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By: Andy Humphrey
I mean, did we learn anything new?
To be honest, you could say that after all three of Mizzou’s games so far. A tight, but ultimately reasonable win over Central Michigan, a close road loss at Kentucky, and a blowout win over SEMO. It’s about where I thought each game would finish to start the year. Everything at least tracks, so far. We obviously would’ve learned a little more about the Tigers had the 59-28 score line been a little bit closer (and for some with monetary interests, it certainly wasn’t large enough). These are matchups that fans just want to check the box and get over with, and for the most part Mizzou did exactly that.
They aren’t going to get credit for beating this type of opponent, but it’s at least good that the Tigers had a quick chance to shake off the bad feelings from the Kentucky loss. When it’s early in the season and you get dealt a close defeat like that, it can be demoralizing for a football team. Some teams let that one loss turn into multiple in a row. I don’t think anyone really thought the Tigers were in danger of that on Saturday going in, but it’s a lot better as a team to pile up a bunch of feel-good plays to erase the bad taste in the mouth from the week before. It’s obviously not a bad thing that Mizzou put up 59 points, regardless of who it’s against. It just doesn’t tell us anything new about what they can achieve this year.
So yeah, we didn’t learn much. But we’ll at least react to what did happen, so here are my Knee-Jerk Reactions:
Mizzou didn’t take this lightly
Eli Drinkwitz made it clear all this week that he wasn’t going to let his team overlook this game. Whether it’s saying that he’ll only play the players who earn their way onto the field during practice, or posting the list of other FCS-over-FBS upsets in every player’s locker, one way or another the Tigers received that message loud and clear. Mizzou scored on every drive in the first half. Connor Bazelak completed his first 10 passes, and finished with 346 yards through the air and three touchdowns. Tyler Badie broke away for a 49-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, and racked up 95 all-purpose yards and three total scores.
It’s exactly how the Tigers should’ve treated this; step on the gas early and don’t let up. There was an instance where the Tigers had a fourth-and-short about five yards away from the end zone, when they were already up 31-0 with time winding down in the half. Most might just settle for the field goal, already satisfied with the big lead. But Drinkwitz went for it, and Mizzou picked up the first down and scored a touchdown on the following play. Is that disrespectful? I don’t think so. If you ask me, it’s more disrespectful to intentionally take fewer points, thinking that your opponent can’t come back. SEMO was always going to give Mizzou its best shot. The Tigers were right to do the same.
Some young skill players had nice moments
When the second half rolled around, and Mizzou’s lead was well-solidified, it gave some players a chance to show what they can do. We hadn’t gotten a great look in the first two games of what wide receivers Dominic Lovett and Mookie Cooper had to offer, but both were fairly solid with four catches apiece, with a combined 143 yards receiving (Lovett had 79, Cooper had 64). Boo Smith, Chance Luper, J.J. Hester and Michael Cox all scored their first career college touchdowns. Both backup quarterbacks, Brady Cook and Tyler Macon, got into the game and threw a touchdown pass.
Those players obviously had things to be happy about afterward, even though it was a game that didn’t involve a high-caliber opponent. But something that I’m sure Drinkwitz is looking for is someone that can emerge as another go-to player, either in the run or pass game. We already know what Tyler Badie is capable of, but so does every other opposing defense in the SEC. If a game comes around where Badie gets held in check, where does Mizzou turn? That’s still a fair question to ask, but games like this could lend more evidence as to answering it for the rest of the season.
We have no idea whether or not the defense got better
Sure, they only allowed 69 total yards in the first half, which is the half that was mainly handled by the first team. You can at least give them credit for coming to play like the offense did. But as far as whether the run defense is all better now, we just don’t know yet. They did what they were supposed to do against a fairly dismal offensive attack from SEMO, and not much else. How they did today won’t tell us anything about how they will perform next week against Boston College, or beyond.
And if we’re really being honest, the way Mizzou let SEMO off the mat offensively probably wasn’t something Eli Drinkwitz or Steve Wilks liked to see. Even though the reserves took over most of the snaps in the second half, the Redhawks accumulated 304 yards of offense, 238 of those on the ground. They also scored four touchdowns, after never scoring a single touchdown on offense against Mizzou in four prior meetings. This game was an equal chance for players down the defensive depth chart to provide some sparks as well. There wasn’t much of that. I don’t think Mizzou’s defensive coaching staff will feel a whole lot better about where they’re at as far as stopping the run.
The Boston College game will be an interesting test
It’s not necessarily because Boston College is overwhelming offensively. The Eagles are on their second-string quarterback now, after Phil Jurkovec injured his hand early in the season. Backup QB Dennis Grosel has been far less than spectacular in relief. On the rushing attack, the main guy is Patrick Garwo, who averaged more than 10 yards per carry in his first game of the year against UMass. The most recent game for him against Temple wasn’t as impressive, but he still got in the end zone during a 28-3 win. Either way, the Eagles don’t really offer up a great offensive threat on paper.
If the Tigers treat the first half of that game defensively like they did here Saturday against SEMO, they should be fine. But it’s also very possible that Mizzou lets Garwo look the same way that Lew Nichols or Chris Rodriguez looked in Weeks 1 and 2. While it’s not the toughest opponent, the BC game is still a stronger measuring stick on where the defense is than the SEMO game. There’s a chance to show improvement. Stopping SEMO for 56 rushing yards in the first half isn’t all that noteworthy, but doing that same thing on the road against another FBS opponent could be. We shall see.
Games like these aren’t the best, but it’s important for some players
I’ll share a personal story here: My first real job in radio was with KTJJ/KREI radio in Farmington, Mo., where I handled several jobs, and one of those was covering high school sports. One of the many young players I got to cover during that time was Zach Haynes, a punter and wide receiver for the Potosi High School football team. A few years ago, he earned a scholarship to play as a punter at SEMO. Now in his junior year, he’s the Redhawks’ starter at punter, and on Saturday he had five kicks that traveled an average of 46.4 yards, one of them for 62 yards that was downed at the Mizzou 1-yard line.
For me, it was obviously cool to see someone perform well at one level and then again at the next, but it’s not why I share this. Because I’m sure it was much more meaningful for a guy like Haynes, who doesn’t always get to play in the big stadiums in front of huge crowds (46,598 in attendance at Faurot on Saturday), and comes through with big plays for his team. Think about it; for the rest of his life, Haynes gets to say that he pinned the Missouri Tigers at their own one. He accomplished the one thing every punter in America is trying to accomplish on each one of their kicks, and he did it against a Power 5 school in his home state at their stadium. I’m sure he and a few other guys for SEMO, and even for Mizzou, felt that type of dream feeling during that game. Those are the stories that add color to matchups like this one. It’s not something that everyone watching the game will think about often, but you can guarantee those players won’t forget it anytime soon.
