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When a rain delay is the best thing going for your team, you know it was a bad day.
That seemed to be the case Saturday, as Mizzou visited an old Big 12 adversary in Kansas State, and was thoroughly outplayed from start to finish, leading to a 40-12 victory by the Wildcats. I certainly feel for any Mizzou fans that made the trip back to Manhattan to watch their team on a familiar field. When you consider the lackluster play from the Tigers on both sides of the ball, a rainstorm that delayed the action on two occasions, and being lost in a sea of purple at Bill Snyder Stadium, I hope those fine folks at least enjoyed a nice Kansas City BBQ meal on the way back to Missouri.
There was certainly reason to believe that Mizzou could pull an upset, or at least stay competitive against K-State. After defeating Louisiana Tech 52-24 last Thursday, there was plenty to feel happy about. It was also clear, however, that this would be the first time we learn some true information about where this program is in 2022. And after seeing all of the action Saturday, the questions that loomed all offseason are being asked again. Who’s the quarterback? Is the defense actually better? Can a skill player step up in the receiving game? Is Harrison Mevis the best kicker in the country? (I’m kidding, we already know the answer to that last one.)
With that, here are the Knee-Jerk Reactions after Mizzou’s tough loss:
There are officially quarterback questions
Following a solid opening game for Brady Cook against Louisiana Tech, the vibes surrounding Mizzou’s quarterback situation quickly soured on Saturday. Cook had a rough game, to put it lightly. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 128 yards and two interceptions. He also was forced into more running duty, carrying the ball 13 times for 56 yards. Nothing impressed about the sophomore’s performance, and following the two picks, Cook was pulled in favor of Jack Abraham… who then proceeded to throw two more interceptions on just three attempts. That led Cook to get the snaps again for the remainder of the game. It got incredibly hard to watch toward the end of the third quarter.
Deservedly so, this has brought the age-old question of who should be behind center back into the forefront. And it’s a question that Eli Drinkwitz *has* to get right. The head coach stood by Cook postgame, saying the move to Abraham was more about Cook getting beat up on some hard hits by the defense. I respect that he’s standing up for his hand-picked guy from preseason camp, but with all the options available, there should clearly be a shorter leash on the starting role compared to last season. Brady Cook looked bad. It’s not a guarantee anymore that he should continue to start for this team. What’s worse, though, is that we haven’t seen anything from the other options that would indicate that they’re clearly better. I think both Sam Horn and Tyler Macon have plenty of talent. I’d want to see them at least one of them get some run in the next game. But it’s telling that we haven’t seen them take the field yet. Drinkwitz might think that they aren’t ready yet. He may be right. But they might have to be ready soon, because Mizzou’s quarterback situation is officially in flux again, and this year is all about trying to find the right guy for the future. Next week will be interesting to see who gets the most snaps.
Alright, we’ll just ask…#Mizzou fans, who should start at QB next week?
— KTGR Big Show (@KTGRBigShow) September 10, 2022
The quarterback isn’t the offense’s only problem
The quarterback play was lacking, but it was just one of the problems on an offensive unit that looked completely lost on Saturday. Most of the passing plays dialed up early in the game were far too conservative. The Tigers’ efforts to try to reach the edge and turn the corner were stifled by several backfield tackles from K-State’s tough defensive front. The passes that Cook did complete were short and sideways. Then, when Drinkwitz finally took the training wheels off and called for more vertical passes, it remained a struggle. An offensive line that had issues blocking Louisiana Tech a week before had similar issues trying to pave the way for Nate Peat, Cody Schrader and others. There was nothing to feel good about on offense. Anywhere.
That’s troubling. This is year three for Drinkwitz, a coach billed to be an offensive guru and one who continues to keep the offensive coordinator role to himself. That comes with added pressure. Especially if your offense *still* cannot get its footing, regardless of personnel. There are quarterback questions, and for good reason. But solving those won’t fix this unit all together. After impact running backs like Larry Rountree and Tyler Badie gave Mizzou something to cling to on offense in years one and two, that’s a void that doesn’t appear to be filled yet. Offensive line play has been up and down. A young, talented receiver room has yet to turn that into tangible results. After seeing what I saw Saturday, I can’t name a single thing on the offensive side of the ball to feel optimistic about going into the rest of the season. Unless, of course, you consider Harrison Mevis to be a part of the offense (which I do).
Can anyone find Luther Burden anywhere?
We saw the talented true freshman in a number of different roles in the season opener, and it worked well. He was allowed more chances to make plays in the open field and give Mizzou’s attack a much-needed X-factor. In his first road game, however, it was a different story. Burden touched the ball just twice, for a total of nine all-purpose yards. Mizzou tried to get it in his hands more often than that, and Burden had a step on his defender on a couple of instances. If those two plays end up in catches, he’d probably have two touchdowns. That said, it was a little surprising to not see Burden involved in the game plan as much as expected, especially early in the game.
This is why I wasn’t ready to declare that Burden would run away as Mizzou’s leading receiver this year. He’s a transcendent player, one that can make a lasting impact on Mizzou’s program. He’s also a true freshman. It’s not a normal thing for even the most talented high school prospects to step into year one in D-1 football and have 50-catch seasons. He’s used to playing for crowds in East St. Louis that wanted him to succeed, so it makes sense that his first game in front of 50,000 people who want him to fail didn’t go as well. I think he’ll get plenty of chances to show why he’s the most talented player on this offense, and he should get more attention earlier in games. I’m also not shocked that his production isn’t jumping off the page yet.
Is it worth saying something good about the defense?
Here’s the thing: if Mizzou’s offense was able to do *anything* with the possessions they got in the second and third quarters, we’re not talking about a 40-point performance by Kansas State. After two straight scores by the Wildcats to start the game, here were Kansas State’s drive results on the next few possessions of the second and third quarters: punt, punt, punt, punt, field goal, missed field goal, field goal. Most of those possessions occurred while Mizzou was throwing its four straight interceptions across five pass attempts. The Tigers were completely overmatched in this game, and it’s remarkable that Kansas State didn’t find its way to 40 points by the end of the third quarter. There should be at least a tiny bit of credit given to the defense for creating a window of opportunity for this team to make a comeback. The offense just didn’t return the favor.
That said, it still wasn’t good enough. The Tigers played well against Deuce Vaughn early in the game, but he still ended up with 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Adrian Martinez was clearly the best quarterback on the field, and that’s not saying much. The two early touchdown drives led by Martinez took the wind out of the sails for Mizzou. It was important for Mizzou to start fast in this game, and they failed that task in all three phases.
That was an early gut punch
When you play a regional opponent and former conference foe, you certainly hope for more promising performances than that. Kansas State deserves credit; they followed a solid game plan and have some talented players in the run game and pass rush to cause fits for several teams on their schedule this year. I didn’t see Mizzou winning this game going in. I also didn’t see them being completely outworked by this team. It felt a lot like the Tennessee game last year. In every aspect of the game, Mizzou was flatly not good enough.
Yes, there are still 10 games left. Yes, it’s just a non-conference game. But that shouldn’t mean that there’s no reason for concern. This next game against Abilene Christian should be an easy win, but that’ll be Mizzou last easy game on the schedule for a while. Similar to Saturday, road tests at Auburn and Florida will be here before you know it. If Mizzou is going to be bowl eligible, I think they need to win at least one of those. Right now, I can’t see that happening. There’s time to save an important season in Drinkwitz’s tenure as head coach, but any optimism built up after Week 1 is gone now.
