SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 13, 2014
No. 22 Missouri 38, Central Florida 10: Maty Mauk threw four touchdown passes as the host Tigers improved to 3-0 for the seventh time in the past nine seasons.
Marcus Murphy rushed for 94 yards and Bud Sasser and Jimmie Hunt each caught two touchdown passes for Missouri. Mauk, the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week, was 14-of-24 for 144 yards and has thrown an FBS-best 12 TD passes through three games.
Justin Holman finished 22-for-36 for 209 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his first start for Central Florida (0-2), which had a seven-game road winning streak snapped. The Knights managed only 127 total yards in the second half and committed all four of their turnovers after halftime.
After Mauk's 11-yard TD pass to Hunt capped the Tigers' first drive, the Knights rallied for a 10-7 lead on Holman's 2-yard toss to William Stanback early in the second quarter. Mauk put Missouri back on top with a 10-yard TD to Hunt with 6:12 left in the half and the Tigers took over from there.
Josh Augusta's interception set up Mauk's 21-yard TD pass to Sasser with 1:43 left in the third quarter, and the duo hooked up again for a 22-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. After Andrew Baggett's field goal made it 31-10, Duron Singleton capped the scoring by scooping up Holman's fumble and returning it 60 yards for a touchdown.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Missouri has forced a turnover in an FBS-best 47 straight games dating to 2010. กญ Central Florida WR Rannell Hall caught eight passes for 73 yards and has a reception in 29 consecutive games. กญ Sasser is the third Missouri player to catch a TD pass in each of the first three games of a season, joining Jared Perry in 2009 and George Shorthose in 1984.