I would be remiss if I didn't start this the same way Eli Drinkwitz started his postgame press conference: The fact that we were able to play a football game today is a huge victory. Six weeks ago, I certainly didn't think we'd get to this point. It was a little bit weird, especially walking to the stadium and not seeing hardly anyone on campus or in the parking lots, but I thought having the crowd there was made a huge difference versus having no crowd, and obviously it was a lot of fun just to watch a live football game. I haven't heard any reports of issues with the crowd or anything like that, so that's great.
As for the game, it was pretty much what you might have expected. You never really thought Missouri had a chance to win, but they made a respectable showing. I've never really been one for moral victories, but having the team fight back and make it close, even if it's against backups, is certainly better than the alternative. And we saw that alternative too many times last season, where the team took a punch and just folded. So that's progress. That said, I'm not going to put too, too much stock in what we saw in the fourth quarter, either. Alabama had pulled their most important players at that point. I still think the pass rush needs to be way better and I still think the offensive line needs to be better, even if both looked better toward the end.
Here's just a few quick notes and observations:
-- As far as I could tell, the only somewhat relevant players who weren't present were Drake Heismeyer and Daniel Hawthorne. The team wouldn't confirm that they're in quarantine, but I'm confident both are. So the seven players out really didn't end up being a big deal at all.
-- Drinkwitz said Jarvis Ware's injury is not thought to be serious. That would be good for Missouri, because without him they don't have a lot of experience at all there.
-- The quarterback play was so-so. Shawn Robinson admitted after the game he needed to cut out some of the bad decisions and throw the ball away sooner, which I agree with. I thought he pretty much played as advertised: made some really impressive throws and some really inaccurate ones. He'll need to be more consistent, but I'm definitely willing to give him time to get there since this was his first game in almost two years. I fully expect him to start moving forward.
-- Even after not practicing much, Damon Hazelton was heavily involved in the passing game. If the drops are just a function of rust, he could be a valuable player for Mizzou. Jalen Knox looked very good in his new role. Keke Chism didn't quite live up to the hype, and what I found most interesting was he scarcely hid his displeasure afterward, saying "I can't throw the ball to myself." He doesn't seem like the type of kid to cause locker room issues, but at least something to keep an eye on moving forward.
--I thought the offensive line certainly got outplayed, especially in pass protection, but Drinkwitz was actually pretty complimentary of them after the game. I think that shows that he really did not have high expectations for that group coming into this game. He also said that the lack of deep shots was more a game-planning/play-calling error than worry about the line holding up.
-- The pass rush is definitely a concern. Trajan Jeffcoat actually looks like the best pass-rusher Missouri has despite not playing football for more than a year, which I guess can be kind of a good and bad thing. On one hand, he should get better as he gets back into game shape. On the other, if he's your best guy right now, the other guys aren't very good. I need to see more push from the DTs, especially Kobie Whiteside
-- I'm not judging the secondary yet. This was a brutal matchup, especially when Jarvis Ware went down, and extra especially when the pass-rushers couldn't get any pressure. You just can't ask any college DB to cover the likes of Jaylen Waddle for more than about three seconds.
I know we've all been starved for football and the instinct is going to be to draw a bunch of conclusions from this game because it's all we have, but I just don't think that's fair quite yet, no matter which way you want to spin it. There was plenty to be worried about and enough to be optimistic about. I think the next three weeks, against two teams that are suddenly looking to be more middle-of-the-pack in the SEC plus Vanderbilt, will give us a better idea. I also think this team is going to keep growing and gelling and showing us new things as they get more reps together, or at least they should. I know it's no fun to not have a hot take, but hey, we got to watch real football today, let's just be happy with that.
As for the game, it was pretty much what you might have expected. You never really thought Missouri had a chance to win, but they made a respectable showing. I've never really been one for moral victories, but having the team fight back and make it close, even if it's against backups, is certainly better than the alternative. And we saw that alternative too many times last season, where the team took a punch and just folded. So that's progress. That said, I'm not going to put too, too much stock in what we saw in the fourth quarter, either. Alabama had pulled their most important players at that point. I still think the pass rush needs to be way better and I still think the offensive line needs to be better, even if both looked better toward the end.
Here's just a few quick notes and observations:
-- As far as I could tell, the only somewhat relevant players who weren't present were Drake Heismeyer and Daniel Hawthorne. The team wouldn't confirm that they're in quarantine, but I'm confident both are. So the seven players out really didn't end up being a big deal at all.
-- Drinkwitz said Jarvis Ware's injury is not thought to be serious. That would be good for Missouri, because without him they don't have a lot of experience at all there.
-- The quarterback play was so-so. Shawn Robinson admitted after the game he needed to cut out some of the bad decisions and throw the ball away sooner, which I agree with. I thought he pretty much played as advertised: made some really impressive throws and some really inaccurate ones. He'll need to be more consistent, but I'm definitely willing to give him time to get there since this was his first game in almost two years. I fully expect him to start moving forward.
-- Even after not practicing much, Damon Hazelton was heavily involved in the passing game. If the drops are just a function of rust, he could be a valuable player for Mizzou. Jalen Knox looked very good in his new role. Keke Chism didn't quite live up to the hype, and what I found most interesting was he scarcely hid his displeasure afterward, saying "I can't throw the ball to myself." He doesn't seem like the type of kid to cause locker room issues, but at least something to keep an eye on moving forward.
--I thought the offensive line certainly got outplayed, especially in pass protection, but Drinkwitz was actually pretty complimentary of them after the game. I think that shows that he really did not have high expectations for that group coming into this game. He also said that the lack of deep shots was more a game-planning/play-calling error than worry about the line holding up.
-- The pass rush is definitely a concern. Trajan Jeffcoat actually looks like the best pass-rusher Missouri has despite not playing football for more than a year, which I guess can be kind of a good and bad thing. On one hand, he should get better as he gets back into game shape. On the other, if he's your best guy right now, the other guys aren't very good. I need to see more push from the DTs, especially Kobie Whiteside
-- I'm not judging the secondary yet. This was a brutal matchup, especially when Jarvis Ware went down, and extra especially when the pass-rushers couldn't get any pressure. You just can't ask any college DB to cover the likes of Jaylen Waddle for more than about three seconds.
I know we've all been starved for football and the instinct is going to be to draw a bunch of conclusions from this game because it's all we have, but I just don't think that's fair quite yet, no matter which way you want to spin it. There was plenty to be worried about and enough to be optimistic about. I think the next three weeks, against two teams that are suddenly looking to be more middle-of-the-pack in the SEC plus Vanderbilt, will give us a better idea. I also think this team is going to keep growing and gelling and showing us new things as they get more reps together, or at least they should. I know it's no fun to not have a hot take, but hey, we got to watch real football today, let's just be happy with that.
