Columbia — Led by a flurry of passes and a stifling first-half defense, Missouri defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54-14 in its season opener at Faurot Field on Thursday.
As soon as transfer quarterback Austin Simmons took the field, he immediately rifled four straight short passes, indicating a new-look offense from the 2025 team. After averaging less than 28 passing attempts per game in 2026, Simmons went 17-for-19 with 252 passing yards and four touchdowns in less than a half of action.
“It was the emphasis for us to be able to throw the ball. I felt like Austin really handled himself well, especially in third downs, we had multiple third and longs early with an inability to run the ball with the efficiency that we needed to” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said following the game. “But, for him to be able to trust the scheme, find the throws (and) wide receivers… was really good.”
Simmons’ top target was Donovan Olugbode, who ended the first half with eight receptions, 116 yards and two touchdowns. Olugbode, along with Simmons, did not play in the second half as the Tigers led 40-0 at halftime.
The sophomore receiver had a fumble in the second quarter, but recovered with a 35-yard touchdown for his second score of the evening. The touchdown came in a scoring-heavy second quarter in which the Tigers tallied 26 points. The scores came from two passing touchdowns, one rushing score, a safety and a field goal.
“The chemistry is definitely good between me and Austin,” Olugbode said after the game. “Great quarterback, good poise in the pocket (and) great accuracy with the football.”
Olugbode also credited the running game, which added three scores and the offensive line as important aspects in the 54-point performance.
Simmons’ longest throw was in the second quarter with a 47-yard pass to former Ole Miss teammate Cayden Lee. The connection occurred with four minutes left in the second quarter and marked his final drive of the game. His first touchdown throw was a 25-yard throw down the middle to Shaun Terry II.
Missouri’s defense was a strongsuit in the first half of the victory. The Tigers held UAPB to -26 rushing yards, 32 passing yards and just two first downs in the opening half. Arkansas-Pine Bluff ended the contest with 89 rushing yards and 109 passing yards.
Jeremiah Beasley and Michigan transfer Elijah Dotson were high impact players on the defensive end. Dotson’s three solo tackles, all accumulated in the first half, led the team and Beasley’s seven total tackles was a team-best.
“I feel like we executed pretty well,” Dotson said in a press conference. “At the end of the day, you’ll always have something to clean up and like coach said, we got a lot of things to fix, but I feel like we did a good job today.”
Missouri allowed 14 points in the second half, courtesy of a 27-yard Za’Marion Webber score and a 16-yard touchdown reception from David Brewer IV. The Tigers did not record a sack in the first half and ended the game with one sack. Last season, that was a strength of the Tigers, who finished the year with 36 sacks.
“We lost the takeaway battle because we didn’t strike at the ball well enough. We weren’t able to win the sack battle, didn’t force nearly enough pressure on the quarterback,” Drinkwitz said. “So again, there’s a lot of things that we’re going to look back on and say we got to get this stuff fixed in a hurry.”
Without star running back Ahmad Hardy, the Tigers were less successful rushing the ball than the majority of last season as well. Jamal Roberts finished the first half with 13 carries, 47 yards and one touchdown for Missouri. The team averaged 4.4 yards per carry with 198 rushing yards. Junior transfer Xai’Shaun Edwards added 45 yards on seven attempts.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Zollers had the Tigers’ second rushing touchdown of the evening and added 113 all-purpose yards. Freshman running back Preston Hatfield came in for the Tigers final drives and also secured a rushing touchdown.
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