The Tigers bounced back in the northeast.

Missouri football went on a peculiar midseason trip to play UMass on Saturday in Amherst, Massachusetts, but took care of business with an efficient first half and a blistering third quarter to leave New England with a 45-3 win over the Minutemen.

Mizzou (5-1, 1-1 SEC) was up 21 points in the half, but then put the clamps on the FBS independent school.

Marcus Carroll made it into the end zone in a weaving, off-tackle run from 35 yards for his third touchdown of the game; wide receiver Joshua Manning took a dump off from Cook 63 yards to the house; and tight end Brett Norfleet caught 44 yards worth of passes in two plays up the seam to complete the 21-point quarter.

The Tigers were run-first for most of the game, even without typical starter Nate Noel, who a team spokesperson said was inactive due to “back tightness.” Carroll and Roberts split most of the carries.

Carroll had 91 rushing yards on 6.1 yards per carry, and MU rushed for more than 200 yards.

Star wide receiver Luther Burden III took the second play of the game 61 yards on an end-around to the end zone. He ended the half with seven total touches for 127 yards, before leaving the game with an apparent shoulder injury in the third quarter.

Burden returned to the sideline after a visit to the medical tent, and did not look to be in any lingering pain.

Brady Cook was 14-of-19 for 219 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers turned to the passing game much more sparingly during his time on the field, which ended as the fourth quarter started. That comes one week after Missouri ran the ball less than it has in almost a full season, and struggled to create much offense as a result at Texas A&M.

UMass (1-6) drove into scoring position a couple of times in the first half, when it still was within touching distance. One of those resulted in a field goal. The other was picked off by MU linebacker Corey Flagg, who returned his first interception for the Tigers 80 yards and set up a Blake Craig field goal to end the half.

Missouri football vs. UMass score updates

Fourth quarter updates

2:08 p.m.: Caleb Flagg forces a fumble for Missouri, and the Tigers recover. That should just about bring this one to an end.

2:01 p.m.: Pyne was nearly picked off on a third-and-23 hurly, and Mizzou will punt again with the backups in the game. There's just 4:54 left in the game in Amherst, so this should wrap up farely soon.

1:51 p.m.: The Tigers punt on Pyne's first drive, which stalled just inside UMass territory.

1:44 p.m.: Drew Pyne is in the game at quarterback for Mizzou, as are all of the Tigers' backups. The game is done and dusted in Amherst, so seems like a good time to get some starters some rest.

End of the third quarter: Mizzou 45, UMass 3

1:33 p.m.: A deep ball to Brett Norfleet up the middle sets up an instant red-zone possession, followed by an arrow to Norfleet at the back center of the end zone. The Tigers finally get the TE involved in the offense. 45-3.

1:17 p.m.: Touchdown Missouri. Brady Cook dumps it off to Joshua Manning, who runs it essentially all of the 63 yards for another touchdown on the first play of the new drive. 38-3 Tigers, and surely time to see some reserves.

1:08 p.m.: I may not be in Amherst, but former Columbia Daily Tribune Missouri beat writer Eric Blum is in the stands to watch the Tigers today: He just told me that Eli Drinkwitz visited Luther Burden in the medical tent, and the pair emerged a little bit later with Burden looking better. I doubt he returns, but that's an encouraging sign. Teamwork!

1:05 p.m.: Touchdown Missouri. Marcus Carroll runs it in for his third score of the day on a weaving, off-tackle run from 35 yards. Does well to stay in bounds and sneak into the end zone at the left pylon. No Noel, no problem on the ground so far.

1:02 p.m.: Luther Burden is down on the field after getting hit on a dropped high pass. This is absolutely the worst thing that Missouri could have on a trip to Amherst if it's anything significant. He was being treated by trainers.

12:53 p.m.: The second half is underway in Amherst. UMass started with the ball, but Mizzou gets the Minutemen off the field — a stop aided by a hands-to-the-face penalty that halted a Chris McClellan pass rush. Daylan Carnell came very close to picking off Phommachanh on third-and-long.

End of the first half: Missouri 24, UMass 3

12:42 p.m.: A Missouri team spokesperson tells the Columbia Daily Tribune that running back Nate Noel will not play today due to "back tightness."

12:28 p.m. Field goal Mizzou. Blake Craig converts a 42-yarder. That'll be the end of the half, with a big swing in the final seconds thanks to the Corey Flagg pick. Brady Cook got sacked on the only offensive snap after the pick, and Mizzou took a timeout with a second to spare to get Craig on the field. Terrible play from Cook, who wanted a lot more time than he was ever going to get, but it ends up not being costly.

12:27 p.m.: Corey Flagg intercepts Taisun Phommachanh on third-and-goal, and runs it all the way back to the opposite red zone. Mizzou will get a chance or two to score.

12:22 p.m.: UMass fake punt on fourth-and-1 turns into a chunk play. Minutemen now have 22 yards to goal.

12:12 p.m.: Mizzou is punting for the first time today. Luther Burden picked up a nice third-down grab before three straight passing attempts — two incomplete, one complete well short of the line to gain — brought out Luke Bauer for the first time in the game. That's the first time today Missouri has thrown the ball more than it has run the ball on a drive today. There is 2:59 left in the first half.

12:02 p.m.: Field goal UMass. 28 yarder is good. Mizzou held UMass in the red zone after some suspect secondary play let the Minutemen drive. Taisun Phommachanh completed passes of 18, 18 and 14 yards to Jakobie Keeney-James on that drive to help get the Minutemen on the board.

11:55 a.m.: A team spokesperson has confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune that Nate Noel is active today. He hasn't seen the field yet through three drives.

11:51 a.m.: Three Missouri drives, three Missouri touchdowns. Marcus Carroll gets his second score of the day from 4 yards out. Easy peasy. He'd rushed for gains of 6 and 9 right before that, all right up the gut.

11:46 a.m.: Brady Cook got a free play on third-and-3 after a UMass defender jumped offsides. He took advantage, finding a wide open Theo Wease Jr. for a 25-yard gain. Also of note: freshman running back Kewan Lacy became the third RB to enter the game before typical starter Nate Noel.

End of first quarter: Mizzou 14, UMass 0

11:39 a.m.: Luther Burden III picks up 15 yards after UMass only got 18 yards of field position with a punt from Mizzou territory that resulted in a touchback. That's the end of the first quarter. This one is very much nearing "done" territory.

11:36 a.m.: UMass picked up a pair of first downs to get into Mizzou territory for the first time, but Chris McClellan sacks UMass QB Taisun Phommachanh on third-and-medium to force a punt. Minutemen had got down to near the Missouri 30, but comes up with no points.

11:26 p.m.: Touchown Missouri. Marcus Carroll, after picking up the first-and-goal opportunity, waltzes into the end zone untouched on his next run. 14-0 Tigers, with 5:15 left in the first quarter. That was a 13-play drive that burned 7:10 of clock.

11:20 a.m.: UMass takes a timeout with Mizzou in the red zone on its second drive. After posting its fewest rushing attempts last Saturday since a loss to LSU last season, Missouri is absolutely hammering the ground through two drives. Nine runs, three passes. 135 yards of total offense, and 103 of that on the ground.

11:16 a.m.: Missouri's running back rotation to this point looks like it is Marcus Carroll and Jamal Roberts. Have not seen Nate Noel yet, which is worth keeping an eye on as the game progresses.

11:10 a.m.: Quick three-and-out from the Mizzou defense after the Burden touchdown. Brady Cook and Co. going to get the ball back with a hair more than 2:30 played in this game and a touchdown already on the board.

11:05 a.m.: Touchdown Mizzou. That didn't take long. Luther Burden III takes a carry on an end-around two plays into the game, going 61 yards to the end zone.

11:02 a.m.: UMass has won the toss and deferred. That means the ball is heading to Missouri to start the game. Kickoff imminent.

Pregame updates

10:42 a.m.: With kickoff fast approaching for a game Missouri is widely expected to win rather comfortably, here are a couple things I'd like to see Mizzou show today:

1. Create a ton of defensive pressure. Mizzou has not really shown that it is effective at hounding quarterbacks so far this season ... or that it is particularly willing to send extra men rushing. Taisun Phommachanh is a mobile quarterback for UMass, so you want to be patient. But this is a good chance to let some of your better pass rushers loose.

2. Run the ball, and run it often. There is little proof that the Tigers are particularly efficient throwing it vertically. We saw in College Station how chasing that — and failing — can put you behind the chains. There is proof of concept that Mizzou has two extremely capable running backs in Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll, so this is the week to make it the bread and butter of the offense. That's going to be important in the back-half of the year.

10:23 a.m.: A Mizzou team spokesperson confirms that outside linebacker Triston Newson and defensive end Joe Moore III are out today. Those are undisclosed injuries/absences. Here's a quick story on who we expect to step into bigger roles today.

10:15 a.m.: The betting lines I'm seeing still have Mizzou as a 27.5-point favorite. That number has held pretty steady throughout the week.

10 a.m.: Updates are sparse out of Amherst with about an hour until kickoff, so I'll delve into some uniform discourse. Mizzou is going with the Block M helmets. Here is a cool shot from the Tigers' creative team.

9:18 a.m.: Big news reported by Tiger Radio Network's Mike Kelly, the Voice of the Tigers, that starting weakside linebacker Triston Newson and rotational defensive end Joe Moore III are out.

Looks like that means five-star true freshman Williams Nwaneri could be in for significant reps as part of the DE rotation for the first time since he arrived on campus.

In place of Newson at linebacker, Brayshawn Littlejohn is the most likely candidate to step into the four-man rotation with Chuck Hicks, Corey Flagg and Khalil Jacobs. The Tigers' other options at the position are all true freshmen: Jeremiah Beasley; Nicholas Rodriguez; and Brian Huff.

8:57 a.m.: The Columbia Daily Tribune is covering Missouri's game at UMass remotely from Columbia. Right about now, the players should be arriving at McGuirk Alumni Stadium for the 11 a.m. CDT, noon ET kickoff. From the portions of Tuesday's practice made available to the media, it looked as if Mizzou was operating at full health, so there aren't any expected absences for the trip to Massachusetts. Kickoff is in approximately two hours.

Catch up on our Missouri football coverage

You can get up to speed on all of our Mizzou coverage previewing this week’s game at the following links:

More: Analyzing where Missouri football is underperforming along offensive line after Texas A&M loss

More: Missouri football at UMass: Scouting report, score prediction for Tigers-Minutemen

More: Analyzing why Missouri football's defense struggled to create pressure vs. Texas A&M

More: Missouri football is moving on after College Station beatdown, but with problems to fix

More: Missouri football plummets in national polls after loss at Texas A&M

More: Wild Saturday in the SEC, for now, helps Missouri football’s cause after Texas A&M beatdown

How to watch Mizzou football at UMass

TV channel: ESPN2

Stream: FUBO (free trial)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 12

Time: 11 a.m. CDT (noon ET)

Missouri’s game against UMass will air on ESPN2. Roy Philpott will be the play-by-play announcer for the game, and Sam Acho will be the on-air analyst. Taylor Davis will be the sideline reporter for the matchup.

FUBO, which offers a free trial for potential subscribers, will stream the Tigers’ game against the Minutemen.

Watch Missouri at UMass free on FUBO

How to listen to Saturday’s game

Local radio: 1580 AM; 105.1 FM

Satellite radio: Sirius XM 82

Tiger Radio Network will air the game live with ‘Voice of the Tigers’ Mike Kelly as the play-by-play announcer, Howard Richards as the analyst and Chris Gervino as the sideline reporter.

Missouri-UMass series history

This will be the first game between Mizzou and UMass, and the Tigers’ first game against an FBS-independent school since a 2017 matchup at UConn.

Missouri football full 2024 schedule

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football score: Mizzou comfortably takes care of UMass