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Missouri is a win away from second consecutive SEC East title

Only Arkansas now stands in the way of Missouri's second-straight SEC East title.

If you were filling out a comment card about Missouri's season, the phrase you'd probably write first would be "ugly, but effective." And the theme continued Saturday night during the Tigers' 29-21 win over Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., as Missouri's offense sputtered for much of the game after an opening touchdown drive.

But as soon as quarterback Maty Mauk hit Jimmie Hunt on a 73-yard touchdown pass to give Missouri a 23-13 lead, the Tiger offense was reinvigorated.

Early in the fourth quarter, Mauk had Hunt in single coverage and threw a jump ball for his receiver, who reached over the Tennessee defender and snagged it before holding off another on his way to the end zone. On Mauk's next pass after a Tennessee punt, he hit Bud Sasser for a 35-yard gain. The two passes netted Mauk 108 yards of passing. His previous 22 throws had gained 109 yards.

Five plays after finding Sasser, Mauk hit him again for a 13-yard touchdown and the Tigers final score of the night.

Mauk finished with 230 yards passing and his second-straight 200-yard passing game in the SEC after not topping the mark until last week against Texas A&M.

But as Missouri's offense struggled to get in a rhythm for a large portion of the game, the team committed 12 penalties (mostly on offense) and kicker Andrew Baggett missed two extra points, the Tigers' defense was once again studly.

Because of the strength of its front four, one of the best in the SEC and the entire country, Missouri was able to primarily rush Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs with four players and sit back in zone coverage. And until a final garbage time drive, the strategy rendered Dobbs ineffective as both a passer and a runner.

The Tigers sacked Dobbs five times and Tennessee finished with just 53 total rushing yards and two turnovers.

The math for Missouri, 9-2 and 6-1 in the SEC, in the final week of the season is simple. If the Razorbacks win the first meeting between the two schools since the 2008 Cotton Bowl, Georgia wins the SEC based off a tiebreaker. The Bulldogs throttled the Tigers 34-0 earlier in the season. But if Missouri beats Arkansas, the loss is irrelevant. The Tigers would be going to Atlanta for back-to-back seasons.

For more Missouri news, visit PowerMizzou.com.

For more Tennessee news, visit VolQuest.com.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!