1) I hate these games. There’s almost nothing to learn. Especially when you don’t see as many of the young guys as you’d like for as long as you’d like. But I’ve always said I appreciate the SEC putting meaningful games in the first month of the season. Back in the Big 12 days I felt like we wasted the whole month of September and the season never really started until week five. That’s not the case in the SEC. We get games that seem important early on. The trade off is that we get a week in November where we feel like we’re all wasting our time. Kudos to the however many people showed up. The attendance was listed was listed as 45,321. It was maybe half of that. I blame none of you. I’m impressed with those of you who did.
2) Missouri did what it should have done. I didn’t pick them to cover because frankly I wasn’t sure they could score 30 points. They did. It wasn’t an awe-inspiring effort, but it was efficient and easy. It was pretty clear about two drives in that Missouri would be able to win this game without breaking a sweat (not that anyone could possibly have broken a sweat on this night).
3) That said, this is the least explosive offense I can remember seeing. The biggest plays are either QB scrambles or jet sweeps from Luther Burden. They don’t have another runner who is capable of really busting a big play. They don’t have a quarterback who is aggressive enough/accurate enough to pick up big chunks through the air. It’s three yards and a cloud of dust and dink and dunk. It’s just what they have this year. We’ve known that for a few weeks. It’s the best way for this team to win games. You hope it’s not the best way for next year’s team to win games. Burden clearly has rare athleticism and upside. He's flashed it against subpar competition this year. The next step is to do it against good competition. I think we see a similar jump from him next year as we did Dominic Lovett this year.
I asked Eli Drinkwitz if the weather (temperature) impacted the game plan at all. He said they told the players they weren’t going to change anything they planned to do unless they figured out mid-game the weather would force them to. He said it really didn’t. Said they wanted to be aggressive and he liked the way his players handled the elements.
4) The defense was…fine. I wouldn’t say much more than that and neither did Drinkwitz. He said he didn’t think they forced a three and out all night and “they played okay.” They absolutely should hold this team down. In fact, they probably shouldn’t have given up the second touchdown. The expectation defensively against this team is dominance against someone on the level of New Mexico State. They were good tonight. They were not dominant.
5) Players who saw their first action: Sam Horn, Jalen Marshall, Xavier Simmons, Max Whisner, Marquis Gracial. I’m probably missing some. Basically everyone who had a scholarship got on the field at some point I think.
I asked Drinkwitz if getting guys in, even if it’s just for a series or a handful of plays, can help with development. He said absolutely. He then surprised me by saying he was impressed with the way a few of the guys handled it but there were quite a few that he was disappointed in. He said there were quite a few guys that he didn’t think had the right mindset or were focused enough to take advantage of their opportunities.
6) I asked him some of the guys that did stand out to him. He singled out Daylan Carnell, Jalani Williams and Jalen Marshall. That doesn’t mean the rest of the guys necessarily fall into the second camp, but those are the three that he mentioned individually.
Young guys who did flash to me: Johnny Walker was in the backfield quite a few times. Daylan Carnell isn’t exactly inexperienced, but he hasn’t been a starter most of the year and clearly will be next year.
7) So let’s talk about the Sam Horn experience. His stat line: 0/2 passing, 1 carry for 10 yards, 1 injured wide receiver. I know the deep ball to Banister that got called back probably has you all hot and bothered with visions of 400-yard games and 50 points dancing through your heads for next season. I’ll err on the side of caution. He got on the field, but I didn’t learn anything. I kind of get it. Jack Abraham put in every bit as much time and work as he did this year. And he actually has been the second-string quarterback all year. He earned the right to play at least as much as Horn did. I also understand those who are frustrated saying “What in the world is going on that he gets out there for one series and then is on the bench?” I get it. But I don’t think one or two more series was going to really change anything.
Horn deserves credit for the throw that had them at the 1 that got called back by a penalty. But he deserves blame for probably sidelining Barrett Banister next week. I think he’s the favorite to be Missouri’s starting quarterback next year. But if you saw anything tonight to tell you that’s a sure thing and he’s going to be good, you’re seeing what you want to see. I don’t know any more about Horn tonight than I did last night.
8) Injuries coming out of this one are a concern. Not sure what’s going on with Isaiah McGuire or Joseph Charleston yet. Barrett Banister sure didn’t look like a guy who’s going to be ready for the next game. Ty’Ron Hopper and Kris Abrams-Draine left as well. Drinkwitz didn’t have any update on any of them immediately after the game. I feel like most of them probably could have kept playing if needed, but that's a guess. It’s a short week. The only goal other than getting some of the young guys on the field in this game was to stay healthy. Missouri didn’t. It’s to be determined how much that will impact them next week.
9) Missouri is 5-6. It is probably headed for a bowl game regardless of next week’s outcome. If it can beat Arkansas, it should get one of the SEC’s Pool of Six bowls, I’d guess most likely in Nashville, Las Vegas or Memphis. If not, it’s likely headed for some no-name bowl against a Group of Five team.
10) Is that progress? Not to me. A 6-6 regular season is treading water. It could be worse, it could be better. Vandy and South Carolina won today so maybe those wins look a little better. The Auburn, Florida and Kentucky losses all look a little worse than they did when they happened. This team is about where it should be. They’re in the great massive middle to bottom of the SEC. I think there are four and a half good teams in this league (Ole Miss being the half). I think the other nine can be good on some days, but certainly are not consistently good. The dirty little secret is that even in this league, all you have to do is beat the other teams that are no better than average and you’re going to end up 8-4 or 9-3 pretty much every year. Missouri did not do that this year. It needs to next year.
2) Missouri did what it should have done. I didn’t pick them to cover because frankly I wasn’t sure they could score 30 points. They did. It wasn’t an awe-inspiring effort, but it was efficient and easy. It was pretty clear about two drives in that Missouri would be able to win this game without breaking a sweat (not that anyone could possibly have broken a sweat on this night).
3) That said, this is the least explosive offense I can remember seeing. The biggest plays are either QB scrambles or jet sweeps from Luther Burden. They don’t have another runner who is capable of really busting a big play. They don’t have a quarterback who is aggressive enough/accurate enough to pick up big chunks through the air. It’s three yards and a cloud of dust and dink and dunk. It’s just what they have this year. We’ve known that for a few weeks. It’s the best way for this team to win games. You hope it’s not the best way for next year’s team to win games. Burden clearly has rare athleticism and upside. He's flashed it against subpar competition this year. The next step is to do it against good competition. I think we see a similar jump from him next year as we did Dominic Lovett this year.
I asked Eli Drinkwitz if the weather (temperature) impacted the game plan at all. He said they told the players they weren’t going to change anything they planned to do unless they figured out mid-game the weather would force them to. He said it really didn’t. Said they wanted to be aggressive and he liked the way his players handled the elements.
4) The defense was…fine. I wouldn’t say much more than that and neither did Drinkwitz. He said he didn’t think they forced a three and out all night and “they played okay.” They absolutely should hold this team down. In fact, they probably shouldn’t have given up the second touchdown. The expectation defensively against this team is dominance against someone on the level of New Mexico State. They were good tonight. They were not dominant.
5) Players who saw their first action: Sam Horn, Jalen Marshall, Xavier Simmons, Max Whisner, Marquis Gracial. I’m probably missing some. Basically everyone who had a scholarship got on the field at some point I think.
I asked Drinkwitz if getting guys in, even if it’s just for a series or a handful of plays, can help with development. He said absolutely. He then surprised me by saying he was impressed with the way a few of the guys handled it but there were quite a few that he was disappointed in. He said there were quite a few guys that he didn’t think had the right mindset or were focused enough to take advantage of their opportunities.
6) I asked him some of the guys that did stand out to him. He singled out Daylan Carnell, Jalani Williams and Jalen Marshall. That doesn’t mean the rest of the guys necessarily fall into the second camp, but those are the three that he mentioned individually.
Young guys who did flash to me: Johnny Walker was in the backfield quite a few times. Daylan Carnell isn’t exactly inexperienced, but he hasn’t been a starter most of the year and clearly will be next year.
7) So let’s talk about the Sam Horn experience. His stat line: 0/2 passing, 1 carry for 10 yards, 1 injured wide receiver. I know the deep ball to Banister that got called back probably has you all hot and bothered with visions of 400-yard games and 50 points dancing through your heads for next season. I’ll err on the side of caution. He got on the field, but I didn’t learn anything. I kind of get it. Jack Abraham put in every bit as much time and work as he did this year. And he actually has been the second-string quarterback all year. He earned the right to play at least as much as Horn did. I also understand those who are frustrated saying “What in the world is going on that he gets out there for one series and then is on the bench?” I get it. But I don’t think one or two more series was going to really change anything.
Horn deserves credit for the throw that had them at the 1 that got called back by a penalty. But he deserves blame for probably sidelining Barrett Banister next week. I think he’s the favorite to be Missouri’s starting quarterback next year. But if you saw anything tonight to tell you that’s a sure thing and he’s going to be good, you’re seeing what you want to see. I don’t know any more about Horn tonight than I did last night.
8) Injuries coming out of this one are a concern. Not sure what’s going on with Isaiah McGuire or Joseph Charleston yet. Barrett Banister sure didn’t look like a guy who’s going to be ready for the next game. Ty’Ron Hopper and Kris Abrams-Draine left as well. Drinkwitz didn’t have any update on any of them immediately after the game. I feel like most of them probably could have kept playing if needed, but that's a guess. It’s a short week. The only goal other than getting some of the young guys on the field in this game was to stay healthy. Missouri didn’t. It’s to be determined how much that will impact them next week.
9) Missouri is 5-6. It is probably headed for a bowl game regardless of next week’s outcome. If it can beat Arkansas, it should get one of the SEC’s Pool of Six bowls, I’d guess most likely in Nashville, Las Vegas or Memphis. If not, it’s likely headed for some no-name bowl against a Group of Five team.
10) Is that progress? Not to me. A 6-6 regular season is treading water. It could be worse, it could be better. Vandy and South Carolina won today so maybe those wins look a little better. The Auburn, Florida and Kentucky losses all look a little worse than they did when they happened. This team is about where it should be. They’re in the great massive middle to bottom of the SEC. I think there are four and a half good teams in this league (Ole Miss being the half). I think the other nine can be good on some days, but certainly are not consistently good. The dirty little secret is that even in this league, all you have to do is beat the other teams that are no better than average and you’re going to end up 8-4 or 9-3 pretty much every year. Missouri did not do that this year. It needs to next year.
