Larry

Rountree III

Rountreee (5'10/210) caps off a fine senior season with his fifth 100-yard game of the year, and fourth contest with two touchdowns or more. He punched in rushing scores of six and 18-yards, as the senior tailback grinded out 4.8 yards per carry with his backups only receiving one carry each. Mizzou’s bell cow finishes the regular season with 972 yards, a 4.7 YPC average and 14 touchdowns.

Rountree (5'10/210) has paid a visit to the end zone at least once in each of his past five, totaling 10 scores during the scoring barrage and 11 touchdowns overall this season. His 185 yards was also a regular-season career high for Rountree, and second most behind his 204-yard explosion against Oklahoma State in the Autozone Liberty Bowl back on Dec. 31, 2018. He’ll look to keep things rolling into the regular-season finale at Faurot Field against the Georgia Bulldogs next Saturday.

Rountree had his way against the beleaguered Commodores, racking up 7.6 yards per attempt. The Tigers rushed for 223 yards and four scores on the ground overall, while gashing the ‘Dores for 5.9 yards every time they touched the ball. It was a particularly special day for the senior from Raleigh, N.C., however, as the yardage was his highest total since he posted 168 yards at Purdue on Sept. 15, 2018, and it was his first three-touchdown game since Oct. 20, 2018 against Memphis. He’ll look to keep it rolling against Arkansas next Saturday.

There isn’t much to write about in terms of offensive games, so yes, a 58-yard, one-touchdown effort is going to be a highlight. Rountree (5'10/210) plunged in from a yard to give Missouri a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, and it was the fifth touchdown of the year. Rountree is heading to the Senior Bowl -- or at leas was accepted to to the event -- but he’ll be back on the field next Saturday against Arkansas.

The Senior Bowl invites are really flying out right now. Rountree is one of the first RBs to receive and accept an invite, though. A 5-foot-10, 210-pounder, Rountree runs with a fairly low, balanced style that helps him grind out tough yardage. He has lost some of his juice compared to his early days, but should still have plenty in the tank for at least a handful of nice seasons in the NFL. What’s concerning with Rountree is that his yards per carry has dropped every single season, going from 5.6 in 2017 to just 4.3 in 2020. He earned at least 125 carries in all of those seasons (except 2020, for now), so it is not like these are small samples, either.

What a slow, sloppy game this was. Missouri’s offense did not look quite as inept as Kentucky’s, but they still played things slow, leaning on Rountree (5'10/210) an outrageous amount in comparison to the passing game. Rountree took seven more carries than QB Connor Bazelak threw passes, not to mention the other 25 carries the Missouri offense shelled out. Rountree handled the workload well, though, and fought for tough yards for four quarters, ultimately earning his second consecutive 100-yard game. Missouri are set to face Florida next week.

Rountree (5'10/210) pounded away at the soft underbelly of a rebuilding LSU front seven that was decimated by graduation following the 2019 season. Mizzou overcame three turnovers largely thanks to LSU going 0-for-10 on third down conversions. Rountree had by far his best game of the season as he averaged 6.6 YPC while ceding the backfield touchdowns to Tyler Badie. He will have another big game opportunity against a Vanderbilt defense that just game up 41 points in back to back weeks.

Rountree was one of the few effective offensive players for the Tigers for the second consecutive week. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound tailback scored his first touchdown of the new year with a one-yard plunge with 2:06 left in the third. Simply put, the Tigers are going to need to get Rountree the ball -- a lot -- if they have any chance of being competitive in SEC games next year. Their next chance is next Saturday against LSU.

Rountree (5'10/210) was one of the few effective offensive players against Alabama on Saturday, and effective is a relative term. The tailback did find some room, however, and a 4.8 YPC average against a good Crimson Tide front is nothing to sneeze at. Rountree ran for 829 yards and nine scores on Saturday, and even in a truncated year, he has a chance to put up similar -- possibly better -- numbers. He’ll be back at it next Saturday against Tennessee.

Rountree (5'10/210) and Tyler Badie were a nice one-two combination in the backfield, picking up the slack with some injuries in the passing game. The 88 yards were Rountree’s most since he galloped for 126 yards and two scores in a victory against Ole Miss back on Oct. 12, and it was his first foray into the end zone since the stunning loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 19. Next up for Rountree and the Tigers will be a trip to a bowl, as they picked up their sixth win and bowl eligibility in this one.