COLUMBIA, Mo. _ For weeks, Missouri had failed to fall into an offensive groove. The Missouri Tigers were outscored by 50 points over two games and last week held to only 203 yards on offense.
On Saturday at Memorial Stadium, their luck did not improve. Missouri lost 51-14 to No. 15 Auburn, which relied on junior Kerryon Johnson for five touchdowns.
Missouri (1-3, 0-2 SEC) lost its third straight game as No. 15 Auburn (3-1, 1-0) rolled over Faurot Field with 482 yards of total offense.
For three quarters, Auburn's defense terrorized Missouri quarterback Drew Lock. Lock connected 17 of 30 attempts and only managed 127 yards in the air. Lock ended up finishing 23 of 39 for 216 yards for the game.
Lock's offensive line left him vulnerable. He had finally put together a promising drive in the second quarter, throwing for 21 yards and rushing for 5 more. He'd worked his way around an Auburn defense that limited Mizzou to 34 yards in the first quarter.
But as soon as Lock found himself ready to cross into Auburn territory for the first time, a referee's fumble call reversed Mizzou's momentum.
On a third-and-5 pass attempt, Auburn's Noah Igbinoghene hooked himself around Lock's back. Lock went down, and the football wound up around midfield.
The ball remained untouched for a few seconds, with none of the players in its vicinity paying it any mind.
Then, someone appeared to notice a referee had never blown the whistle to end the play. Auburn's Marlon Davidson picked the ball up and ran 33 yards.
Igbinoghene, who was awarded a sack on the play, had come toward the sideline. Then, he whipped his head around to find Davidson grabbing the loose ball and scampering toward the Mizzou 20-yard line.
Referees reviewed the play, but the fumble call on the field stood.
About 1 { minutes later, Auburn's Kerryon Johnson rushed for his fourth touchdown of the night, giving Auburn a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Its momentum zapped, Missouri managed to get on the scoreboard on the following drive when sophomore Damarea Crockett hauled in a 19-yard pass for a touchdown. Still, Auburn edged back in front on a 41-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson before the teams left the field for the half.
Lock found the end zone again in the fourth quarter, this time on a 25-yard throw to senior J'Mon Moore. He had gained 35 yards on two previous passes and caught a break when Auburn was called for pass interference.
Auburn had only committed two penalties through three quarters.
Missouri had little fall its way, especially in a first half where MU converted 3 of 8 third downs.
The defense was penalized 6 yards on Auburn's first drive when a referee blew the whistle on Anthony Sherrils for a late hit on Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Stidham had been pressured out of bounds at Missouri's 11-yard line, but replays showed Sherrils had delivered a hit right before Stidham crossed the visiting sideline.
Auburn scored for the first time in the evening two plays later.
Missouri was also plagued by motion penalties in the first quarter, drawing a false start call in each of its first three drives. The last one set up an Auburn interception at Missouri's 32-yard line, ending Missouri's drive 12 seconds in. Missouri was outgained 135-35 yards in the period.
It was indicative of what Missouri was to face the entire game.
