Star Missouri receiver Luther Burden is questionable for Saturday afternoon’s top 15 matchup between the Vols and Tigers in Columbia, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz shared during his Tuesday press conference.
Burden is one of the top receivers in the injury and enters the week 10 matchup with 64 catches for 958 yards and seven touchdowns this season.The talented sophomore is third in the SEC in receiving yards, second in receptions and is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns.
“He’s a really good player,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said of Burden earlier this week. “And when he gets the ball in his hands, he’s difficult to bring down. They do a good job of moving him around too, where you gotta track where he is at … they try to find matchups for him. So we gotta do a great job against him.”
Burden is the best Missouri player on the injury report entering this week’s matchup but he isn’t the only Tiger who’s status is up in the air.
More From RTI: Everything Missouri Coach Eliah Drinkwitz Said About Tennessee
Defensive lineman Realus George Jr. is also questionable while receiver Theo Wease, quarterback Brady Cook, running back Cody Schrader and defensive back Ennis Rakestraw Jr. are all probably for the divisional showdown.
“All those guys are dealing with different things that they’ve kind of battled through,” Drinkwitz said. “I think Luther and Realus would be the two that I’m most concerned about right now.”
George is a key piece to Missouri’s defensive line and enters the conference matchup with 18 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season. Drinkwitz noted that he was injured on the second to last play of Missouri’s loss at Georgia last week.
Tennessee’s (7-2, 3-2 SEC) trip to Missouri (7-2, 3-2 SEC) pits two of the conference’s most evenly matched teams against one another. The Vols landed at No. 13 in this week’s CFP Rankings while Missouri came in a spot behind at No. 14.
Josh Huepel’s third Tennessee team is currently a one-point favorite over Missouri according to Caesars Sportsbook.
| TN Sportsbook | Bonus Offer | Bonus Link |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | Bet $5, Get $158 in bonus bets | Claim Bonus — Use Code ROCKYBET |
| FanDuel | Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets Guaranteed | Claim Bonus |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Get a first bet on Caesars of up to $1,000 | Claim Bonus — Use Code STARTGET |
Kickoff between Tennessee and Missouri is at 3:30 p.m. ET at Faurot Field. Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jenny Dell are on the call for CBS.
