Simmons throws 4 TD passes in debut as No. 25 Missouri beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54-14

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Austin Simmons threw for 252 yards and four touchdowns in a Missouri debut that lasted less than a half, and the No. 25 Tigers rolled to a season-opening 54-14 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday night.

Simmons lost the starting job to Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss following an injury last season. So, he transferred to its SEC rival, and proceeded to go 17 of 19 through the air, before giving way to Missouri backup Matt Zollers for the final series of the first half.

“I had some jitters pregame and I was a little nervous, thinking about how things were going to go,” Simmons said. “It was a long season last year and a long offseason up to this point, so yeah, a lot of nerves hit me pregame.”

Simmons’ favorite target was Donovan Olugbode, who finished with eight catches for 116 yards and two of the scores — though Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz also was quick to highlight a first-half fumble that spoiled another successful drive.

Jamal Roberts, getting the start in place of All-America running back Ahmad Hardy, added 47 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Tigers. Hardy is still recovering from a gunshot wound that he sustained as a bystander earlier this year.

“We had a few good runs. We didn’t cover up our second-level defenders the way we needed to,” Drinkwitz said. “Those are things that we have to get fixed in a hurry if we’re going to run the ball with the effectiveness we need to.”

Garrison Davis and Jack Schierholz split the snaps at quarterback for Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1), but neither was particularly effective. Schierholz had a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter while Za’Marion Webber had a 27-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers set the tone from their opening series, when Simmons was a crisp 7 of 7 for 61 yards with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Shaun Terry II. Simmons hit Olugbode from 14 yards out to cap the next series, Roberts plowed in for a TD early in the second quarter, and Simmons added long touchdown throws to Olugbode and fellow Ole Miss transfer Cayden Lee before his day was done.

It was 40-0 by halftime on a sweltering night at Faurot Field. And while the Tigers cruised the rest of the way with their backups and third-teamers, there were enough miscues in all facets that Drinkwitz was left flush with coaching points.

“There’s a lot of things we’re going to look back on and say, ‘We have to get this stuff fixed in a hurry,’” he said.

On the field, thanks to the court

Missouri defensive tackle Sterling Webb played just one day after a St. Louis County judge denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss a temporary restraining order making him eligible. Webb was granted the order in July to play his fifth season under rules that were recently adopted by the NCAA.

All-Americans on the sideline

Hardy wasn’t the only All-American who missed the opener for the Tigers; left tackle Cayden Green was sidelined by an undisclosed injury, too. Jack Lange got the start and played well in his place.

The takeaway

The Tigers figure to get a much tougher test next week, when they head across the border to play bitter rival Kansas in the latest edition of the Border War. The programs once played annually as members of the Big 12, but it had been 14 years since their last game when the Tigers beat the Jayhawks last season in Columbia.

Up next

Arkansas Pine-Bluff: Plays Alcorn State next Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee.

Missouri: At Kansas next Friday night.

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