Talks Mizzou at the 19 minute mark.

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Hopefully on the field they get back to basics and clean up the issues upfront and at QB and off the field they do a ton of self scouting and work out why they’re settling for so many FGs. The team is talented, but they need to focus back on the basics this week.

Buffalo defeated #23 Northern Illinois. This should not only help Mizzou’s strength of schedule, but ding Notre Dame’s strength of schedule. That could be meaningful for an at large CFP bid.

Boston College defeated Michigan State who was 3-0. BC appears to be a top echelon team in the ACC. BC should be a ranked team again later today.

Mizzou’s strength of schedule might not turn out to be nearly as weak as we thought coming into the season.

I know we like to hyper-focus on Mizzou and how they have performed to date.

But looking around college football, you just don’t see a ton separating most of these teams.

To date, I see two teams who have stood out above the rest: Texas and Tennessee.

Ole Miss, Alabama, Miami and Ohio State have looked great too, but haven’t played anybody yet (Wisconsin and Florida suck). I guess we have to throw Georgia in this group out of respect, but they certainly don’t look like the same old Georgia.

Beyond that? It looks like anyone can beat anyone on a given day. I just see a ton of the same type of team in the Top 25 beyond that group.

They are talented teams who can beat just about anyone on a given day, but also lose to just about anyone. We should consider ourselves lucky we haven’t been sniped yet like Notre Dame, Kansas State, Nebraska, etc.

I think we are seeing the transfer portal lengthen out the teams in that next tier of college football. The elite teams at the top are still there. I’d say 4-5 teams have a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing. But there are 12 spots up for grabs in the playoffs. And a whole lot of teams that look very similar fighting for them.

If you want to look on the bright side, Mizzou’s teams have always improved as the season has gone along under Drinkwitz. Shaky Septembers, improved Octobers and strong Novembers. Let’s hope that trend continues to hold.

Everything is still in front of Mizzou. And for as bad as they’ve looked, A&M, Umass and Auburn have looked just as bad if not markedly worse. It won’t take a ton of improvement to get Mizzou over the hump in those three games. And if you can do it, you hope the gradual improvement and confidence has them feeling good heading into T-Town.

TLDR: Yeah, Mizzou hasn’t looked great this season. But neither has most of college football. If Mizzou is able to find its footing, the playoffs are still right there for the taking.

I watched the game this morning and focused on the offense. I am definitely not any expert, but here are my uneducated observations.

1. OL had a bad day. Noel had damn near 200 yards, but it was not pretty. The zone offense was "working", but the line was consistently 2 yards behind the LOS. It needs to move 2 yards forward in the zone. Johnson looked like the weakest link today. He may of been playing though an injury. I have no idea.

2. Mizzou needs to abandon the QB Power run game. Too many plays designed for Cook to be the tailback. He tiptoes too much for that. Cook can and needs to run for the offense to work yes. It needs to be RPO and nakeds. Not QB Power.

3. I love LB3, but too many times Cook looks to force it to him. The last play in OT was a great example of it.

4. Obviously 2/5 FG is not good, but if Mizzou wants to go the places they want they are going to have to finish drives.

Here is the drives with what happened below. Great time to have 2 weeks to fix some things.

Drive #1
3 and out Punt

Drive #2
LB3 20 Yd TD

Drive #3
3rd and 1 from Vandy 5. QB Trap Stuffed. 4th and 3 FG Doink

Drive #4
1st and Goal from the 7 2yd Carroll Run up the middle
2nd and Goal I formation 0 yard run Noel
3rd and Goal Uncatchable ball back of end zone
FG Good

Drive #5
4th and 3 own 48 Cook Sack 5 yard loss (WTF moment here)

Drive #6
Derailed by 1st and 10 QB Run. 3OL pulling. OL blown up. 6 yard loss
2nd & 16 2 yard scramble Cook
3rd & 14 pass incomplete Uncatchable ball
FG Good 55 yards

Drive #7
Noel big run
Carroll 2yd run up the gut TD

Drive #8
Run stuff
Cook high throw Incomplete
3rd and 10 Burden 8 yard route
Punt

Drive #9
3rd and 2 QB Lead with Noel as lead blocker Cook dances stuffed
FG no good

Drive #10
3rd and 14 Uncatchable pass
FG no good

Drive #11
2nd and 4 Noel 3 yards
3rd and 1 Carroll stuffed
4th and 1 Punt


Drive #12 OT
Out and up to Burden TD


Drive #13 2nd OT
1st and 10 Norfleet 4 yards ball was late to him
2nd and 6 Noel 0 yards
3rd and 6 Burden double covered incomplete
Wease was open out and up/hitch n go out the outside 1v1. Ball needs to go there.
4th down FG Good

Missouri is 4-0.

The "experts" have plenty to complain about.

Does it get any better than that for the Missouri fan base?

A handful of random thoughts:

—After the way the BC game played out, I expected this team to turn in its best game of the season. Got exactly the opposite. Every damn phase!

—About the offense: I wish they would play with more tempo. The staff seems intent on rotating receivers from play to play. This is a problem for a couple of reasons. The play clock is often down to 25 or under by the time the subs are made, and then the defense has the option to sub. Then sometimes the play is changed with 6 or 8 seconds on the play clock. And everything gets rushed. For a team that runs the no-huddle, it makes no sense. Plus, Cook has excelled in the two-minute drill at the end of a half. Play fast!

—Baffling that this team is able to run the ball for three quarters but can’t pick up yards in crunch time. It was the same against BC. I don’t get it.

—I can’t believe what we witnessed at the end of the first half. More of the same atrocious clock management at the end of regulation. Have all three timeouts to use on defense, and the game might not have gone to OT.

—Tackling was atrocious, although on the long QB keeper in the first quarter the refs missed a blatant hold/hook at the line of scrimmage. I don’t understand how a defense can be so dominant for long stretches and then suffer the lapses it does. Second-and-16 can’t become third-and-1. Second-and-28 can’t become third-and-12.

—Shoutout to Eddie Kelly for dropping the QB for the 3-yard loss on first-and-10 at the 12. No way Vandy throws it on second down if it picks up any yardage on that play. Which means the offensive PI never happens.

—Based on the lack of success in short yardage, we’re lucky the game didn’t get to a third OT.

—I’ll say this about Craig. He made a FG when they needed him to. That said, who else was holding their breath on the extra point in the first OT?

—Bauer continues to deliver.

—Manning is going to block a punt sometime soon. He was close a couple of times.

—Finally, a shoutout to the crowd. It made a huge difference, especially when things looked bleak. What an electric atmosphere. You could feel it on TV.

Has to remove Brady Cook designed runs from the playbook. They just don't work.

I think Cook is an extremely overrated runner. I think when the play breaks down, yes, Cook can run and he has enough speed and athleticism to get you a first down and more. But he's not a Kelly Bryant or Diego Pavia type where he should be getting designed runs. He takes forever to turn upfield and he constantly runs right into the backs of his blockers. His vision isn't very good on these runs.

I just don't see the reason to do them unless it's a fake toss on the goal line or something like that.

Last night was bad...like really bad. Inexplicably, they won the game but it was certainly not a very enjoyable win (at least from my couch). The post-game presser from Drink seemed more like he was addressing a loss.

Maybe this very poor performance will force the offensive staff to adjust some of what they are trying to do. Run more, play action...simplify what they are asking Cook and the OL to do. Figure out what they can consistently execute and ride that.

On defense they just need to get the dbs to stop going brain dead once a game or so.

We've all seen teams use a loss to develop a renewed sense of energy and focus in past seasons. Maybe the team can use this win(that feels like a loss) to do the same.

The team pouring onto the field like we just beat Georgia was pathetic.

Isn't walking into the building this week. Nobody from last year's team do we miss more than him. Drink has preached about his OL depth. Well this week should be the time to see what you have in practice. I'd at the very least open up the LT position. Find your best 5 and maybe shuffle some positions. We had some guys getting ragdolled last night.

I'm not letting Brady off the hook. I'm not pretending that he wasn't objectively below average last night and hasn't regressed from a season ago. I just don't like what I'm seeing from our OL either.

Norfleet is averaging 3.9 yards a reception. With all the weapons we have on our offense ( Burden, Wease, Speedy, Noel) Kirby can't figure out how to free Norfleet or a TE?

We are way too easy to defend against right now.

I think it's time for one of our experienced guys on offense to call a players only meeting. The play across the board is not up to par.

ku started the season as a ranked team and a media darling as a dark horse to win the Big 12 and make the CFP. Jaylon Daniels was being mentioned as a Heisman candidate. The statue was already being built for Lance Leipold as the second coming of Bill Snyder. ku is 1-3 with losses to Illinois, UNLV, and West Virginia. They are likely not making a bowl game.

k-state was the favorite to win the Big 12 and make the CFP. Avery Johnson was being compared to Michael Vick. Kleiman is constantly slobbered over as a great coach that can do no wrong. k-state is 3-1, but 1-1 in Big 12 play after getting destroyed by BYU. k-state, and especially Avery Johnson, exhibited a complete lack of poise and discipline against BYU. Horrible coaching and QB play.

To my point, Drink and Brady Cook deserve every bit of the criticism that they are receiving on PowerMizzou and other media.

But, which HC and QB will get the most criticism in the KC media this coming week?

Will Leipold and Klieman continue to be anointed as the second coming while Drink gets crucified?

Will Brady Cook take more criticism than Jaylon Daniels and Avery Johnson in the biased kc media?

What say you @stevenstjohn ?

Discuss

A lot of talk about talent and regression. Honestly feels like a bad case of the yips. Pretty much everyone except Noel has been making dumb mental errors. Penalties, throw timing, missed assignments, muffed kicks… that’s all mental stuff.

This team seems to let mistakes get under their skin. You can tell because the mistakes are never consistent. They have a tendency to spiral. BC was a hiccup, this was near disaster. Full confidence in the talent on this team - including cook. But they need a short memory.
Need to forget this game, and the game against BC. Stop looking at the rankings. Don’t think about expectations, playoffs or the heisman. Dont kill yourselves trying to course correct. just simmer down, keep doing the prep and get into a rhythm.

Credits Vandy for being a tough opponent.

Really proud of his team for never folding. Called the crowd unbelievable and called them the difference.

Didn't have close to our best game and they kept fighting.

Called Cook efficient and 1-0 in the SEC.

They said they're going to trust Blake Craig. Told him he can't get too high and can't get too low.

He said the end of the first half was his fault and the team bailed him out.

Said the bottom line is the ball has to go in between the uprights. He's not frustrated with Craig.

He told Craig to stop showing emotional responses.

Called Nate Noel a special player and that the team has to finish drives for him.

Called that first TD given up by the defense just a bad play. He alluded to the secondary having their eyes in the backfield.

Thought the tackling angles were poor and thought the offense didn't do enough to force Vandy to do something besides running an option.

Doesn't know why Cook didn't have a great day running the ball but blames it on his playcalling.

Marquis Johnson has an ankle injury. It's not significant. The bye week will be clutch.

Not concerned about TXAMU right now. He wants to focus on all the flaws his team has. Says it all starts with him being better.

Yeah, it’s Vandy, and they’ll likely only win 4 or 5. But they’re better than typically.

Consider: James Madison, the Dukes, in just their third season in FBS, put up 53 in the first half in Chapel Hill and throttled Mack Brown and the Tar Heels 70-50. The Heels were 3-0 and 8-5 last year and 9-5 the year before. They’re a solid P4 who got absolutely bulled by a tiny program. Lesser teams can rise up on any day

Not enough has been said about this, but I was really impressed. This was the biggest question mark for me going into the season and it feels like they haven’t missed a beat. I also like how they’ve added a new dimension in the passing game.

Reading the web and newspapers this AM, it appears we have a very resilient team.

* kicker missed a few easy ones but kicked the winner
* Brady struggled but was clutch in OT
* Defense is playing well besides an odd breakdown
* Replaced Cody’s production
* 2 TDs from Luther shows we are involving him nicely
* Eli out coached a very good coaching staff and is now 5-0 versus Vandy

Overall, pretty positive little weekend we had here.

I don’t think we have to worry about other programs trying to steal our coach now!

Beat No.23 Northern Illinois earlier. That's good for Mizzou. They actually may be a solid team

1. The defense has been good not great even with 2 shutouts.
2. Coaching could be much better after yesterday.
3. Running offense has been very good.
4. Passing offense has been lacking for several reasons including QB and receivers. See below.
5 . Lack of passing both mid to deep allows teams to stack the line limiting effectiveness of entire offense. Have to stretch the field to open up 3 and 4 above
.

Just beat 3-0 Michigan State