Welcome to Four Down Territory where I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
1. How Mizzou has fared versus ranked opponents and at home recently.
On Saturday, Missouri beat then-No. 24 Boston College to get its third straight win versus a ranked opponent dating back to last season. The Tigers are also 4-2 in their last six games versus ranked opponents.
Something I've learned from these games is Mizzou has shown the ability to win in multiple ways.
Last season in Week 7, against No. 24 Kentucky, Mizzou was down 14-0 early and then went on a 38-7 run to win 38-21. Four weeks later versus No. 14 Tennessee, the Tigers ran through, around and over the Vols behind Cody Schrader's historic day. They'd win 36-7.
In the Cotton Bowl, Missouri's defense led it to a 14-3 win over No. 7 Ohio State, and then last weekend the offense and defense had a great surge after going down 14-3 versus Boston College, closing the game on a 24-7 run.
That's what I came away most impressed with. Mizzou goes down 14-3 and then scores on four straight drives while during that same stretch, the defense forced three punts and two interceptions.
If Mizzou is going to be a College Football Playoff contender it's going to have to be able to win games when it doesn't start fast like versus Boston College or against Kentucky. It must be able to dominate other good teams offensively like it did versus Tennessee, and also defeat teams like Ohio State with defense that would make a strait jacket jealous.
Also, it has to be able to protect its home field and it has. It has won its last six home games and nine of its last 10 at home.
Winning home games and winning ranked versus ranked games is what good teams do. It's what the legitimate title contenders do.
Luther Burden said he and the team felt disrespected by College GameDay not coming to this Columbia (the show went to Columbia, South Carolina in Week 3), but if the Tigers keep doing what they need to do they'll get the attention they want.
There are several things the Tigers can do to be better, but if they can continue to win in the face of adversity when they’re not playing their best ball they’ll get to where they want to be.
2. Spreading the love to the players who didn't grab the headlines on Saturday.
Burden and Nate Noel were two of Missouri's best players in Week 3 and both of them had big days. The former had six receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, while the latter had 22 carries for 121 yards.
Those two carried most of the offensive load, but there were some other players I think who did well that probably didn't get as much attention.
I think wide receivers Theo Wease and Mookie Cooper had good games with Wease getting five receptions for 53 yards, while Cooper had three receptions for 55 yards.
The latter hasn't had at least three receptions for 50 or more yards since Week 8 versus South Carolina last year. However, he did have a stretch where he recorded three receptions for 50 or more yards in five of six games from Week 3 to Week 8 of the 2023 season. If he can get back to doing that it'll elevate the offense. He's often the forgotten starter among the receivers but he's dependable.
Wease is sixth in the conference in receiving yards with 232 to go with 21 receptions. That already marks the third most receptions he's had in any one of his six seasons.
Last year, he broke out as a good complement to Burden and you can tell his rapport with Cook is getting better each week. In 2023, Wease had career highs in receptions (49), receiving yards (682) and touchdowns (six). I think he can surpass the first two stats and have a chance to get at least six touchdowns down the line.
Defensively, I think the linebacker group is playing really well this season. Corey Flagg had four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack in Week 3. If I had to pick which linebacker is playing the best it's him, but the unit as a whole has been good.
Khalil Jacobs had three tackles, a tackle for loss and did a great job spying on Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos.
Triston Newson tied with the team lead in tackles in Week 3 with five and Chuck Hicks had his best game of this young season with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass deflection.
Someone who isn't going to get many headlines is cornerback Dreyden Norwood. He allowed one reception for minus-one yard and an interception. He's been targeted seven times this season and has allowed two receptions. He doesn’t say much on and off the field and he isn’t really flashy but he gets the job done.
Also, Blake Craig was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for going 4-of-4 on his field goals from 38 (twice), 56 and 31 yards away.
3. I don't have any true ballers this week, but I do have some opinions about things around the league.
I didn't get to watch any football outside of Missouri-Boston College save for some Colorado-Colorado State action in the background as I finished up some work on Saturday evening. Honestly, I wasn't really paying attention, though. Colorado State isn't doing it for me. I can’t turn a game on and be interested in them, sorry. Colorado doesn't play great football. It feels like watching a glorified 7-on-7 sometimes and I just can’t do it.
Anyway, I don't have any true ballers that I saw with my own eyes for Week 3, but I do have a few thoughts about some SEC teams.
Vanderbilt is still Vanderbilt. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to give Vandy some flowers after it defeated Virginia Tech, but the Commodores just couldn't help themselves. They lost 36-32 to Georgia State in Week 3.
It feels like Vandy is always going multiple steps backward and every now and again, it'll take a nice leap forward before going backward again.
Florida lost to Texas A&M at home 33-20. The Aggies were playing a backup quarterback, willingly, and the Gators lost at home. Billy Napier's seat is probably boiling at this point.
Tennessee leapfrogged Mizzou in the AP poll, but I get it. The Vols had a 71-0 shutout versus Kent State, which is better than a 38-0 win over Buffalo or a 51-0 win over Murray State. They also played a 24th-ranked team this season and beat them by 41 points while Mizzou was in a game that was much tighter than it needed to be when it played a 24th-ranked opponent.
This is just one of those cases of what Tennessee did more than what Missouri didn’t.
Texas looked great with Arch Manning but it should still be Quinn Ewers' team when he's healthy, of course.
Alabama beat Wisconsin like it stole something and Georgia had a random close game with Kentucky, winning by one point. That's why the games are played on the field. A week ago, Kentucky was getting run over by South Carolina and a week later it almost knocked off the then-No. 1 team in the nation.
4. Fantasy football update.
I find it funny how you can be so excited about something for months and then it disappoints you. It's like being a kid and knowing you're going to an amusement park and then the day you finally get to go it rains.
That's how I feel about fantasy football.
My most expensive league is a dynasty league. Last week, I had the highest score for a losing team. Great. This week, same thing. I played a person who started Sam Darnold, Calvin Ridley and Brock Bowers.
First, a 97-yard touchdown pass from Darnold? Give me a break. Ridley has been super inconsistent in fantasy if you go back to last season. Bowers is a good player, but his quarterback is Gardner Minshew. The Ravens are out here getting cooked by Minshew and a rookie tight end? This is crazy. Plus, Mark Andrews is nearly useless because Lamar Jackson is looking for Zay Flowers or Isaiah Likely in the flats.
Anyway, part of the loss falls on me, though. For the second straight week, I believed Trevor Lawrence would be better and feed Christian Kirk, who is on my team, and he didn't. Kirk had one reception for minus-one yard and a fantasy score of 0.9. I have Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill and they combined for about 12 points. I know Tagovailoa got hurt but his three interceptions and propensity to not target Hill was a problem beforehand.
It was a nasty loss. It's very early on in the season, but a firesale could happen soon if I'm not .500 by Week 8.
In my second biggest league, I won to get my first win in that league. Ironically, in that league, I had Hill and Tagovailoa on draft day but I traded them and Devonta Smith for C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins and Chris Olave.
The person I made that trade with is who I beat so that was convenient. The bad news is Isiah Pacheco is going to be out most of the year and Evan Engram randomly appeared on the injury report during pregame warm-ups. My team looks like an infirmary. I've got Nick Chubb and Jonathan Brooks on IR and Jordan Addison, Engram and Pacheco are injured. I've got Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and the Bears defense on my bench. I'm getting to the point where I don't know who I want to release or if I should release anyone to get another running back. If Brooks comes back soon then I'll be good.
I'm thinking about releasing Addison, Juwan Johnson (who got zero points in place of Engram) and maybe Chubb. But we will see.
I'm now 2-0 in the PowerMizzou league, but I've also got Pacheco with Brooks on IR. It's becoming a poop show. Overall, I went 2-2 in my money leagues, but I don't feel good about the direction of my teams.
*Shakes head in disappointment.
Tell me who propelled your fantasy team to victory or how someone’s ineptitude, whether that someone is you or a player on your team, put you in the loss column.
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