NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Blake Craig kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter, his second a 56-yarder with 4:36 remaining, as No. 23 Missouri beat Iowa 27-24 in the Music City Bowl on Monday.

When the Tigers began their comeback, Missouri trailed 24-14 and scored the final 13 points for the win. Brady Cook threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Manning also ran for a touchdown to start the comeback. Marquis Johnson added 122 yards receiving and a touchdown catch.

Missouri (10-3) recorded the program’s eighth 10-win season. Coach Eli Drinkwitz said the win total is just a fraction as the start and finish of the Tigers’ season was a great accomplishment for his seniors.

“That’s something they should be very proud of in back-to-back seasons,” Drinkwitz said. “Being ranked is an incredible achievement for our program and we are really, really proud of them.”

Cook, who also ran for 54 more yards, said there was no decision for him or fellow senior defensive end Johnny Walker not to play one final game for Missouri.

“We knew we were going to get that 10th win, put our legacy behind us and come away with a win and win a championship – no matter what championship it was, we won a championship today,” Cook said. “And we want to do that every year.”

Iowa (8-5) lost its second straight bowl and denied coach Kirk Ferentz a chance to advance to the Big Ten ranks. He remains one behind Woody Hayes’ 205 wins at Ohio State for the most total wins in league history, and his 10 bowl victories tie him with Joe Paterno for the most.

The Hawkeyes had two final chances, the last at midfield with 1:54 left.

Walker got his second sack of the game. Missouri made a stop short of first on third down and then stopped quarterback Brendan Sullivan without a gain on fourth-and-1 to set off cheers and chants of “SEC” from fans.

“It’s disappointing…” Ferentz said. “We just didn’t have what it took.”

The Hawkeyes took a 14-7 lead with Terrell Washington Jr. catching a 6-yard pass from Sullivan and Kaden Wetjen’s 100-yard kickoff return. Kamari Moulton’s 1-yard run gave Iowa a 21-14 halftime lead. Drew Stevens added a 38-yard field goal in the third.

Then Missouri started the comeback. After Manning’s TD late in the third quarter. Toriano Pride Jr. intercepted a pass from Sullivan. The Tigers tied the score with a 51-yard field goal from Craig with 10:10 left before he scored the game-winning score.

The takeaways

Missouri: Theo Wease missed the second half with an upper-body injury after having five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown by halftime. It also didn’t help that Luther Burden, who had a team-high 61 catches during the season, stood on the sidelines watching in his No. 3 jersey after opting out of that game to prepare for the NFL draft .

Cook had help from Daniel Blood and Johnson, who set up Manning’s TD run with a 44-yard catch.

Iowa played without Big Ten scoring leader Kaleb Johnson, who withdrew from that bowl to begin preparing for the NFL draft. Moulton finished the game with 96 yards rushing on just 14 carries, and Jaziun Patterson added 74.

Next

Missouri opens the season on August 30th by hosting Central Arkansas. Drinkwitz will sign Beau Pribula from Penn State to replace Cook through the 2025 transfer portal.

Iowa hosts Albany on August 30. Ferentz added Hank Brown from Auburn through the portal to provide competition and depth at quarterback.

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