With dreams of a third consecutive SEC East division title on their mind, the Missouri Tigers have high hopes once again in 2015. On the other side of things, the Connecticut Huskies have had several down years lately and are looking to regain some respect in the American Athletic Conference. Both entering this game with a 2-0 record, Mizzou was still a heavy favorite entering kickoff, some books favoring them by as much as 21. When it was all said and done however,

Scoring would be at a premium essentially from the opening kickoff in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday. The first points of the game came on a safety midway through the first quarter, when the Tigers blocked a UConn punt, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Huskies would also get on the board in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 6-yard gallop by Ron Johnson. The subsequent extra point was blocked, giving UConn a 6-2 lead through one period of play.

It would be another 29:11 of game time before more points would be scored between these two teams. Unlike the score and records of these teams may indicate, this was less of a defensive struggle and more ineptitude amongst both offenses (not to take too much credit away from each team's front seven, as each unit played generally well). With 5:03 to go in the third quarter, Maty Mauk finished off a 15 play, 68 yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run (with a made extra point to follow), making it a 9-6 Mizzou advantage.

The fourth quarter played out much like the rest of the game, with minimal scoring and a great deal of stagnant offensive play. The Tigers had a chance to extend their lead after a short screen pass wound up turning into a 51-yard gain for Taylor Hunt, however Mizzou was stuffed at the goal line after having a first and goal from the 6. After several punts back and forth, UConn had one last chance to get into range to either tie or win the game, and a drive led by quarterback Bryant Shirreffs nearly set the Huskies up to send the game to overtime. After eventually being forced into a fourth down at the Mizzou 25, they opted to attempt a fake field goal instead of actually kicking. The fake pass attempt was intercepted, allowing the Tigers to take over and run the game clock out. When the dust had settled, Mizzou escaped with a 9-6 victory over UConn.

Shirreffs played decently for the Huskies but it was not enough to put UConn over the top on Saturday. He completed 17/26 passes for 156 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, good for a 115.8 passer efficiency rating. He also led the team in rushing with 29 yards on 14 carries. Ron Johnson had 23 yards on 14 carries and also scored UConn's lone touchdown. Noel Thomas led all receivers on the day with 7 receptions and 86 yards through the air. The Huskies had just 233 yards of total offense and amassed just 3.82 yards per play on the afternoon.

Maty Mauk's numbers do not appear on paper to be much better than those of Bryant Shirreffs, however he did have a much better second half than first. He finished 14/22 passing for 145 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, good for a 109.9 passer rating. He also scored Mizzou's only touchdown with a short run in the third quarter.  Ish Witter led all players in rushing with 54 yards on 17 carries. Tyler Hunt caught just one pass but led the Tigers in receiving with 51 yards, while J'Mon Moore led the twam with 6 receptions. The two offenses combined for just 2.42 yards per carry between them on 67 total rushes for the game.

No matter how you look at it, this was an ugly game for both sides. Neither offense looked competent for long stretches of game time while neither team could take advantage of the other's mistakes throughout the afternoon. For UConn, the biggest takeaway from this game is the fact that they were able to hang around with a Top-25 team from the SEC, despite the poor offensive showing. They will look to bounce back and hold on to their above-.500 record next week when they take on the Navy Midshipmen in Hartford to open AAC play. Mizzou comes away from this game with a win, the most important statistic, and hopes of an SEC title still certainly in hand, but they have a great deal to work on going forward, as this type of game will not be one they can win against more talented teams in conference. The open SEC play next weekend on the road at Kentucky.