No. 17 LSU Stunned by Unranked Missouri; Defending Champs Fall to 1-2

The defending national champion LSU Tigers were upset 45-41 by the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, marking their second loss to an unranked opponent this season.

LSU, which entered ranked No. 17, squandered multiple leads and fell to 1-2, while Mizzou improved to 1-2.

The decisive play came with 5:18 remaining when Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak threw a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Niko Hea to help give Mizzou a 45-41 lead that it never relinquished.

Saturday's game was originally supposed to be played at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but it was moved to Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri, because of Hurricane Delta.

Given LSU's ability to move the ball throughout the day, there was some concern that Missouri left too much time on the clock after its go-ahead touchdown.

LSU then assembled a 13-play, 74-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock, but Mizzou stood tall at its goal line by stopping LSU four consecutive times at the 1-yard line to preserve the victory:

The defense came up big for Missouri when it needed to, but the star of the day was Bazelak, who completed 29 of his 34 attempts for 406 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

LSU junior quarterback Myles Brennan was arguably just as good, going 29-of-48 for 430 yards with four touchdowns and no picks. Brennan has thrown for at least 337 yards and three touchdowns in each of his three starts this season after taking over for last year's starter, Joe Burrow.

Missouri also spoiled a massive performance from LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., who went off to the tune of 11 receptions for 235 yards and three touchdowns.

The teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense in one of the wildest games of the 2020 college football season.

Missouri turned the ball over three times, and LSU finished with no turnovers, but the biggest difference was LSU somehow managing to go 0-of-10 on third down.

Despite the inefficiency on third down, the LSU offense is averaging nearly 39 points per game this season, which is better than many might have expected given the amount of talent lost to the NFL from last year's team, including Burrow, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

It is the LSU defense that has largely let head coach Ed Orgeron down, as the Tigers have allowed 44.5 points per game in their two losses.