KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee-Missouri football series is one of the newest in the Southeastern Conference.
The Tigers joined the SEC in 2012 and were placed in the league’s East Division. They were previously in the Big 8 and Big 12 conferences.
The Tigers and Vols have met seven times and every year since Missouri joined the SEC.
Having benefitted from the Big Orange’s recent gridiron misfortunes, the Tigers hold a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series and have nabbed consecutive 50-17 victories in each of the last two seasons.
The Vols have had three coaches face Missouri in Derek Dooley (who is now the Tigers’ offensive coordinator), Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt. Of that trio, only Jones has guided Tennessee to victory over Missouri.
He did so in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016). The Vols were 9-4 in both of those campaigns.
This year’s showdown will be critical as both teams need a victory to secure a bowl bid. Both teams are 5-5, but they are headed in different directions.
The Tigers (2-4 in the SEC) have lost four straight against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.
The Vols have won three consecutive games over South Carolina, UAB and the Kentucky Wildcats and are 3-3 in conference play.
Tennessee vs. Missouri: All-time scores
2012: Missouri 51, Tennessee 48
2013: Missouri 31, Tennessee 3
2014: Missouri 29, Tennessee 21
2015: Tennessee 19, Missouri 8
2016: Tennessee 63, Missouri 37
2017: Missouri 50, Tennessee 17
2018: Missouri 50, Tennessee 17