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Would you have expected anything other than a late-developing blowout?
Mizzou football opened its season Thursday night with a 52-24 victory against Louisiana Tech at Faurot Field. In an atypical Thursday night game, a crowd of 47,653 fans, driven by a nearly-full student section, probably thought they would see their team quickly put a beating on a Sun Belt opponent with a new coaching staff, and have a comfortable lead by halftime. However, that’s historically not how we’ve seen most Mizzou teams operate early in the game. But, all’s well that ends well.
What those fans *did* experience was a re-energized defense that came into 2022 with several question marks, and a generational wide receiver talent that ended up paying off the price of admission, and then some. At the very least, Mizzou fans can take comfort in the fact that this team has some clear playmakers that can lead on either side of the ball. With a team that’s looking to replace the program’s single-season rushing record-holder and see marked improvement on defense, there were enough promising signs to call it a modestly successful first week.
With that, let’s kick off the 2022 Knee-Jerk Reactions:
There is no stopping the Luther Burden Hype Train
The five-star true freshman out of East St. Louis came into Columbia with all kinds of expectations, and even then, I think we underestimated what he’s truly capable of. He was used a lot more in the run game, including taking a few direct snaps, and it paid off for Mizzou’s offensive unit. Burden scored twice on the night; once on one of those direct snaps, and again on a five-yard pass from Brady Cook (that at the time of posting this, is still ruled a rush in the stats), on which Burden broke tackles from four different Bulldogs on his way to the end zone. Even on incomplete passes, the crowd gave some audible “ooooh’s” and “ahhhh’s” every time Burden was involved. It was something you had to see to believe.
We’ve spent an entire offseason what a successful season would look like for a man of Burden’s talents. After seeing what we saw Thursday night, maybe it can be quantified by more than just receptions and yards. It’s clear that Eli Drinkwitz wanted to use Burden in different ways on the field, and it made sense to do so. I’m not saying that we should see Burden run the wildcat every time, or even half the time. But the man brings an ability that Mizzou hasn’t had in its offense for a long while. It’s going to come in handy against the tougher opponents down the road.
The defense provided plenty of optimism
Fears of an early-season letdown similar to 2021 were quashed right away. Blake Baker’s defensive unit held the Bulldogs to 337 yards of total offense, and 11(!) rushing yards as a team. The defensive line got consistent penetration, tipped two passes that led to interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown- and recorded four sacks. The unit seemed energized, confident, and comfortable with their scheme. It may have been against a lesser opponent, but when you consider that Mizzou gave up 475 total yards to Central Michigan in the opener last year, you have to like the progress that was made.
Most everyone on the defensive unit played well, but nobody had a better game than Ty’Ron Hopper. The transfer linebacker from Florida was all over the field, registering six tackles, two TFL’s, a sack and an interception. I felt for every Louisiana Tech ball carrier that had to take a hit from Hopper Thursday night, because he came with some extra pop on every play. Last year, Mizzou desperately missed having a quick linebacker that could cover from sideline-to-sideline, much like Nick Bolton most recently did before heading to the NFL. It appears they’ve found another one in Hopper.
Luther Burden is doing everything, including overshadowing the excellent game that Ty’Ron Hopper’s had on defense. #Mizzou
— Andy Humphrey (@AndyRHumphrey) September 2, 2022
Brady Cook was… fine
There were good moments. There were bad moments. Cook completed 18 of 27 passes for 195 yards, and a touchdown to Burden that hasn’t shown up in the stats at the time of posting this. His one interception came on a deflected ball off Burden’s hands that should’ve been caught, but when you factor in that Burden took away an interception on an underthrown ball earlier in the half, you could essentially call the two plays even. I didn’t think we needed to be sounding the alarm bells on the decision Eli Drinkwitz made regarding who should start behind center. That said, some of the misfires that Cook had in the passing game may have left a little to be desired.
Overall, it’s really not something to complain about in week 1. One might worry about how Cook will look next time out in Manhattan, Kansas against a Power Five opponent, judging from what we saw Thursday. And yeah, if Cook has a similar performance in that game, it might not bode well for Mizzou. But there’s still time to improve. I think it’s clear that Cook’s skill set is an upgrade from what the Tigers had at QB last season. The sophomore mainly showcased that through his mobility, as he ran the ball seven times for 61 yards and a touchdown, and eluded some pressure in the backfield to extend plays. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it’s something that Mizzou can work with for now.
I’ve got concerns about this offensive line
Part of the reason why Cook wasn’t as effective was because he had to run around quite a bit. Louisiana Tech’s defensive front only brought down Cook for one sack on the night, but also racked up seven tackles-for-loss, and shut down several running plays where Mizzou only needed a few yards to convert a first down. Early on, it seemed that when Louisiana Tech knew it was a running down, they got everything they wanted to wreak havoc in the backfield. That led to a rough start for Mizzou’s running backs.
The rushing attack eventually picked up, with the team averaging 6.4 yards per carry on the night, led by Nate Peat with eight carries and 72 yards. Peat, Cody Schrader and B.J. Harris all found the end zone. The offensive line play did get better, but will it improve against the tougher opponents on Mizzou’s schedule? One thing’s for sure: if the line play starts the same way it did Thursday night, I don’t think Mizzou scores 24 points in the first half against Kansas State.
There’s time to fix this
Despite the amount of time it took for this team to find its footing, it’s hard to be upset about a 52-24 victory at home on a Thursday night. Things were far from perfect, but that should always been the expectation going into week 1 for teams that aren’t named Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. In the end, the Tigers earned a sound victory against a Group of Five opponent and snuffed any hope for an upset by the end of the third quarter. That’s more than can be said about last year’s season opener for Mizzou.
It is fair to worry about how this team will look in the games that will truly matter down the road. They could be in for some bad matchups in the trenches on offense if they play the same way they did Thursday night. A couple of breakdowns in the secondary against LA Tech’s passing attack also can’t be afforded against SEC teams. The first two road games against Kansas State and Auburn will dictate a lot about where this season might be heading. Mizzou will have to work out the kinks from the opener in order to have a chance in either of those games. The good news is, they now have a longer week to get set for the next test. We’ll see if they take advantage.
