana Banner set up Missouri for an 8-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter.

“We really focused on sticking to doing what we do, nothing special, Banner said. “You know, trying to do too much and make a play ends up creating more plays for the offense. So we really focus on doing our 1 (of) 11.”

Hinspeter shines While the Minutemen defense struggled to keep up with the Tigers most of the evening, Hinspeter was all over the field for UMass. He had 17 tackles, two of them for losses, along with a sack and an interception. The Minutemen had four sacks,

The takeaways Missouri’s run defense allowed only 19 yards on the ground a week after holding South Carolina to minus-9 yards rushing.

Up next Massachusetts: Hosts Western Michigan next Saturday.

Missouri: Hosts No. 17 Alabama on Oct. 11.