COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Brady Cook threw for 228 yards and ran for two touchdowns, preseason All-American Luther Burden III also scored before leaving with an illness, and No. 9 Missouri routed Buffalo 38-0 for its second straight shutout to start the season.
Theo Wease Jr. had 13 catches for 149 yards, and Nate Noel added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, as the Tigers (2-0) rolled to their 18th consecutive nonconference win at Memorial Stadium to match the best streak in school history.
Missouri’s offense was efficient, but new defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s bunch were simply superb, holding the Bull to 169 yards of total offense. C.J. Ogbonna, who played against the Tigers on Faurot Field while he was with Southeast Missouri State a few years ago, completed just six passes for 55 yards, while Jacqez Barksdale had 67 yards rushing.
Buffalo (1-1) has never beaten an SEC opponent in five tries, including two games against the Tigers.
Cook and Burden were expected to be one of the best pass-catch duos in the nation, but so far this season they have been one of the best one-two punches on the ground. Each had a touchdown run during the Tigers’ season-opening 51-0 rout of Murray State, and Cook and Burden were back in the end zone in the first half against Buffalo.
Burden, their star wide receiver, reached it first on an end-around to make it 10-0 in the second quarter. Then it was his veteran quarterback whose touchdown runs on back-to-back possessions put the game out of reach early.
Cook’s first came on third-and-goal from the Buffalo 3, when he hesitated on a designed run and then darted through a gap for the score. The second came on a 31-yard scramble that Cook finished by somersaulting over two defenders at the goal line.
It was about that time that Burden headed to the locker room for what a team spokesperson described as an illness.
The Tigers were just fine without him, finally getting Noel into the end zone late in the third quarter to make it 31-0. Most of the starters gave way to the backups in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.
The takeaway
Buffalo was overmatched against its highest-ranked opponent since playing No. 2 Ohio State in 2013, particularly at the line of scrimmage. The Tigers set the tone on both sides of the ball by pushing the Bulls around up front.
Missouri may have the deepest wide receiver corps in the SEC, which helped when Burden headed to the locker room. Wease was the star, but Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning also made some nice plays for the Tigers.
Up Next
Buffalo: Return home to play Massachusetts next Saturday.
Missouri: Continue a four-game homestand Saturday against Boston College.
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