On the dark side, with their two starting cornerbacks out with injuries, the Tigers let the Volunteers shred through their usually impenetrable secondary for a 17-10 halftime lead at Memorial Stadium.
Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano threw for 243 yards in the first half, exploiting a defense that was missing senior starting cornerback DeMarkus Acy, out with a hamstring injury, and sophomore starter Jarvis Ware, who left the game with an injury on UT’s second series.
Without two of his top targets, Missouri quarterback Kelly Bryant completed 10 of 16 attempts for 109 yards, but the Vols bottled him up in the pocket most of the half.