COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Beau Pribula completed a Missouri-record 21 straight passes, Ahmad Hardy ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns and the No. 20 Tigers beat UMass 42-6 on Saturday night to improve to 5-0.
Hardy sparked the Tigers’ opening drive, gaining 41 yards on four carries before limping off the field after a tackle. While Hardy headed to the medical tent, Jamal Roberts finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.
UMass (0-4) capitalized on a mistake by Pribula when linebacker Timmy Hinspeter returned an interception 63 yards to the 21. Six plays later, AJ Hairston threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Max Dowling. Defensive tackle Sterling Webb blocked the extra point to keep it 7-6 lead.
After that, it was all Tigers.
Pribula played virtually flawless after the interception, completing the 21 consecutive passes to break the school record of 20 set by Chase Daniel in 2008. Pribula finished 26 of 29 for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Kevin Coleman Jr. led the Tigers in receiving with 12 catches for 108 yards.
Hardy entered the weekend as the No. 2 rusher in FBS. It was his seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game.
Hairston was 11 of 31 for 75 yards, along with a touchdown and an interception.
Hinspeter shines
While the Minutemen defense struggled to keep up with the Tigers most of the evening, Hinspeter was all over the field for UMass.
He had 17 tackles, two of them for losses, along with a sack and an interception. The Minutemen had four sacks,
The takeaways
Missouri’s run defense allowied only 19 yards on the ground a week after holding South Carolina to minus-9 yards rushing.
Up next
Massachusetts: Hosts Western Michigan next Saturday.
Missouri: Hosts No. 17 Alabama on Oct. 11.
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