Missouri routs No. 8 Florida 45-17 behind Jamal Roberts' three touchdowns

Missouri ends its top-25 drought

No. 25 Missouri beat No. 8 Florida 45-17 Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, snapping a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents. The two teams traded first-quarter field goals, Patrick Durkin's 20-yarder for Missouri and Blake Craig's 32-yarder for Florida, before the Tigers took control in the second quarter and never trailed again. Missouri won the second and third quarters by a combined 27-7 before both teams scored late touchdowns in the fourth, and finished with a 560-325 edge in total yards.

Missouri improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. Florida, which had routed No. 4 Mississippi the week before, fell to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Simmons and Roberts do the damage

Quarterback Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-30 passing. He connected with Donovan Olugbode for a 47-yard score early in the second quarter, then found Caleb Goodie Sr. for a 31-yard touchdown later in the half. Craig added a 50-yard field goal as time expired before halftime, sending Missouri to the break ahead 20-10.

Running back Jamal Roberts carried 24 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns. He opened the third quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run, and Craig made a 52-yard field goal later in the quarter to put Missouri up 30-10. Roberts capped the scoring with a 1-yard run and a two-point conversion catch to Cayden Lee early in the fourth quarter, then broke off an 80-yard touchdown run that made it 45-10. Lee finished with eight catches for 110 yards.

Florida's offense never got going

Florida came in averaging 532.8 yards a game but managed only 325 against Missouri. Running back Jadan Baugh, who had run for 11 touchdowns through his first four games, carried 12 times for just 13 yards.

Quarterback Aaron Philo finished 21-of-34 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown, a 12-yard strike to Dallas Wilson that tied the game at 10 in the second quarter. Wilson led Florida with four catches for 66 yards. Backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to TJ Abrams with 47 seconds left for the Gators' final score.

Coaches on both sides

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz picked up his first regular-season win over a top-10 opponent. "It's a good win against a really good team today," he said, brushing aside questions about the program's history against the SEC's elite.

Florida coach Jon Sumrall gave Missouri credit afterward. "We earned the loss," he said. "We have a lot to work on."

Neither team committed a turnover. Florida was penalized eight times for 80 yards, while Missouri was flagged four times for 50. Missouri also piled up 220 rushing yards to Florida's 42, and held a 24-19 edge in first downs.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.