As always, I'll have a full ten thoughts in the morning, which I'm actually going to write after this. But here are some initial thoughts coming off of today's game:
1) Here's the way I always try to judge a football game: If you're just watching the game and you aren't emotionally invested in who wins, what do you think? What I thought today was "Damn, this is a fun game to watch." They aren't two great teams. But they are two teams that are much better than they were last year fighting their asses off with two coaches squeezing every last drop of talent they can out of their rosters. Arkansas could have quit down 13-0 early and didn't. Missouri could have quit down 40-26 late and didn't. Was it Alabama/Clemson? No. Were there things to hate about the defense or lack thereof? Yes. But that was a four-hour football game that gave you four full hours of entertainment and heart and effort. That counts for something.
2) TEAMS win games. Sure, there are individual standouts and both teams had a lot of them today. But in a year where rosters are being stretched and everyone is being tested, the groups that go to the head of the class are the ones who can get a complete team effort. For Missouri, I don't think that was ever more proven than today. There are three players in particular who exemplified it for me:
*Damon Hazelton has lost his spot. He's fallen down the depth chart. He has no equity in this program and no particular investement in Mizzou. But Tauskie Dove got banged up and Missouri needed a guy and Hazelton came through with five catches for 98 yards including the one that made me pretty certain Missouri was winning the game. His 12 yard catch took Mizzou from the 38 to the 26. At the 38, it's possible you can win the game. It's a 55-yard kick and it's no sure thing, but it's possible. At the 26, it's a 43 yard kick and Harrison Mevis has proven to be VERY good from that range.
*Tyler Badie didn't have a carry for three quarters. Larry Rountree was running really well and it was hard to argue that he shouldn't be getting the bulk of the carries and he's the second leading rusher and second leading touchdown scorer in school history so it makes sense that you'd ride him. But Badie is really good and he wasn't really a part of this game. And then they called on him and his first carry went for a 46-yard touchdown. And his fourth carry went for a 25-yard touchdown that gave Missouri the lead. Eli Drinkwitz said after the game that it's tough because there are a lot of guys that deserve the ball and guys like Badie deserve praise not just for the player he is, but for the person he is in accepting his role and being ready when called up.
*Nick Bolton was ejected (yes, I think the call was trash) and Chad Bailey replaced him and had some struggles so Jamal Brooks went in. Brooks is a guy who was a highly touted recruit for whom it's never really come together here who has mostly played on special teams. He made two HUGE plays for Missouri in the fourth quarter. And then he missed a tackle on a fourth and one (I credit KJ Jefferson for that one more than I blame Brooks) and then he dropped an interception that would have won the game and it ricocheted into the hands of an Arkansas receiver and all of a sudden he was going to be the guy whose team lost the game because he didn't either catch the ball or just bat it down. But his teammates bailed him out. First, Brooks deserves credit because he did make those earlier big plays and Missouri might not be in a position to win without him. Second, he deserves credit because of the way he responded.
Kudos. That's a kid you root for. I'd be willing to bet if he's in position to make a game-clinching play again he will do so.
3) I don't know how to process what it's like to watch Connor Bazelak play quarterback. If you just saw video of him (and honestly, limited attendance feeds into this some) you'd think he was playing catch in the back yard with his buddies rather than standing in the pocket in an SEC football game. I'm honestly not sure the guy has a pulse. He's just incredibly relaxed back there. And, so, when he gets the ball back with 43 seconds and three timeouts against a defense that hasn't really stopped him all day, you kind of think he's going to go win the game. And he did. As a true freshman. I want to be real clear here that I'm not saying Bazelak is going to become Chase Daniel. Daniel is the best quarterback in school history. But watching him in the pocket reminds me of Daniel. And watching him today reminded me of Daniel against Iowa State. That's the last time I can remember a freshman (and Bazelak played two quarters last year, he's a freshman) doing something that big in that big a moment. I don't know what the next two to four years hold for the kid. But it's hard not to be pretty excited about the possibilities.
I also don't know how to process a guy throwing for 2,000 yards in eight games...and five touchdowns. He leads them all the way there...and then lets Rountree and Badie finish it off. Doesn't matter as long as you score, just a statistical anomaly.
4) Can we go a week without firing someone mid-game? I'm not gonna try to convince you this was a good defensive effort. It wasn't. I'm not saying Ryan Walters deserves a raise or a statue on campus. He doesn't. But not every possession has to be a referendum. Sometimes you have bad days. The Missouri defense had one today. Trelon Smith and Kendal Briles and KJ Jefferson and others deserve some credit for making that happen. And Missouri deserves some blame.
But in the second half, Arkansas had seven possessions. It scored on four of them. Down 40-26, Missouri scored to make it 40-33. And the Tiger defense got consecutive stops (which made it three in four possessions) and Missouri scored twice more and the Tigers took a 47-40 lead. Again, it was not a good day for the defense. I'm 100% on board with that. But when it reached the point where the game was going to be over if the defense didn't step up, the defense stepped up a couple of times. Which was just enough times to allow the offense to win the game. Again, TEAMS win games. Missouri beat Kentucky 20-10 because the defense held the Wildcats to 36 offensive plays. And it beat South Carolina because the defense stifled the Gamecocks most of the day when the offense went into second half hibernation. And it beat Vandy in large part because the defense didn't let Vandy past the 40 yard line. TEAMS win games. Missouri's defense has won some. It needed help today. It did just enough to allow that help to win this one.
5) Eli Drinkwitz should be the SEC coach of the year. I'm going to go a lot deeper on this in ten thoughts tomorrow. But what the guy has done in a first season that could have been absolutely destroyed by COVID is remarkable. Missouri has won five out of six games. This isn't a roster totally bereft of talent, but it isn't one loaded with it either. He's taking another coach's players and getting more out of those players than the other guy did. Whatever praise you want to heap on him is deserved. Whatever level of optimism you want to feel is warranted. The guy has done everything right since he took the job. You should be excited. If you aren't, I question if you're paying attention. Or maybe you're just Connor Bazelak and you are incapable of human emotion.
1) Here's the way I always try to judge a football game: If you're just watching the game and you aren't emotionally invested in who wins, what do you think? What I thought today was "Damn, this is a fun game to watch." They aren't two great teams. But they are two teams that are much better than they were last year fighting their asses off with two coaches squeezing every last drop of talent they can out of their rosters. Arkansas could have quit down 13-0 early and didn't. Missouri could have quit down 40-26 late and didn't. Was it Alabama/Clemson? No. Were there things to hate about the defense or lack thereof? Yes. But that was a four-hour football game that gave you four full hours of entertainment and heart and effort. That counts for something.
2) TEAMS win games. Sure, there are individual standouts and both teams had a lot of them today. But in a year where rosters are being stretched and everyone is being tested, the groups that go to the head of the class are the ones who can get a complete team effort. For Missouri, I don't think that was ever more proven than today. There are three players in particular who exemplified it for me:
*Damon Hazelton has lost his spot. He's fallen down the depth chart. He has no equity in this program and no particular investement in Mizzou. But Tauskie Dove got banged up and Missouri needed a guy and Hazelton came through with five catches for 98 yards including the one that made me pretty certain Missouri was winning the game. His 12 yard catch took Mizzou from the 38 to the 26. At the 38, it's possible you can win the game. It's a 55-yard kick and it's no sure thing, but it's possible. At the 26, it's a 43 yard kick and Harrison Mevis has proven to be VERY good from that range.
*Tyler Badie didn't have a carry for three quarters. Larry Rountree was running really well and it was hard to argue that he shouldn't be getting the bulk of the carries and he's the second leading rusher and second leading touchdown scorer in school history so it makes sense that you'd ride him. But Badie is really good and he wasn't really a part of this game. And then they called on him and his first carry went for a 46-yard touchdown. And his fourth carry went for a 25-yard touchdown that gave Missouri the lead. Eli Drinkwitz said after the game that it's tough because there are a lot of guys that deserve the ball and guys like Badie deserve praise not just for the player he is, but for the person he is in accepting his role and being ready when called up.
*Nick Bolton was ejected (yes, I think the call was trash) and Chad Bailey replaced him and had some struggles so Jamal Brooks went in. Brooks is a guy who was a highly touted recruit for whom it's never really come together here who has mostly played on special teams. He made two HUGE plays for Missouri in the fourth quarter. And then he missed a tackle on a fourth and one (I credit KJ Jefferson for that one more than I blame Brooks) and then he dropped an interception that would have won the game and it ricocheted into the hands of an Arkansas receiver and all of a sudden he was going to be the guy whose team lost the game because he didn't either catch the ball or just bat it down. But his teammates bailed him out. First, Brooks deserves credit because he did make those earlier big plays and Missouri might not be in a position to win without him. Second, he deserves credit because of the way he responded.
Kudos. That's a kid you root for. I'd be willing to bet if he's in position to make a game-clinching play again he will do so.
3) I don't know how to process what it's like to watch Connor Bazelak play quarterback. If you just saw video of him (and honestly, limited attendance feeds into this some) you'd think he was playing catch in the back yard with his buddies rather than standing in the pocket in an SEC football game. I'm honestly not sure the guy has a pulse. He's just incredibly relaxed back there. And, so, when he gets the ball back with 43 seconds and three timeouts against a defense that hasn't really stopped him all day, you kind of think he's going to go win the game. And he did. As a true freshman. I want to be real clear here that I'm not saying Bazelak is going to become Chase Daniel. Daniel is the best quarterback in school history. But watching him in the pocket reminds me of Daniel. And watching him today reminded me of Daniel against Iowa State. That's the last time I can remember a freshman (and Bazelak played two quarters last year, he's a freshman) doing something that big in that big a moment. I don't know what the next two to four years hold for the kid. But it's hard not to be pretty excited about the possibilities.
I also don't know how to process a guy throwing for 2,000 yards in eight games...and five touchdowns. He leads them all the way there...and then lets Rountree and Badie finish it off. Doesn't matter as long as you score, just a statistical anomaly.
4) Can we go a week without firing someone mid-game? I'm not gonna try to convince you this was a good defensive effort. It wasn't. I'm not saying Ryan Walters deserves a raise or a statue on campus. He doesn't. But not every possession has to be a referendum. Sometimes you have bad days. The Missouri defense had one today. Trelon Smith and Kendal Briles and KJ Jefferson and others deserve some credit for making that happen. And Missouri deserves some blame.
But in the second half, Arkansas had seven possessions. It scored on four of them. Down 40-26, Missouri scored to make it 40-33. And the Tiger defense got consecutive stops (which made it three in four possessions) and Missouri scored twice more and the Tigers took a 47-40 lead. Again, it was not a good day for the defense. I'm 100% on board with that. But when it reached the point where the game was going to be over if the defense didn't step up, the defense stepped up a couple of times. Which was just enough times to allow the offense to win the game. Again, TEAMS win games. Missouri beat Kentucky 20-10 because the defense held the Wildcats to 36 offensive plays. And it beat South Carolina because the defense stifled the Gamecocks most of the day when the offense went into second half hibernation. And it beat Vandy in large part because the defense didn't let Vandy past the 40 yard line. TEAMS win games. Missouri's defense has won some. It needed help today. It did just enough to allow that help to win this one.
5) Eli Drinkwitz should be the SEC coach of the year. I'm going to go a lot deeper on this in ten thoughts tomorrow. But what the guy has done in a first season that could have been absolutely destroyed by COVID is remarkable. Missouri has won five out of six games. This isn't a roster totally bereft of talent, but it isn't one loaded with it either. He's taking another coach's players and getting more out of those players than the other guy did. Whatever praise you want to heap on him is deserved. Whatever level of optimism you want to feel is warranted. The guy has done everything right since he took the job. You should be excited. If you aren't, I question if you're paying attention. Or maybe you're just Connor Bazelak and you are incapable of human emotion.
