Citrus Bowl: Missouri vs. Minnesota Game Grades and Analysis for Tigers, Gophers

The Missouri Tigers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 33-17 to win the 2014-15 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.

Much of the talk before the game was about Minnesota's vaunted rushing attack led by David Cobb. However, the Tigers held Minnesota to just 106 yards rushing as a team. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers ran for 337 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Russell Hansbrough's 78-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter clinched it for Missouri. 

While Hansbrough finished with 114 yards rushing, it was Marcus Murphy who led Missouri's rushing attack with 157 yards on just 12 carries. 

Quarterback Maty Mauk struggled a bit throwing the ball for the Tigers, but his 18-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was a momentum-changer for Mizzou. 

The win gives Missouri an 11-3 record to end the season. The loss drops Minnesota to 8-5, but head coach Jerry Kill has the Gophers on the rise. 

Here are the grades and analysis for both Minnesota and Missouri. 

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	B	B-
Run Offense	B+	C-
Pass Defense	A	B+
Run Defense	B	D-
Special Teams	C-	C
Coaching	C	C+

Minnesota Game Grades Analysis:

Pass Offense: Mitch Leidner played well. His performance as a passer was a pleasant surprise for the Gophers. Tight end Maxx Williams was unstoppable. 

Run Offense: Cobb ran for 81 yards, but it was mostly a quiet 81 yards. Cobb ran for more than 50 yards in the first half but was largely ineffective in the second half. 

Pass Defense: Minnesota's secondary was terrific. The Gophers did allow two touchdown passes, but the first one was on a tremendous throw. Overall, Minnesota held Missouri to less than 100 yards passing. 

Run Defense: Missouri's offensive line was just too much for Minnesota up front. Missouri's running backs had huge holes to run through in the final two quarters. 

Special Teams: Missouri executed two special-teams plays beautifully against the Gophers. Punter Peter Mortell struggled with his hang time all day. 

Coaching: Kill's decision not to try and drive for a score before the half ended was puzzling. He had one minute and three timeouts remaining. At that point, Minnesota was moving the football well. 

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	D	C
Run Offense	B	A+
Pass Defense	B-	B
Run Defense	B-	B
Special Teams	A	A-
Coaching	A	A-

Missouri Game Grades Analysis:

Pass Offense: Mauk struggled much of the game except for his two touchdown passes. Both were very good throws to Bud Sasser. He was lucky he wasn't intercepted at least five times. He made terrible decisions all game.

Run Offense: The Tigers were dominant up front, especially in the middle. The running backs had canyon-sized holes to run through in the second half. 

Pass Defense: Minnesota had one of its best passing games of the year. Missouri's plan was to make Minnesota one-dimensional, and for the most part the Tigers accomplished that. 

Run Defense: The Tigers held the Gophers and their run-first offense to just 106 yards on the ground. That is primarily why Missouri won this game. 

Special Teams: Give Missouri credit, the Tigers faked a punt, a field goal and executed a beautiful onside kick to start the second half. Missouri's special teams had a great day.

Coaching: Sometimes you wonder why head coach Gary Pinkel sticks with Mauk. But to his credit, he does and it usually works out for Missouri in the end. Also, Pinkel showed great confidence in his special-teams' units and rightfully so.