1. No surprise, this is a complete mismatch. Mizzou is out-gaining SEMO 458-64. The Tigers could legitimately win this game 70-0 if Eli Drinkwitz wants to (and he might considering he kept the offense on the field while in field goal range and leading 31-0). You all have my permission to watch a more entertaining game for the rest of the 11 a.m. window.
2. You don’t want to read too much into anything from this game, because SEMO is so much less talented than anyone else Missouri will play this year. But the Tigers have at least addressed the two biggest questions facing the team through two weeks. Number one on that list was the defense, which has been stout, particularly against the run. SEMO has run for 56 yards on 15 carries. The Redhawks are averaging just 3.3 yards per play and have three first downs (Mizzou has 19). I found it interesting that Kobie Whiteside didn’t play the first three series, as Darius Robinson got the start in his place. Hopefully Robinson is alright. He was leaning pretty heavily on the trainers while limping off the field. Again, I don’t want to say the defense is fixed because it shut out SEMO for a half, but that’s certainly better than the alternative.
3. On the offensive side, Eli Drinkwitz and Connor Bazelak seem to have made it a point to take some deep shots. Bazelak has missed some of those throws, but he’s hit a pair, as well. He hit Boo Smith for a 46-yard touchdown and Mookie Cooper for a 46-yard gain (from his own one-yard line). He started 10-10 but hasn’t been quite as sharp since then. I will say, he’s been hit quite a bit more than I would be comfortable with if I was Drinkwitz. He was flexing his right wrist at one point but appears to be alright since he came back into the game afterward.
4. We’ve already seen Mizzou sprinkle in some backups. It looks like BJ Harris is the third running back as of right now. Chad Bailey and Jamie Pettway have gotten some time at linebacker. Lots of younger receivers have seen the ball come their way. Boo Smith and Chance Luper each caught their first career TD and JJ Hester caught his first pass. Ten different Mizzou players have a catch already. We should see a lot more of the depth chart in the second half. Bazelak, Badie and most of the starting offensive line definitely do not need to play any more.
2. You don’t want to read too much into anything from this game, because SEMO is so much less talented than anyone else Missouri will play this year. But the Tigers have at least addressed the two biggest questions facing the team through two weeks. Number one on that list was the defense, which has been stout, particularly against the run. SEMO has run for 56 yards on 15 carries. The Redhawks are averaging just 3.3 yards per play and have three first downs (Mizzou has 19). I found it interesting that Kobie Whiteside didn’t play the first three series, as Darius Robinson got the start in his place. Hopefully Robinson is alright. He was leaning pretty heavily on the trainers while limping off the field. Again, I don’t want to say the defense is fixed because it shut out SEMO for a half, but that’s certainly better than the alternative.
3. On the offensive side, Eli Drinkwitz and Connor Bazelak seem to have made it a point to take some deep shots. Bazelak has missed some of those throws, but he’s hit a pair, as well. He hit Boo Smith for a 46-yard touchdown and Mookie Cooper for a 46-yard gain (from his own one-yard line). He started 10-10 but hasn’t been quite as sharp since then. I will say, he’s been hit quite a bit more than I would be comfortable with if I was Drinkwitz. He was flexing his right wrist at one point but appears to be alright since he came back into the game afterward.
4. We’ve already seen Mizzou sprinkle in some backups. It looks like BJ Harris is the third running back as of right now. Chad Bailey and Jamie Pettway have gotten some time at linebacker. Lots of younger receivers have seen the ball come their way. Boo Smith and Chance Luper each caught their first career TD and JJ Hester caught his first pass. Ten different Mizzou players have a catch already. We should see a lot more of the depth chart in the second half. Bazelak, Badie and most of the starting offensive line definitely do not need to play any more.
