Tennessee @ Missouri preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 22, 2014 ) Missouri 29, Tennessee 21

Sports typically provide an escape from current matters such as the racial protests at Missouri but the university's football team, which hosts Tennessee on Saturday, is an exception. Coach Gary Pinkel announced his retirement at season's end Friday after revealing he was diagnosed with lymphoma - three days after school president Tim Wolfe resigned under pressure from the student body amid criticism of how he handled race issues.

The Tigers responded by snapping a four-game losing streak with a 20-16 victory over BYU one day after Pinkel's emotional announcement. "This week definitely brought this team closer together more than ever," wide receiver J'Mon Moore told reporters after his 4-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter put the Tigers ahead for good. Missouri will have its hands full with the red-hot Volunteers, who have won three straight and four of their last five - with the only blemish a 19-14 setback to No. 3 Alabama on Oct. 24. The contest pits the SEC's No. 3 scoring offense in Tennessee versus the No. 2 scoring defense, and the Volunteers' No. 2 rushing attack against the third-best run defense in the conference.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Tennessee -8.5

ABOUT TENNESSEE (6-4, 3-3 SEC): The Volunteers boast three of the top 15 rushers in the conference in Jalen Hurd (887 yards, 10 touchdowns), Alvin Kamara (503, six) and quarterback Joshua Dobbs (476, seven), who gained three yards on four carries in last week's 24-0 victory over North Texas while nursing a sore foot. "They are going to play motivated and they’re going to come out and give us their best shot,” Dobbs told reporters about the Tigers. “We have to come ready to play. Anytime you go on the road in the SEC, it’s going to be like that.” Tennessee's Evan Berry has three kickoff returns for touchdowns and leads the nation at 40.6 yards per return while the Volunteers also returned two punts for TDs.

ABOUT MISSOURI (5-5, 1-5): Emotions will run high as Saturday marks the final home game for Pinkel and the Memorial Stadium crowd will also send off a senior class which has helped the Tigers win 33 games. Freshman quarterback Drew Lock threw for a career-high 244 yards against BYU, prompting Pinkel to tell reporters "there was a glimpse of really what he can be." Missouri, though, is last in the SEC in scoring - and second-worst in the nation - at 15.2 points per game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Tigers are fifth in the nation in scoring defense at 14.7 points per game and have permitted 17 touchdowns - tied for fourth-fewest nationally with No. 2 Ohio State, Alabama and No. 8 Florida.

2. Tennessee hasn't won four consecutive games since 2010.

3. Missouri has won all three meetings, which have occurred in the past three seasons since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 28, Missouri 17