Has Missouri become what everyone is always predicting for Kentucky?
UK is always right on the verge of becoming an SEC power. They play their creampuffs early, climb the rankings, then get exposed. They've perfected the quality of almost-tough.
But I wonder about MIssouri. We don't play them this year, which will be odd. But a Vent post a couple of days ago got me thinking about them when the poster said, "Missouri was a one-year anomaly." Really? I recalled our last minute scramble to beat them in Columbia in '22. Then I rewatched our '23 game, in which we had them in Sanford the week before we put up 52 on Ole Miss.
Missouri held us to 30 points, particularly because we had to kick a lot of field goals. Their pass coverage was tight. For most of the game, our ground game was spotty. This is another reason I thought of what Kentucky was supposed to be: Missouri was a tough, physical team that was still giving us fits in the fourth quarter, when we've usually subdued the opposition. We frankly needed a Big Man Interception late in the game to reduce the pressure. Brady Cook kept hitting 3rd and long passes to Luther Burden and Wease. And of course, Schrader had a lot to do with their success. He's not coming back.
They've averaged around #25 in recruiting rankings, but like a lot of teams, they've done well with the portal (Wease came from Oklahoma). What I see in these last two games with us is a team that is well-coached on both sides, getting the most out of what talent they have and finding a few gems like Schrader (Div. 2) and Cook (three-star prospect). I'm not surprised they're projected in the CFB playoff Year One.
UK is always right on the verge of becoming an SEC power. They play their creampuffs early, climb the rankings, then get exposed. They've perfected the quality of almost-tough.
But I wonder about MIssouri. We don't play them this year, which will be odd. But a Vent post a couple of days ago got me thinking about them when the poster said, "Missouri was a one-year anomaly." Really? I recalled our last minute scramble to beat them in Columbia in '22. Then I rewatched our '23 game, in which we had them in Sanford the week before we put up 52 on Ole Miss.
Missouri held us to 30 points, particularly because we had to kick a lot of field goals. Their pass coverage was tight. For most of the game, our ground game was spotty. This is another reason I thought of what Kentucky was supposed to be: Missouri was a tough, physical team that was still giving us fits in the fourth quarter, when we've usually subdued the opposition. We frankly needed a Big Man Interception late in the game to reduce the pressure. Brady Cook kept hitting 3rd and long passes to Luther Burden and Wease. And of course, Schrader had a lot to do with their success. He's not coming back.
They've averaged around #25 in recruiting rankings, but like a lot of teams, they've done well with the portal (Wease came from Oklahoma). What I see in these last two games with us is a team that is well-coached on both sides, getting the most out of what talent they have and finding a few gems like Schrader (Div. 2) and Cook (three-star prospect). I'm not surprised they're projected in the CFB playoff Year One.
