When the carnage had ended, and when Tennessee's bizarre, wholly irrelevant field-goal attempt inside the game's final 60 seconds had sailed wide right, Vols coach Josh Heupel had absorbed his worst-ever loss as a head coach.
Missouri 36, Tennessee 7. Worse than Alabama. Worse than Georgia. Bad, bad, bad.
And Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, after his Tigers had notched their eighth win and moved into sole possession of second place in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division, had a simple message for Heupel's allegedly high-flying, stalled-out offense.
"Great win," Drinkwitz told CBS on the field post-game. "Our defense kicked their ass tonight."
True. Just don't ignore the work of Missouri's offense, either.
The Tigers, led by quarterback Brady Cook and tailback Cody Schrader, outgained Tennessee, 530 yards to 350.
Think Heupel & Co. miss Alex Golesh? Forget Missouri's prodigious 26-15 advantage in first downs; the Tigers possessed the ball for 40 minutes -- against a dysfunctional Tennessee offense that does not -- and does not want to -- operate at the break-neck pace Heupel has preferrred.
"You know our team came out, we wanted to stand on business tonight," Drinkwitz said, "and we had some unfinished business from last year (Vols won, 66-24). We came out and took care of business.
"I couldn't be any prouder of this guy (Schrader). Mindset, talent, hard work, and this guy (Cook), can't say enough."
Cook, with 270 yards, and Schrader, with 205 rushing, accounted for 480 yards' offense. Schrader already entered the game as the SEC's leading rusher.
"Heart of a champion is all i know," Drinkwitz said.
Added Cook, "The defense? They stand on business, too."
Missouri has two games remaining in which it likely will be favored; at home against Florida and at Arkansas, which was embarrassed Saturday by Auburn.
The Vols, meanwhile, host two-time defending national champion Georgia next week.
Few teams or programs anywhere in college football have spent more lavishly in the Name, Image & Likeness landscape than Tennessee; indeed, the Vols have leaned repeatedly on The Spyre group to secure players.
Yet, Heupel & Co. are likely headed for at least a four-loss season after 2022's break-through, 11-win campaign, and they will be breaking in a brand-new, first-time starting quarterback in 2024.
In other words, Heupel has backed himself into a pivotal 2024 campaign.