Just going to jump around a bit as I re-watch the game, and will post different thoughts, musings, questions as I go through. Some weeks, I'll look for one specific trend or area, but in a game against an FCS opponent, I'm just going to focus mainly on the first half in a general sense.
1. First thought, from Missouri's first defensive series on a third-down play. Tigers have a two-man line, and then bring a ton of pressure from the right side, against the left tackle/guard. Looks, to me, like Missouri blitzes the stand-up end, an outside linebacker and a corner on a delayed blitz, with Anthony Sherrils walking up close to the LOS. It's really interested to see what Missouri does with this group of linebackers, especially when there's a two or three-man line.
2. I'm wondering if Missouri will go back to more read-option players to help the ground game. On their first series, Missouri runs an outside stretch twice. The first is to Russell Hansbrough -- the play where he's injured -- and he's fast enough to get past Chad Meredith, who is an outside linebacker. The play leaves Meredith unblocked, and he narrowly misses getting Hansbrough at the LOS, but again, Hansbrough's power and explosion are enough to make him miss.
The next time they run that play, with Ish Witter? Not so much. Meredith is again unblocked, and Witter isn't fast enough to the hole before Meredith -- showing great pursuit -- drops him for a loss. Leaving a guy unblocked on that play puts the burden on the running back to hit a hole fast, and Witter doesn't show the explosion you'd want to make it work.
3. A lot of smash-concept in the passing game throughout the first half. That's where the outside receiver runs a hitch route, turning back to the LOS after a few yards, and the slot receiver runs a corner route. Against a team like SEMO, with smaller, slower defensive backs, it definitely makes sense, because it can isolate Nate Brown against either a nickel back, safety or linebacker, and Brown is big and fast enough to beat anyone on SEMO in single coverage.
That's what happens on Brown's two catches on the second drive, including the touchdown catch. Brown is in the slot, with no one on him. Moore is out wide, with a CB on him.
Here's a look at the first set on Brown's first catch, at the snap:
Brown is in the slot at the bottom. Just a safety back, who gets isolated and Brown beats him.
Here's the touchdown catch. This time, there's a nickelback on Brown, but no safety help over the top. Jason Reese actually goes into motion from an H-back position, bringing a defender with him. It shows that there's likely man-coverage on Brown, who is the easy read on this play:
Here's a look after Reese goes into motion. At the snap, the deep safety closest to the near sideline also runs toward the line of scrimmage -- doesn't look like a blitz, just a bad read. Either way, easy touchdown for Brown:
4. On Missouri's fourth drive, it ended with an intentional grounding call on Maty Mauk. Nothing Mauk could have really done on that play. Morgan Steward missed a block up the middle, and Alec Abeln didn't sustain his block. It's either a sack or an intentional grounding there, so Mauk did a good job just not forcing something downfield.
5. Moving ahead to Drew Lock's first series for Mizzou, the first offensive series of the second quarter. I love the first play call, to get the jitters out of the way -- motion Culkin from right to left, have him leak past the line of scrimmage to the sideline. Quick throw, easy completion, and the first one is out of the way for the freshman.
After a short run by Witter, third down comes up for Lock. They run pretty much the same play as first down -- Culkin motions, J'Mon Moore runs a post. This time, a defender steps up to take Culkin. Lock stands tall, waits for separation by Moore, and throws right before getting hit. Nice thrown, 22-yard completion. Pretty mature play for a young player.
Next play, looks like Missouri runs another smash concept. Brown, again, is left in one-on-one coverage, Lock makes the read and another 20-plus yard completion.
(Interesting aside -- at this point, by my tally, every single Missouri completion has been to the left side of the field.)
Lock's first incompletion is on a speed-option fake. But, SEMO gets easy pressure as Lock runs to his left, so he has to throw the ball early. Looks like good coverage by SEMO -- they didn't bite on the fake.
Here's a look at the sack that ended that drive and made Missouri settle for a field goal. Again, Abeln fell off his block, pressure came right up the middle and there's nothing Lock could do:
Sorry for the quality here, but you can see Abeln falling as the SEMO linemen sprints up the hash. Looks like good protection otherwise.
6. Charles Harris forces a fumble on the next SEMO series, and while it was a hell of an effort, it certainly brings up a point I made a few teams leading into this game: Missouri's defensive line needs to get much better at contain. Kentrell Brothers said it after the game, that the cut-backs were killing Mizzou (relatively, of course). Against better teams, that's going to become more of an issue, and it's something the defense has to improve on quickly.
7. I believe the staff when they say they're happy with Josh Augusta's conditioning level now. Augusta nearly forces a fumble (the ball carrier was down) on a run up the middle, about seven yards from the LOS, and he showed some pretty crazy speed and athleticism for a guy his size. He's also playing a large chunk of snaps, something we didn't see last season.
8. Kenya Dennis had some issues (again, relatively) on Paul McRoberts, especially when McRoberts juked a few times. Dennis is a physical guy, so if he doesn't get his hands on a big, fast WR off the line, it presents some problems.
9. Thought Ian Simon (quietly) had a very nice day. Made a great play after Bender got hit with intentional grounding late in the second half. There was a screen pass, much of the front seven was fooled, and Simon got to the line, got off a block and made an ankle tackle.
10. Odom seems to be a bit more aggressive in using his cornerbacks -- not necessarily in press coverage all the time, but moving Dennis and Penton around, getting them close to the box and allowing them to help in run support and blitzes. Dennis had a sack in the first quarter on a well-timed blitzed from out wide. Against a team like SEMO, which is using a lot of motion and misdirection, that's a pretty smart move.
11. Final stat line doesn't look great, but I thought Ish Witter showed something to build on with the first series of the third quarter. Looked MUCH more decisive. He said he had to be more patient after his freshman year, but there's got to be a happy medium between patience and decisiveness. Hopefully Witter can continue to find that.
12. On the illegal touching on Sean Culkin -- he certainly was out of bounds, but it looks like it could have been PI on the linebacker, who had some heavy petting on Culkin in the endzone.
MISSOURI 34, SEMO 3: FINAL GRADES AND THOUGHTS
(Instead of grading each position group or each side of the ball, I'm going to break it down a little differently.)
PASSING OFFENSE: B
I thought Missouri's quarterbacks were fine. Upon rewatching the game, outside of two forced throws (one of which was intercepted), I thought Mauk played better than I did watching the game live. Missouri's pass blocking left something to be desired, and SEMO was able to get pressure up the middle, especially when over the left guard position. But, with Drew Lock's play factored in, it was a solid day for the passing game. The receivers looked explosive, but there were some drops and routes (a few times) were cut short.
RUSHING OFFENSE: C
Boy. Just not a good day. Even upon re-watching the game, I couldn't tell if the blame falls more on the offensive line or the running backs. Either way, without Russell Hansbrough, there just doesn't seem to be much explosion and decisiveness with the running backs. You have to wonder if/when the quarterback rushing game will come back
PASSING DEFENSE: A
Not too much to complain about. There were some lapses on McRoberts (and many of them didn't matter, as Bender couldn't find him) but when you hold a team to under 100 yards passing, you get an A in my book. Only two sacks, but I thought the pressure was solid all day.
RUSHING DEFENSE: B
Really, it's just containing on the cut backs. That can be corrected, and it makes sense with a relatively new defensive line and some early-season over-eagerness. But up the middle, Missouri was strong, and that bodes well.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
Fatoney looked great on punting, and solid on kick-offs outside of the one out-of-bounds kick. Aarion Penton looked a little shaky on punt returns, and he admitted as much after the game. Coverage, outside of one good kick return by SEMO, was fine. Baggett made both his field goals. The blocked punt and return by Penton boost this grade, too.
1. First thought, from Missouri's first defensive series on a third-down play. Tigers have a two-man line, and then bring a ton of pressure from the right side, against the left tackle/guard. Looks, to me, like Missouri blitzes the stand-up end, an outside linebacker and a corner on a delayed blitz, with Anthony Sherrils walking up close to the LOS. It's really interested to see what Missouri does with this group of linebackers, especially when there's a two or three-man line.
2. I'm wondering if Missouri will go back to more read-option players to help the ground game. On their first series, Missouri runs an outside stretch twice. The first is to Russell Hansbrough -- the play where he's injured -- and he's fast enough to get past Chad Meredith, who is an outside linebacker. The play leaves Meredith unblocked, and he narrowly misses getting Hansbrough at the LOS, but again, Hansbrough's power and explosion are enough to make him miss.
The next time they run that play, with Ish Witter? Not so much. Meredith is again unblocked, and Witter isn't fast enough to the hole before Meredith -- showing great pursuit -- drops him for a loss. Leaving a guy unblocked on that play puts the burden on the running back to hit a hole fast, and Witter doesn't show the explosion you'd want to make it work.
3. A lot of smash-concept in the passing game throughout the first half. That's where the outside receiver runs a hitch route, turning back to the LOS after a few yards, and the slot receiver runs a corner route. Against a team like SEMO, with smaller, slower defensive backs, it definitely makes sense, because it can isolate Nate Brown against either a nickel back, safety or linebacker, and Brown is big and fast enough to beat anyone on SEMO in single coverage.
That's what happens on Brown's two catches on the second drive, including the touchdown catch. Brown is in the slot, with no one on him. Moore is out wide, with a CB on him.
Here's a look at the first set on Brown's first catch, at the snap:
Brown is in the slot at the bottom. Just a safety back, who gets isolated and Brown beats him.
Here's the touchdown catch. This time, there's a nickelback on Brown, but no safety help over the top. Jason Reese actually goes into motion from an H-back position, bringing a defender with him. It shows that there's likely man-coverage on Brown, who is the easy read on this play:
Here's a look after Reese goes into motion. At the snap, the deep safety closest to the near sideline also runs toward the line of scrimmage -- doesn't look like a blitz, just a bad read. Either way, easy touchdown for Brown:
4. On Missouri's fourth drive, it ended with an intentional grounding call on Maty Mauk. Nothing Mauk could have really done on that play. Morgan Steward missed a block up the middle, and Alec Abeln didn't sustain his block. It's either a sack or an intentional grounding there, so Mauk did a good job just not forcing something downfield.
5. Moving ahead to Drew Lock's first series for Mizzou, the first offensive series of the second quarter. I love the first play call, to get the jitters out of the way -- motion Culkin from right to left, have him leak past the line of scrimmage to the sideline. Quick throw, easy completion, and the first one is out of the way for the freshman.
After a short run by Witter, third down comes up for Lock. They run pretty much the same play as first down -- Culkin motions, J'Mon Moore runs a post. This time, a defender steps up to take Culkin. Lock stands tall, waits for separation by Moore, and throws right before getting hit. Nice thrown, 22-yard completion. Pretty mature play for a young player.
Next play, looks like Missouri runs another smash concept. Brown, again, is left in one-on-one coverage, Lock makes the read and another 20-plus yard completion.
(Interesting aside -- at this point, by my tally, every single Missouri completion has been to the left side of the field.)
Lock's first incompletion is on a speed-option fake. But, SEMO gets easy pressure as Lock runs to his left, so he has to throw the ball early. Looks like good coverage by SEMO -- they didn't bite on the fake.
Here's a look at the sack that ended that drive and made Missouri settle for a field goal. Again, Abeln fell off his block, pressure came right up the middle and there's nothing Lock could do:
Sorry for the quality here, but you can see Abeln falling as the SEMO linemen sprints up the hash. Looks like good protection otherwise.
6. Charles Harris forces a fumble on the next SEMO series, and while it was a hell of an effort, it certainly brings up a point I made a few teams leading into this game: Missouri's defensive line needs to get much better at contain. Kentrell Brothers said it after the game, that the cut-backs were killing Mizzou (relatively, of course). Against better teams, that's going to become more of an issue, and it's something the defense has to improve on quickly.
7. I believe the staff when they say they're happy with Josh Augusta's conditioning level now. Augusta nearly forces a fumble (the ball carrier was down) on a run up the middle, about seven yards from the LOS, and he showed some pretty crazy speed and athleticism for a guy his size. He's also playing a large chunk of snaps, something we didn't see last season.
8. Kenya Dennis had some issues (again, relatively) on Paul McRoberts, especially when McRoberts juked a few times. Dennis is a physical guy, so if he doesn't get his hands on a big, fast WR off the line, it presents some problems.
9. Thought Ian Simon (quietly) had a very nice day. Made a great play after Bender got hit with intentional grounding late in the second half. There was a screen pass, much of the front seven was fooled, and Simon got to the line, got off a block and made an ankle tackle.
10. Odom seems to be a bit more aggressive in using his cornerbacks -- not necessarily in press coverage all the time, but moving Dennis and Penton around, getting them close to the box and allowing them to help in run support and blitzes. Dennis had a sack in the first quarter on a well-timed blitzed from out wide. Against a team like SEMO, which is using a lot of motion and misdirection, that's a pretty smart move.
11. Final stat line doesn't look great, but I thought Ish Witter showed something to build on with the first series of the third quarter. Looked MUCH more decisive. He said he had to be more patient after his freshman year, but there's got to be a happy medium between patience and decisiveness. Hopefully Witter can continue to find that.
12. On the illegal touching on Sean Culkin -- he certainly was out of bounds, but it looks like it could have been PI on the linebacker, who had some heavy petting on Culkin in the endzone.
MISSOURI 34, SEMO 3: FINAL GRADES AND THOUGHTS
(Instead of grading each position group or each side of the ball, I'm going to break it down a little differently.)
PASSING OFFENSE: B
I thought Missouri's quarterbacks were fine. Upon rewatching the game, outside of two forced throws (one of which was intercepted), I thought Mauk played better than I did watching the game live. Missouri's pass blocking left something to be desired, and SEMO was able to get pressure up the middle, especially when over the left guard position. But, with Drew Lock's play factored in, it was a solid day for the passing game. The receivers looked explosive, but there were some drops and routes (a few times) were cut short.
RUSHING OFFENSE: C
Boy. Just not a good day. Even upon re-watching the game, I couldn't tell if the blame falls more on the offensive line or the running backs. Either way, without Russell Hansbrough, there just doesn't seem to be much explosion and decisiveness with the running backs. You have to wonder if/when the quarterback rushing game will come back
PASSING DEFENSE: A
Not too much to complain about. There were some lapses on McRoberts (and many of them didn't matter, as Bender couldn't find him) but when you hold a team to under 100 yards passing, you get an A in my book. Only two sacks, but I thought the pressure was solid all day.
RUSHING DEFENSE: B
Really, it's just containing on the cut backs. That can be corrected, and it makes sense with a relatively new defensive line and some early-season over-eagerness. But up the middle, Missouri was strong, and that bodes well.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
Fatoney looked great on punting, and solid on kick-offs outside of the one out-of-bounds kick. Aarion Penton looked a little shaky on punt returns, and he admitted as much after the game. Coverage, outside of one good kick return by SEMO, was fine. Baggett made both his field goals. The blocked punt and return by Penton boost this grade, too.
