Ten Year Rewind: The 2014 Tigers Turned in an Under-appreciated Season

Dec 25, 2024 | Uncategorized

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Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl - Minnesota v Missouri
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images

Gary Pinkel’s most overlooked squad found a way to have an incredibly memorable season.

Editors note: A version of this story appeared in the 2024 Preview Magazine but had to be trimmed down to fit within the feature of the Magazine. So we’re restoring this feature to its full length and running it close to the 10 year anniversary of the Citrus Bowl win over Minnesota.


It’s hard to believe 10 years have passed since the Missouri Tigers closed a stellar 2014 season with a resounding win over Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl to cap an 11-win campaign. Somehow, at the same time, it also seems ages ago that we saw Maty Mauk bowl over a hapless Gopher in the endzone and stand over the prone defender in celebration that gave Mizzou the lead for good that would conclude in a 33-17 Tiger victory.

The Citrus Bowl triumph capped a second-straight double-digit win season for the Tigers, and gave Head Coach Gary Pinkel his fifth 10-win season in eight years. Pinkel’s program had clearly become one of the nation’s elite.

The season was anything from a cakewalk, though, as the Tigers hit an early-season swoon that saw them drop two of three games, and nearly all three in that specific stretch, only to be saved by a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback win at South Carolina. What followed was a crucial six-game win streak with five of the victories coming by 10 points or fewer that revived the season and gave the Tigers their second-consecutive SEC Eastern Division title.

So how did they get there? Let’s reminisce and take a look back at the 2014 Missouri Tigers season.

Expectations were all over the spectrum for Mizzou in 2014. Coming off a surprising 2013 season that included 12 wins, an SEC Eastern Division title, a Cotton Bowl win and a final ranking of No. 5, there was quite a bit to be excited about.

Given the previous year’s success, one would think that this group of Tigers wouldn’t have the luxury of sneaking up on anyone. However, the SEC media – often slow to the draw on acknowledging Mizzou’s legitimacy (hello, 2023 Tigers!), picked MU to finish a mere fourth in the East despite being the defending division champs.

Granted, they would have to overcome some huge talent losses from the year before, as the ’14 team returned only nine positional starters from the 2013 East champs – including five on defense and four on offense. Four of those returning starters included team captains DE Markus Golden, OL Mitch Morse, WR Bud Sasser and S Braylon Webb (two of whom are still playing in the NFL today).

It was now Maty Mauk time on offense, as the sophomore QB took over the reins from his predecessor, the underrated James Franklin. He won the starting job in fall camp and looked to direct an offense built around a line featuring three eventual NFL talents in Morse, Connor McGovern and Evan Boehm. A one-two backfield punch of Russell Hansbrough and the dynamic Marcus Murphy returned, and expected to be a large part of the fireworks.

On defense, in addition to Golden, junior DE Shane Ray returned on the other side of the line to give the Tiger defense a formidable front line to go with a solid middle level highlighted by linebackers Kentrell Brothers and Michael Scherer. The secondary was a mix of young talent and experienced veterans, highlighted by Webb, CB Aarion Maxey-Penton and FS Ian Simon.

When fall camp broke in August, attention was turned to the season opener against FCS stalwart South Dakota State. Even though the game was never realistically in doubt, the 38-18 win was a little closer than the score might indicate, as the Jackrabbits trailed only 21-18 early in the third quarter. Maybe it wasn’t a thing of beauty, but a phrase that Pinkel often repeated fit the bill here – “Just win, baby.”

With a step up in competition coming, the Tigers hit the road to face Toledo at the Glass Bowl. It was a Homecoming of sorts for Mauk, who grew up in Kenton, Ohio, less than an hour away. The game was also meaningful for Coach Pinkel, who spent 10 years as Toledo’s head coach before his Mizzou tenure, where he set a school record for most wins in Rocket program history.

Mauk was the star on the day as he threw for 325 yards and tied the MU record with five touchdown passes. The Tigers scored first on a Hansbrough 16-yard run and accelerated from there, holding a 28-7 halftime lead that was never seriously challenged. Mauk’s TD passes would cover 7, 13, 13, 25 and 12 yards with two going to WR Jimmie Hunt and one each going to WR Bud Sasser, WR Darius White and RB Marcus Murphy. Mauk would also score on a one-yard run as he personally accounted for 42 of Mizzou’s 49 points on the day.

At 2-0, the Tigers returned home to face pesky Central Florida, and found themselves in a dogfight, trailing 10-7 in the 2nd quarter. But Mauk (who would end with four more TD passes) and Company righted the ship while the Tiger defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way to allow Mizzou to pull away for a 38-10 win. It was an odd statistical game of sorts, as UCF owned a big advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 35 minutes, but the Tiger defense forced four Golden Knight turnovers in the second half to assert control.

Now cracking the national rankings at No. 18, the Tigers hosted Indiana to close out the non-conference schedule. Mizzou entered the game as considerable favorites, but in college football, you never know what’s going to happen – and unfortunately for Tiger fans, this was one of those days.

Central Florida v Missouri
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Star DE Markus Golden was out with an injured hamstring, and his absence was a significant factor as Indiana outplayed the Tigers and left Faurot Field with a stunning 31-27 win. With Golden out, the Hoosiers went turnover free on offense, which broke a 47-game takeaway streak by the Tiger defense. Just one key takeaway would have made the difference in the end, as Mizzou rallied to take a 27-24 lead with 2:20 left in the game, only to see Indiana drive 75 yards and score the game-winner on a 3-yard TD run with just :22 seconds remaining.

The loss dropped MU to 3-1 and left some lingering questions heading into the rugged SEC season. The team was disappointed, but vowed they’d rebound.

“You have a bad taste in your mouth,” said LB Michael Scherer in the post-game media scrum. “This should have never happened, but it did, so we’ve got to rebound and we’ve got to work. That’s all there is to it,” he said.

The next task would be a tall one, as Mizzou headed to the other Columbia to take on the 13th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Tigers’ planned rebound looked good initially as Mizzou’s defense held S. Carolina on downs to open the game, then the offense capitalized by driving for a 7-0 lead thanks to an 18-yard TD run by Hansbrough. That, unfortunately, was the high point, as the Gamecocks scored 20 unanswered points to take control, and held a commanding 20-7 lead with just 7:25 left in the game. Frankly, that deficit seemed insurmountable due to the fact that the Tiger offense had gone feckless, having punted for 10 straight possessions.

A bolt of lightning struck in Mizzou’s favor, however, when Mauk hit Sasser on a 41-yard bomb on the first play of Mizzou’s series that began with 7:25 to play. That breath of life lit a spark on the Tiger sideline, and the team’s pulse was palpable when Hansbrough scored from one yard out two plays later to cut the Gamecock lead to 20-14 with 6:49 to play. The Tiger defense jumped on board by forcing a quick three-and-out, and suddenly the Tigers had the ball at midfield with 4:40 to play after a punt.

Missouri at South Carolina
Gerry Melendez/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

What followed was a gutsy drive that saw Mizzou convert a pair of fourth down tries, including the last one that came with just 1:36 to play when Hansbrough scored his third TD of the night from one yard out that gave the Tigers an improbable 21-20 lead. Needing one more stop from the defense, the Tigers got exactly that, as South Carolina QB Dylan Thompson threw four straight incomplete passes to effectively end the game. Somehow, some way, Mizzou got outplayed for about three-and-a-half quarters, yet found a way to escape with a crucial win on the road to improve to 4-1.

“It was a crazy day out there and I just am very proud of our team and how we battled,” said Head Coach Gary Pinkel after the game. “When things got tough, we just stayed positive. The defense kept us in it, but stayed totally positive about the offense the whole time, which I thought was really crucial for us to have the mindset to get back. Big win for us, it was the opposite a year ago, when South Carolina had a great comeback win at our place,” he said.

The next week saw a 34-0 home shutout loss to a revenge-minded Georgia team. The 13th-ranked Bulldogs exacted their pound of flesh from MU’s win in Athens the previous year by dominating in all aspects of the game. Mizzou’s defense played serviceable ball in holding UGA to 379 yards of offense, but the Tiger offense managed only 147 yards itself and committed five costly turnovers while Georgia held the ball for a massive time of possession advantage of 42:23-to-17:37. Best to put that one in the rearview mirror.

Standing at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, the Tigers had no more margin for error if they were to repeat as East Division champs. That was Pinkel’s assessment with the media following the loss to Georgia.

“Half the season is left so there’s a lot out there, but we’ve got to get some things fixed. There’s an urgency to get things fixed and playing better and I think that’s without question,” he said.

The redemption tour would begin the following week at The Swamp in Gainesville, Fla., where the Tigers had lost in their first-ever appearance in the venerable stadium two years earlier. Mizzou would get its redemption, to the tune of a 42-13 blowout win over the Gators, but it was anything but conventional.

So, just how irregular was the win? Consider that the Tigers scored four non-offensive touchdowns on the night (two on Marcus Murphy returns, two on defense), while the offense managed only one touchdown drive that had to cover only 19 yards thanks to one of six Florida turnovers.

All told, Mizzou’s offense managed only seven first downs in the game and gained just 119 yards of total offense, including only 20 yards passing.

But the all-purpose firebrand Murphy essentially took his teammates off the hook when he took the game’s opening kickoff and raced untouched 96 yards the other way for a lightning-quick 7-0 lead. It was his sixth career return score, which broke Jeremy Maclin’s school record.

Murphy would also score MU’s only offensive touchdown later in the first quarter on a five-yard run as the Tigers took a 20-0 halftime lead after a pair of Andrew Baggett field goals in the 2nd quarter (25 and 34 yards, respectively).

The Gators opened the 3rd quarter with a punt, and Murphy struck again, returning it 82 yards for a score, making him the first Tiger in history to score in the same game via a kickoff return, a rushing touchdown and a punt return. His score, and the subsequent two-point conversion on a Mauk pass to Sasser, made it 28-0 and essentially ended the game. The hapless Gator offense was forced into a trio of second-half turnovers by the relentless Tiger defense, with Golden returning a fumble 21 yards for a score, while LB Darvin Ruise (a Florida native) added insult to injury with a 46-yard pick six late in the third quarter that made it 42-0 in what was Florida’s Homecoming game.

Pinkel was among those impressed, yet not necessarily surprised by Murphy’s outburst. “You look at the big plays he made and they are just huge momentum plays. He’ll tell you he got good blocking, but all you have to do is give him a lane and hold on because he has a chance to do it every time. It was just a remarkable performance from a great kid,” Pinkel said.

Murphy’s game-opening kickoff return went a long way to erase the sting of the Tigers’ shutout loss the week before.

Missouri v Florida
Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images

“I just wanted to come out and make plays,” Murphy said after the game. “We got the ball first and I knew we had to focus on starting fast and I just wanted to come out and get the momentum on our side. They opened up the lanes for me so I was able to make it to the end zone. Tyler Hunt had a kick out block and everything just opened up from there,” he said.

A workmanlike two-game homestand followed with wins over Vanderbilt (24-14 on Homecoming) and Kentucky (20-10) as the Tigers leaned on their dynamic dual rushing attack of Murphy and Hansbrough while the defense was picking up steam as well.

Mauk and Sasser complemented the ground game with a pair of touchdown connections in each game, and DE Shane Ray broke MU’s single-season sacks record when he closed out the Kentucky game with his 12th QB sack of the season.

“I’m happy for him, he is such a team player,” Pinkel said after the Kentucky win that moved MU to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. “He talks to the team just like a senior captain. Players have great respect for him because he works incredibly hard and he performs at this high level all the time.”

The UK game started after a moment of silence was held in honor of Tiger legend John Kadlec, the longtime athletic department fixture who passed away at the age of 86 earlier in the week. His nickname, “Mr. Mizzou” was painted on the grass berms surrounding Faurot Field in tribute, and Pinkel dedicated the win to his honor afterward.

Back on the field, the pair of home wins, combined with a Florida upset over Georgia, meant Mizzou had a one-game lead in the SEC East, and suddenly controlled its destiny to reach Atlanta once again.

Despite its 7-2 record, the Tigers were unranked as they entered a crucial two-game road swing after a bye week against Texas A&M and Tennessee.

Drawing a night game first at 24th-ranked A&M, the Tigers earned a rugged 34-27 win thanks to a career-high 199-yard rushing game and a pair of touchdowns by Hansbrough. It was anyone’s game for most of the night, and Mizzou overcame a seven-point deficit three different times after trailing 13-6 at halftime.

The second half in front of more than 100,000 fans was all offense, and a 28-point outburst in the third quarter by Mizzou was the difference in the game. Wideout Darius White, who returned from injury, gave the passing game a spark and caught a 16-yard TD pass from Mauk to open the third. That score tied the game at 13-apiece but the Aggies responded with a long scoring pass to regain the lead.

Mizzou turned to ground and pound with Hansbrough, and it paid off as he scored on consecutive possessions with long touchdown runs that covered 49 and 45 yards, respectively. The latter came with 5:41 left in the third and gave MU its first lead (27-20) since holding a 3-0 advantage in the first period. A Shane Ray sack ended the Aggies’ ensuing possession, and the Tigers pushed their lead to 34-20 with a drive that ended in freshman RB Ish Witter’s 16-yard touchdown run.

The Aggies drove to make it a one-score game early in the 4th quarter, but the Tiger defense held on downs inside its 5-yardline late in the game and their offensive counterparts complied by killing the final 2:47 of the game clock to salt away the big win.

The Tiger offense stood out after being stuck in neutral of late. Mizzou ended the night with 587 yards of offense and owned a 15-minute advantage in time of possession thanks to the running attack that averaged 6.8 yards per attempt (335 yards on 49 carries).

“You’re always proud of your team when you get a fourth down stop inside the 3-yard line,” said Pinkel after the game. “The offense comes out and gets that one first down that we needed in a really tough situation, so you’re proud as a football coach to see your team play like that, to make those plays in the fourth quarter,” he said.

Golden, who starred on defense with nine tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, said the late-game stop was a business-as-usual mindset by the defense.

“That’s what we do at Mizzou,” Golden said. “We practice that all the time, so it was normal. When that play came on fourth down, I went in the huddle and told the team ‘We do this all the time, this is nothing new to us.’ We went out there and made it happen,” he stated.

Now at 9-2 / 6-1 and ranked 19th in the polls, Mizzou would close its road swing against a middling Tennessee team that entered the game just 5-5 overall and 2-4 in SEC play. The Volunteers would hang tough all evening, but in the end, a pair of Marcus Murphy first half touchdown runs kept the Tigers in it, and a pair of Maty Mauk fourth-quarter touchdown tosses to receivers Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser would be the difference in Mizzou’s hardfought 29-21 win.

Mauk’s first strike came with 10:42 left in the game and Mizzou clinging to a 16-13 lead when he found Hunt behind the UT defense for a 73-yard catch-and-run score to make it 23-13. After the Tiger defense followed with a three-and-out possession, Mauk and the offense reciprocated with a 6-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a Mauk-to-Sasser scoring toss on a pretty 13-yard corner fade route with 6:22 to play that upped the lead to 29-13.

NCAA FOOTBALL: NOV 22 Missouri at Tennessee
Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Vols would respond with a touchdown of their own but the Tiger offense was able to run out the clock to end the game and send Mizzou home to face rival Arkansas with the SEC Eastern Division title – and a return trip to Atlanta for the championship game – on the line.

The Razorbacks entered the Black Friday game at Faurot Field with only a 6-5 season mark, but in a spirited rivalry game, you knew it was going to be a tight ballgame. Tension was tangible among the sellout crowd of 71,168 as the Tiger faithful endured an all-night nailbiter.

Mizzou entered ranked 17th but appeared to feel the tension, as they were outplayed early, and trailed 14-6 heading into the fourth quarter, with MU’s sole points coming on Andrew Baggett’s long-distance field goals of 52 and 50 yards in the second quarter.

While Baggett kept the game in reach with his foot, the Tiger defense rebounded from some blown assignments early on to prevent the Razorbacks from pulling away. Arkansas had its chances as it moved the ball into MU territory on all three possessions in the third quarter. The Tiger defense held firm though, thanks to huge stops in critical situations – the biggest of which was a stop for no gain by Shane Ray on an Arkansas 4th-and-3 run from the Tiger 31-yardline with 4:17 left in the third.

Mizzou’s offense would get the ball back in the closing seconds of the third quarter with its backs against its goal line. Taking over at his own 2-yardline, Mauk gave MU some breathing room with a quick 12-yard completion to Sasser. Three plays later, on a crucial 3rd-and-7 from the Tigers own 19, Mauk found Hunt for 44 yards down to the Arkansas 37. That chunk play brought the Faurot Field crowd to life and five plays later Mizzou finally found the endzone, on a Mauk-to-Hunt touchdown strike from four yards out. With 12:41 left in the game and the Tigers trailing 14-12, Pinkel opted to go for two. The strategy paid off with a little trickery, as WR Bud Sasser faked an end around and tossed a successful two-point pass to fellow wideout Darius White to tie the game at 14-apiece.

With the crowd now at full throat, the Tiger defense quickly forced an Arkansas punt, regaining possession at the MU 15 with just 10:42 to play, leaving eighty-five yards to cover for the lead and a second-straight division title.

NCAA FOOTBALL: NOV 28 Arkansas at Missouri
Photo by Scott Kane/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Knowing they had the Razorbacks on their heels, the Tigers turned to their rushing attack, and ran the ball for 11 of the next 12 plays. Even if Arkansas guessed run on defense, it really didn’t matter, as Hansbrough carried five times for 47 yards, while Murphy covered 37 more on five totes of the rock. His final one hit paydirt from 12 yards out and gave Mizzou a 21-14 lead with 4:38 to play.

The defense would hold serve thanks to a fumble forced by LB Kentrell Brothers and recovered by Golden that initially didn’t get called but was overturned after video review. That reversal gave MU the ball at the Tiger 37 yard line and the offense successfully killed the final 2:12 off the clock to salt away the SEC East title.

Following Mauk’s last kneel down, thousands of Tiger fans rushed onto the field amid fireworks with the dulcet tones of Ray Charles’s “Georgia On My Mind” playing over the stadium sound system. It was a sight to behold.

The hard fought win meant the world to Tiger fans, as it did their head coach.

“It means an awful lot to me,” Pinkel said post-game. “I love my team. This has not been an easy year, but we battled and competed. I feel thankful for all the people around me. Mizzou Athletic Director Mike Alden has been tremendously important to me and our fans too. We sold Faurot out tonight and this place was rocking. There are a lot of things to be thankful for. It’s our second time down there [Atlanta, Ga.] in a row and I’ll tell you this, that’s hard to do,” he added.

Mauk, who ended with 265 passing yards and the one touchdown on 25 completions, was beaming with pride after his Tigers won the East for a second consecutive season.

“It feels great,” Mauk said. “A lot of people play for respect but I don’t think we need to. What people say about us doesn’t bother me. They call us underdogs every week. We’re here to win championships, and that’s what we’re focused on doing,” he said.

Shane Ray was held without a QB sack, but still impacted the game with his three tackles and one pressure, and talked about his defense’s adjustments after early-game struggles.

“We understood what mistakes we were making as a team,” he said. “We corrected those mistakes and came back out and played Missouri Tiger football. Fast and physical. We just took over the game. We train for when the fourth quarter comes and people expect us to be tired, but we’re prepared to play through that at a high level,” he said.

At 10-2 and ranked 14th nationally, Mizzou faced quite a stiff test in Atlanta as the 11-1 and #1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide loomed large.

Alabama came in as prohibitive favorites, and they played like it early, dominating all sides in the first half en route to a 21-3 halftime lead. The Tigers took a big blow early in the second quarter on a double-whammy play that saw Alabama connect for a 58-yard touchdown pass and star DE Shane Ray get ejected for targeting on QB Blake Sims.

Despite the rough start, Mizzou hung in and took the opening possession of the second half for a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a Mauk-to-Sasser score from one yard out to cut the deficit to 21-10. A defensive stop ensued and Mizzou drove to the Tide 15-yard line but had to settle for a Baggett field goal from 33 yards out. But with 4:37 left in the third, it was a one-score game with Mizzou trailing 21-13.

SEC Championship - Alabama v Missouri
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The underdog Tigers could get no closer, however, as the top-ranked Tide responded with 21 unanswered points to pull away for a 42-13 win that earned them the #1 seed in the College Football Playoffs.

After the game, Pinkel tipped his cap to his former college teammate and ‘Bama Head Coach Nick Saban.

“First of all, Alabama played very well,” he said. “They’re a great football team. I thought that we made a run at it in the third quarter, when we got a touchdown and a field goal. Then they answered with a 65-yard drive and we went out and punted, and then they got a 90-yard drive. So they responded really like you want your football team to do,” he added.

At 10-3 overall and coming off a lopsided SEC Championship Game result, Mizzou fans were worried about getting passed over for a lesser bowl bid, but spirits were buoyed when the Tigers received an invitation to play in the prestigious Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., where they would face the 25th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference on New Year’s Day.

Meeting for the first time since 1970, the Tigers and Gophers traded jabs early without much action to show for it. Minnesota struck first to take a 7-0 lead midway through the opening period on a 20-yard touchdown run, and that’s the way the score stayed until late in the second quarter.

After the defense forced a Minnesota punt, the Tiger offense got untracked thanks to its potent run game. A Hansbrough carry for 21 yards followed by a Murphy jaunt of 12 yards moved MU into scoring territory, where it eventually settled for a 21-yard Baggett field goal to make it 7-3 with 6:39 left in the half. The Gophers again stalled on offense and Mizzou found its rhythm, mixing run and pass this time. Mauk ran for a 20-yard keeper to move the chains early on and two plays later found Sasser for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:04 before half to give Mizzou a 10-7 halftime lead.

The Tigers had taken the opening kick of the game, and thus had to start the third quarter by kicking away to Minnesota. However, sensing a chance to seize momentum, Pinkel called for a surprise onside kick hoping to catch the Gophers off guard. It worked to perfection, as Baggett dribbled the kick the requisite 10 yards, with safety Ian Simon falling on the ball at the Gopher 47 yard line.

NCAA FOOTBALL: JAN 01 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl - Missouri v Minnesota
Photo by Charles Mitchell/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

That extra possession paid off as Mizzou drove to the Gopher 13 before settling for a 33-yard field goal by Baggett to make it 13-7 in favor of the Tigers. But Minnesota answered with a quick 54-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead at 14-13, and appeared on the cusp of more damage as they forced a Tiger three-and-out on the ensuing possession. A game-turning special teams play happened next however, when Tiger punter Christian Brinser’s kick couldn’t be handled cleanly by Gopher return man Marcus Jones. Mizzou’s Tyler Hunt recovered the fumble at the Minnesota 34 yard line to give MU new life.

Three plays later, Mauk plowed into the endzone from 18 yards out on a QB keeper, with the signature play (perhaps of the season) giving Mizzou a 19-14 lead with 9:16 left in the quarter.

Minnesota again wouldn’t lay down, and returned the following kickoff 57 yards, but the Tiger defense held firm and limited the damage to a Gopher field goal to maintain a 19-17 lead. That’s as close as Minnesota would get, as the Tiger defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way.

The Mizzou offense scored twice in the final quarter – once by land (Hansbrough 78-yard touchdown run) and once by air (Mauk-to-Sasser for a 7-yard TD pass) and Gary Pinkel’s squad would end their season the right way with a challenging, yet satisfying, 33-17 win.

Markus Golden, who ended the game with 10 tackles, four tackles for loss, three QB pressures, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble, was named the Citrus Bowl Most Valuable Player as he closed out his prestigious Tiger career in style. Simon also had 10 stops and a pass break up on the day to lead the charge.

On offense, the Tigers once again leaned on their ground attack for 337 yards, with Murphy gaining 157 and Hansbrough accounting for 114 more including his backbreaking 78-yard score in the fourth quarter. Mauk was held in check through the air, as he threw for 97 yards on 19 attempts, but his two TD passes played a critical role in the victory that gave Mizzou its 11th win of the year.

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl - Minnesota v Missouri
Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images

“How ‘bout them Tigers!” said Pinkel to a raucous post-game celebratory crowd. “Nothing came easy today and hats off to Minnesota, they’re a heck of a team, but this game seemed to follow the script for a lot of our season. We came out a little slow maybe but everyone hung tight and believed that we’d make the plays in the end that would be the difference in the game, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m so proud of our team and our seniors to be able to send them off this way,” he said.

Ray would go on to win SEC Defensive Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-American honors for his mammoth junior season that included a Mizzou-record 14.5 quarterback sacks. He parlayed that breakout season into eventually becoming a first-round NFL draft pick (No. 23 overall) by the Denver Broncos in the 2015 draft after choosing to forego his senior year of eligibility.

Murphy also earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Year honors as well as first-team All-American honors for his special teams play, as he ranked 6th nationally in kickoff returns and 11th nationally in punt returns (while leading the SEC in both categories). He was the only player in the country in 2014 to score a TD via kickoff return, punt return, rushing and receiving.

Pinkel earned enough respect from his SEC counterparts for the job he did following the magical 2013 season that he was voted SEC Coach of the Year by league coaches. It was a masterful job of Pinkel and staff getting the most out of a team that wasn’t quite as talented across the board as the year before and getting them to coalesce as a unit to overcome early-season adversity and post 11 wins.

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