1. Nate Noel is the new bell cow.
I don’t think anyone would say Cody Schrader was the most talented Mizzou player last year, but he was the most effective. He finished third in the FBS in rushing with a Mizzou single-season rushing record of 1,627 yards to go with 14 touchdowns.
However, Luther Burden was the team’s most talented player last year and he’s the most talented player this year, but maybe Missouri needs to follow last year’s formula.
Mizzou was running to pass. Schrader helped open up the pass. Through the first four games of the season, Mizzou has been passing more, and it’s easy to see why. It has a deep receiving room with plenty of weapons, but the run game is the answer. Particularly, Nate Noel.
Noel was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after racking up 24 carries for a career-high 199 yards.
You may be wondering, how is Mizzou not exploring the run enough when Noel has 46 rushes over the last two weeks?
The answer is he should have closer to 60 attempts. He’s been Mizzou’s most consistent offensive player this season. He’s the one who got the offense going versus Boston College and Vanderbilt when the passing wasn't making anything happen early on.
He's fifth in the nation in all-purpose yards with 475. Noel can do it all.
This doesn’t mean the Tigers should go away from the passing game completely, but Mizzou should let the run open up the pass. Plus, it may help get the offensive line in a rhythm.
The offensive line can run block. That’s not a problem, but pass blocking has been a major issue. Let them wear down the opposing defensive line so when it’s time to pass protect the group is facing a defensive line that’s more worn out.
It's not just Noel who has been a bright spot. Marcus Carroll has performed well this season, too. On the season, he has 35 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
He had his worst game of the year in Week 4, rushing the ball five times for 10 yards and a touchdown, but outside of that, he's been good.
Noel, Carroll and Jamal Roberts have combined for 623 yards and six rushing touchdowns while quarterback Brady Cook has just passed for 946 yards and four touchdowns.
Missouri should continue to feed the running backs, particularly Noel, more as the passing game finds its rhythm.
2. Brady Cook is the starting quarterback, as he should be.
I won't forget after the Buffalo game, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz talked about how some people on X told him to start Drew Pyne over Cook. He kind of laughed it off when he said that and wasn't considering it honestly. But it seems like more fans want Cook to be replaced. Not most of the fan base, but more than there were a couple of weeks ago after Buffalo, and certainly more fans than there were before the season.
For those who don't know, Pyne is 16-of-17 for 117 yards in spot duty. He also went 10-2 with Notre Dame as the starter a couple of years ago.
Cook didn't have a great game versus Vandy. Something was off for sure. He looked slow when he scrambled and on designed runs. He was hesitant with his reads and some of his throws were off-target. I asked him after the game did the field conditions have anything to do with his performance.
To paraphrase what he said, he said yes and no. The field was a little slick and because it was raining the ball was a little harder to throw but then he finished his thoughts by saying there weren't any excuses.
I appreciate the honesty. First, there aren't any excuses. It's football and they play outside. However, sometimes weather impacts the game. Do I think he's telling the entire truth? Maybe. Again, he seemed a little slow in the run game. It looked like the field was more than just slick for him. The team won't tell us if something is wrong with him physically probably. I mean, go back to the 2022 season when he played with a torn labrum for more than 95% of the snaps that season. It wasn't revealed that he had a torn labrum until after the season.
Also, he's still 4-0 this year and 15-2 in his last 17 starts. He's still completing 68.7% of his passes for 236.5 passing yards per game with four touchdowns and one interception this season.
In Week 3, versus Boston College, he helped lead the drive to seal the game. Last week in overtime, on the first play, he hit Burden for a 25-yard touchdown. He's made plays before and he will probably continue to make them. However, if you believe or hope Pyne will start over a healthy Cook, it won't happen and it shouldn't happen.
I don’t think anyone would say Cody Schrader was the most talented Mizzou player last year, but he was the most effective. He finished third in the FBS in rushing with a Mizzou single-season rushing record of 1,627 yards to go with 14 touchdowns.
However, Luther Burden was the team’s most talented player last year and he’s the most talented player this year, but maybe Missouri needs to follow last year’s formula.
Mizzou was running to pass. Schrader helped open up the pass. Through the first four games of the season, Mizzou has been passing more, and it’s easy to see why. It has a deep receiving room with plenty of weapons, but the run game is the answer. Particularly, Nate Noel.
Noel was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after racking up 24 carries for a career-high 199 yards.
You may be wondering, how is Mizzou not exploring the run enough when Noel has 46 rushes over the last two weeks?
The answer is he should have closer to 60 attempts. He’s been Mizzou’s most consistent offensive player this season. He’s the one who got the offense going versus Boston College and Vanderbilt when the passing wasn't making anything happen early on.
He's fifth in the nation in all-purpose yards with 475. Noel can do it all.
This doesn’t mean the Tigers should go away from the passing game completely, but Mizzou should let the run open up the pass. Plus, it may help get the offensive line in a rhythm.
The offensive line can run block. That’s not a problem, but pass blocking has been a major issue. Let them wear down the opposing defensive line so when it’s time to pass protect the group is facing a defensive line that’s more worn out.
It's not just Noel who has been a bright spot. Marcus Carroll has performed well this season, too. On the season, he has 35 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
He had his worst game of the year in Week 4, rushing the ball five times for 10 yards and a touchdown, but outside of that, he's been good.
Noel, Carroll and Jamal Roberts have combined for 623 yards and six rushing touchdowns while quarterback Brady Cook has just passed for 946 yards and four touchdowns.
Missouri should continue to feed the running backs, particularly Noel, more as the passing game finds its rhythm.
2. Brady Cook is the starting quarterback, as he should be.
I won't forget after the Buffalo game, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz talked about how some people on X told him to start Drew Pyne over Cook. He kind of laughed it off when he said that and wasn't considering it honestly. But it seems like more fans want Cook to be replaced. Not most of the fan base, but more than there were a couple of weeks ago after Buffalo, and certainly more fans than there were before the season.
For those who don't know, Pyne is 16-of-17 for 117 yards in spot duty. He also went 10-2 with Notre Dame as the starter a couple of years ago.
Cook didn't have a great game versus Vandy. Something was off for sure. He looked slow when he scrambled and on designed runs. He was hesitant with his reads and some of his throws were off-target. I asked him after the game did the field conditions have anything to do with his performance.
To paraphrase what he said, he said yes and no. The field was a little slick and because it was raining the ball was a little harder to throw but then he finished his thoughts by saying there weren't any excuses.
I appreciate the honesty. First, there aren't any excuses. It's football and they play outside. However, sometimes weather impacts the game. Do I think he's telling the entire truth? Maybe. Again, he seemed a little slow in the run game. It looked like the field was more than just slick for him. The team won't tell us if something is wrong with him physically probably. I mean, go back to the 2022 season when he played with a torn labrum for more than 95% of the snaps that season. It wasn't revealed that he had a torn labrum until after the season.
Also, he's still 4-0 this year and 15-2 in his last 17 starts. He's still completing 68.7% of his passes for 236.5 passing yards per game with four touchdowns and one interception this season.
In Week 3, versus Boston College, he helped lead the drive to seal the game. Last week in overtime, on the first play, he hit Burden for a 25-yard touchdown. He's made plays before and he will probably continue to make them. However, if you believe or hope Pyne will start over a healthy Cook, it won't happen and it shouldn't happen.
