Myles Brennan, Terrace Marshall Jr. and the LSU offense compiled a long list of career-highs to give themselves a chance late to steal an unexpected shootout.
But with a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the final minute, Missouri's defense managed one of the day's few stands to stun its guests, 45-41.
"Give coach (Eliah) Drinkwitz credit — he called a good game," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. "We couldn't stop anybody. Really a poor showing on defense. We've gotta coach better, No. 1. Starts with me. Players have got to make plays. We couldn't stop the run. Receivers were wide-open downfield. It was embarrassing."
LSU's game-long rushing struggles continued as sophomore running back Tyrion Davis-Price and the offensive line couldn't find their way to the goal line on first or second down.
And Brennan couldn't find Marshall on third or fourth.
"I thought the offense played an outstanding game, except for down there," Orgeron said. "We're on the 1-yard line, inside the 1. We've gotta score there. We've gotta score to win the game. We had a chance to win there, and we didn't.
"I thought Myles played fantastic. He had 430 yards, four touchdowns. T-Marshall was 11 catches for 235. Arik Gilbert played fantastic. It was just all on the defense, and we've gotta get it fixed."
The reigning national champions allowed more than 40 points for the second time in three weeks, marking the first instance in which the team had done so twice in the same season since 2008.
The Tigers fell to 1-11 in such matchups since 2000, including the 44-34 loss to Mississippi State in this year's opener.
Senior running back Larry Rountree III rushed 18 times for 119 yards.
And newly named Missouri starter Connor Bazelak completed 29 of 34 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns despite missing two of the team's top pass-catchers among the seven held out following one player's positive COVID-19 test earlier this week.
Third-year sophomore Tauskie Dove hauled in all six of his targets to lead eight different receivers with 83 yards thanks to a 58-yard touchdown strike on the game's opening possession.
The flea-flicker capitalized on LSU's failures in coverage and tackling that proved its downfall from start to finish.
"Too many missed assignments," Orgeron said. "I mean, guys running wide-open down the field. I mean, that's the No. 1 thing, and too many missed calls — whether we're in and out or whether we're zone. One guy's in-and-out, and the other's zone, and it's a touchdown. We've just got to eliminate that stuff.
"And we had some missed tackles. We had guys in position to make some plays. And then we got beat one-on-one."
Mizzou's generosity, including issues fielding punts, helped LSU to match that firepower
Brennan and company converted three lost fumbles into 17 points and managed to hold at least a share of the lead for most of the contest, including a 10-point margin in the second quarter.
The fourth-year junior completed 29 of 48 passes for 430 yards and four touchdowns to become just the fourth LSU quarterback to surpass the 400-yard mark.
He finished with the seventh-highest single-game total in program history behind Rohan Davey's 528 against Alabama in 2001, four different performances by Joe Burrow last season and Tommy Hodson's 438 against Tennessee in 1989.
"They just came out there, and they just ran straight man," Marshall said. "I mean, we were taking advantage of every opportunity. But somehow we just didn't come out with the win."
Marshall's 11 catches for 235 yards and three touchdowns overtook three games last season by Ja'Marr Chase and one by Justin Jefferson to become the fourth-highest single-game total by an LSU receiver.
Josh Reed's 293- and 239-yard efforts in 2001, split by Todd Kinchen's 248 against Mississippi State in 1991, still lead that list.
And Gilbert's six catches for 97 yards and a score and Kayshon Boutte's five catches for 49 yards marked early career-highs for the freshmen.
"That's how it's gonna be every game," Brennan said. "I mean, we've gotta score points to win the game, obviously. Our defense fought all the way until the last second on the clock. And on offense, defense and special teams, we have a lot to correct.
"I personally have a lot to fix. Offensively, we didn't execute on third down like we wanted to, but these are all things that we're gonna get fixed as we move forward."
LSU managed just 49 yards on 20 rushing attempts, led by Davis-Price's nine runs for 38 yards and an early score.
And the Tigers' finished a staggering 0-for-10 on third downs, the distances for which averaged more than 10 yards.
The Tigers found themselves 10 or more yards from the first-down marker on six of those situations and within three or fewer yards just twice.
"They were going zero-blitz, man," Orgeron said. "They were loading the box up. We had to check to a pass almost all the time. We had some runs with Chris (Curry) in the beginning we couldn't get through.
"We made an adjustment and started going outside zone with Tyrion, and we made some plays. We should've gone to it a little bit earlier. But, again, man, those guys scored 41 points. I thought they played fantastic."
Sophomore kicker Cade York's second field goal, a 51-yarder, put LSU ahead, 41-38, as the third quarter ended
Hammond native Chris Turner blocked a 45-yard attempt in fourth quarter to hold the Missouri deficit to three points.
And Bazelak drove 77 yards in four plays, including a 69-yard strike to Chance Luper and 5-yard score to Niko Hea with 5:18 remaining.
Brennan and his Tigers marched methodically downfield for the next five minutes, gaining 74 yards on 13 plays before coming one short.
"You only get stronger through adversity," Brennan said. "And I think we're going through some pretty adverse situations right now, and it's only gonna make us stronger. We're gonna fight. And we're gonna keep fighting week to week. And we're gonna get into the meeting room and the film room, and we're gonna fix the things we need to fix. And we're gonna stick together as a team, and we're gonna move forward.
"That's the way it's gonna go. There's no way of getting around that."
