COLUMBIA, Mo. — Harrison Mevis blasted a 61-yard field goal as time expired to give the Missouri Tigers a 30-27 comeback win over the 15th ranked Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.
As his team crossed midfield, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz decided that if the Tigers could reach the 40-yard line, they would give Mevis a chance to attempt a field goal.
The Tigers made it to the Kansas State 38 and quarterback Brady Cook spiked the ball to stop the clock. But the Missouri coaches lost track of time on the sideline and were assessed a delay of game penalty, making the 56-yard kick turn into a 61-yarder.
But it seem to matter to Mevis, who trotted onto the field anyway and boomed the SEC-record 61-yarder over the crossbar to defeat their former Big 12 rival.
“We took the penalty to make it more dramatic,” Drinkwitz said afterward. “This is all for TV anyway. This was in the script.”
Cook finished with 356 yards passing and two touchdowns, despite hobbling around the second half on a sprained knee. Luther Burden III caught both passing scores for the Tigers (3-0), finishing with seven catches for 114 yards.
Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, who was likewise left hobbling after the brutally physical game, threw for 270 yards and three scores. But the senior also threw a costly interception, as the Wildcats (2-1) blew too many chances on third down to put the game away.
The Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders, as Howard hit four different receivers as Kansas State marched down the field, and his third-and-goal throw tipped by the Tigers' JC Carlies landed in the hands of Phillip Brooks for the score.
Cook answered with a 47-yard touchdown strike to Burden to tie the game, and after Howard threw a pick into tight coverage, Mevis' added his first field goal to give Missouri 10-7 lead.
After the Wildcats responded with a swift touchdown drive, the Tigers would need two big plays and about 2 1/2 minutes to answer again. This time, Cook finished off the drive with a short run to give Missouri a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Cook had hurt his leg at some point during the scoring drive and it had a great effect the Missouri offensive production to begin the second half as the Tigers punted on it first two possessions of the half.
Kansas State took advantage of things and turned them into a field goal and Howard's second TD pass to Ben Sinnott for a 24-17 lead.
With 24-20 lead, the Wildcats squandered two chances to put the game away, failing twice on short third downs.
Missouri would get the ball back after Howard's third-and-1 pass fell incomplete, and needed just two plays — Cody Schrader's 26-yard run and a personal foul penalty, and Cook's 26-yard TD pass to Burden — to cover 77 yards and give Missouri a 27-24 lead.
The Wildcats had an opportunity to regain the lead with less than six minutes to go. But with third-and-goal at the Missouri 3, Howard took too long to get lined up and was called for a delay of game. Kansas State had to settle for a tying field goal — which proved to be costly.
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