Tennessee football falls in Missouri; Vanderbilt then for bowl

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Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt recounts UT 50-17 loss to Missouri
Mike Wilson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

If Tennessee plays Vanderbilt as it did last weekend against Kentucky, the Flights should have no trouble qualifying for a bowl match. If the Flights replicate Saturday's efforts against Missouri, they will likely be home for the holidays.

Tennessee continued its season long season with Jekyll and Hyde with a 50-17 loss to Missouri (7-4, 3-4 SEC) at Neyland Stadium, which means the Flights (5-6, 2-5) have to beat Vandy on the road in the regular season finale to reach a bowl.

Saturday's clunker took over from Tennessee's most complete performance – a 24-7 victory over a Kentucky team that rallied to beat Missouri earlier this season.

"We do not have consistency right now, and it's a problem we have to work on," said Ryan Johnson, Flight Center. "It's really frustrating to lose this way, but we have to focus on the next game."

The most impressive part of Tennessee's victory over Kentucky was the way that the Whipping flocked the Wildcats into the trenches.

This has not been postponed to Saturday.

Missouri have a quarter that the NFL teams covet in Drew Lock, a fourth-year player, and his wide receivers are blessed with speed. But the Tigers also had their say with the Vols.

"They played harder than us," said Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli.

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Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli sums up UT's loss to Missouri
Mike Wilson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Tennessee had nine games to go for negative yardage. Four more races were stopped without gain. Missouri has had three negative throwing games and another zero-yard run.

Missouri's physical game eliminated quarterback Jarrett Guarantano from the game after a quarter. Coach Jeremy Pruitt had no news of Guarantano's status after the match.

The incoherent performance of the Flights is becoming a dominant narrative for this season. They took a win on the road against Auburn between defeats against Florida and Georgia and between Alabama and South Carolina. A week after an interest-free 14-3 win over Charlotte, Tennessee crushed a Kentucky team that was hoping to win the Six Year Title.

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Tennessee senior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips met the media after UT's loss to Missouri.
Mike Wilson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

"We need to maintain this high level every week, every day," said Tennessee defender Kyle Phillips. "That's how great teams are great. That's why the average teams are not. We must learn to support. "

Missouri is better than his record suggests. The Tigers wasted their lead in the fourth quarter, leading to losses against South Carolina and Kentucky.

But the Tigers are not Alabama, even though Saturday's dashboard suggested it.