That was an exciting game. If you're like me, you have some mixed emotions in terms of how the game played out, but you're certainly thrilled with the outcome.
To get this out of the way first, I don't know that you ever tip your cap to the losing team, but the Tigers came to play. There's a funny thing that happens with us fans. If our guy makes a great run, it's because he's great. If an opposing RB does, it's because we're not tackling well. If our D-Line gets pressure or stops a run, it's because they're awesome. If the other team does it, it's because our O-Line isn't playing well. Just how it goes.
Schrader is a helluva back. We got to experience what I'm sure opposing fans got totally sick of with Bennett, which is the incessant backstory talk about being a former walk on, yada yada. While we certainly didn't have our best game in terms of tackling and sound responsibility play, I gotta hand it to him.
Ditto for their front 7. Again, I'm sure there were some absolute botches on our part, but Mizzou's front really played well and gave us fits. We had trouble getting any consistency in the run game. It was true feast or famine. Way too many negative or no gains on runs, but we did make them pay with their aggressive style when we were able to create some holes.
I thought Bobo did a good job of not getting impatient and abandoning the run, though. We hit some big runs, and it kept our play action alive in terms of being a viable option and making Mizzou respect the simple notion that we might run it. I think sometimes people overemphasize the need for success in the running game to make PA effective. It's also about having just enough success and keeping the defense of the mindset that you are still going to run.
Beck was certainly a bit off his game. Some of that had to do with Missouri's ability to generate pressure. He missed a few wide open receivers (as in, he either didn't see them or didn't have time), but as he has proven many times this year, he doesn't get rattled or frustrated. It always seems to be 'next play' with him, and he delivered big time in a few key spots, both with his legs and with his arm. The deep crosser to Ladd to get us to first and goal was as good as you'll see in terms of anticipation and standing strong in the pocket. Beautiful throw.
Speaking of Ladd, dude is so clutch, and just does everything you want from a WR. The Tigers had him dead to rights on a WR screen, but he spun out of it and picked up a key 1st Down. 7 catches on 8 targets, and almost all of them were kind of 'must haves.'
Kirby, Schu, and Muschamp are still pretty darn good at making adjustments. After Brady Cook burned us several times early on with his running, particularly up the gut, we did a great job of squeezing and taking that away after the 1st/early 2nd quarter. That was, one time, aided by Jalon Walker making a shoestring tackle for no gain that likely would have gotten at least 15-20 yds.
Speaking of Jalon, he saw what I think was the most action of his career, at least in non-garbage time. He's excelling as a pass rusher, but there were several times that his speed and athleticism affected the play in a positive way for us. Glad to see him on the field more. 4 total tackles with 1.5 sacks.
For the second time this year, officiating was a complete shit show. It's rarely been good, but yesterday was on a whole other level. I'm sure Mizzou fans were upset at times, too, but the PI against Humphrey was complete poppycock (the official started reaching for his flag even before contact was remotely initiated). I really thought the referee or back judge might convince him to pick it up, but no such luck. The missed facemask on Delp was, likewise, a horrible no call. How do you miss that?
In other weirdness, how about the two snaps late in the game that Cook was absolutely not ready for, but that went right into his gut and he was able to secure it? You see snaps like that from time to time, but they typically result in a much worse outcome for the offense. Hinky.
The secondary definitely gave up some plays, which is going to happen, but I'm not going to pout too much when Burden and Wease combine for 8 catches on 17 targets. The Tigers and Kirby Moore absolutely tried to get the ball to their top two playmakers in the passing game, and while they obviously won a few times, that really wasn't a poor performance overall. Again, Cody Schrader was the true catalyst for their offense.
JDJ was having a damn fine game, notching 6 solo tackles (7 total) and making a key stop before apparently fracture his radius or ulna, not sure which. Hope he can 'go clubbing' in a few weeks. But, next man up and/or team effort will suffice as always. CJ Allen and a by-committee situation should hopefully fill in until he's back. But, he's the QB of the defense and a leader, so that will be a big loss as well.
Will be interesting to see how we rotate Everette and Humphrey. Everette gets picked on a bit, but he's really good at covering the bigger WRs in the league. Struggles more with the smaller, quicker guys. Humphrey seems a bit better suited for those. I got real, real scared when Lassiter came up lame. Looks like he'll be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he works his way into the first round of the draft (may depend on his 40 time among other things). He had as many passes defended as he did tackles (2 apiece), if that tells you anything. There were a couple of busts, and hard to tell on first viewing whose fault it may have been.
The 385 yds of total offense the Dawgs managed represented the lowest output of the season (386 vs. Ball St, but that was odd, as we had many a short field). You can bet opposing defenses will be studying the hell out of yesterday's game. Serve is to you, Bobo.
Woodring continues to impress. The last FG (47 yds, so no gimme) was bigger than big. The swing of being up 6 or 9 can't be overstated in terms of importance and taking pressure off the defense. Went from having a TD get you beat, to just making sure you don't allow an easy big play.
Overall, it was a great win. Missouri looked to be every bit the #12 ranked team in the CFP rankings. With just a couple exceptions, we are not the smothering, go for the knockout in the first 30 minutes type of team this year. That's OK. It does give you a bit of concern, though, because obviously in close games, a fluky play or bad call can get you beat. But, this team continues to show that they are unflappable, and fully expect to win. Getting a game sealing first down, score, stop, or turnover has become commonplace, and while can't say I knew we had it the whole time, I'm slowly getting to a place of having full confidence we will make 'the play' when needed.
On to Ole Miss, and it's gonna be huge. The Rebels may have lost a bit of urgency after LSU's loss to Bama, but they will absolutely be ready to give us our best shot. One of these days, we'll win a game without ever trailing, but just keep winning, and I'll be a happy lil' camper.
To get this out of the way first, I don't know that you ever tip your cap to the losing team, but the Tigers came to play. There's a funny thing that happens with us fans. If our guy makes a great run, it's because he's great. If an opposing RB does, it's because we're not tackling well. If our D-Line gets pressure or stops a run, it's because they're awesome. If the other team does it, it's because our O-Line isn't playing well. Just how it goes.
Schrader is a helluva back. We got to experience what I'm sure opposing fans got totally sick of with Bennett, which is the incessant backstory talk about being a former walk on, yada yada. While we certainly didn't have our best game in terms of tackling and sound responsibility play, I gotta hand it to him.
Ditto for their front 7. Again, I'm sure there were some absolute botches on our part, but Mizzou's front really played well and gave us fits. We had trouble getting any consistency in the run game. It was true feast or famine. Way too many negative or no gains on runs, but we did make them pay with their aggressive style when we were able to create some holes.
I thought Bobo did a good job of not getting impatient and abandoning the run, though. We hit some big runs, and it kept our play action alive in terms of being a viable option and making Mizzou respect the simple notion that we might run it. I think sometimes people overemphasize the need for success in the running game to make PA effective. It's also about having just enough success and keeping the defense of the mindset that you are still going to run.
Beck was certainly a bit off his game. Some of that had to do with Missouri's ability to generate pressure. He missed a few wide open receivers (as in, he either didn't see them or didn't have time), but as he has proven many times this year, he doesn't get rattled or frustrated. It always seems to be 'next play' with him, and he delivered big time in a few key spots, both with his legs and with his arm. The deep crosser to Ladd to get us to first and goal was as good as you'll see in terms of anticipation and standing strong in the pocket. Beautiful throw.
Speaking of Ladd, dude is so clutch, and just does everything you want from a WR. The Tigers had him dead to rights on a WR screen, but he spun out of it and picked up a key 1st Down. 7 catches on 8 targets, and almost all of them were kind of 'must haves.'
Kirby, Schu, and Muschamp are still pretty darn good at making adjustments. After Brady Cook burned us several times early on with his running, particularly up the gut, we did a great job of squeezing and taking that away after the 1st/early 2nd quarter. That was, one time, aided by Jalon Walker making a shoestring tackle for no gain that likely would have gotten at least 15-20 yds.
Speaking of Jalon, he saw what I think was the most action of his career, at least in non-garbage time. He's excelling as a pass rusher, but there were several times that his speed and athleticism affected the play in a positive way for us. Glad to see him on the field more. 4 total tackles with 1.5 sacks.
For the second time this year, officiating was a complete shit show. It's rarely been good, but yesterday was on a whole other level. I'm sure Mizzou fans were upset at times, too, but the PI against Humphrey was complete poppycock (the official started reaching for his flag even before contact was remotely initiated). I really thought the referee or back judge might convince him to pick it up, but no such luck. The missed facemask on Delp was, likewise, a horrible no call. How do you miss that?
In other weirdness, how about the two snaps late in the game that Cook was absolutely not ready for, but that went right into his gut and he was able to secure it? You see snaps like that from time to time, but they typically result in a much worse outcome for the offense. Hinky.
The secondary definitely gave up some plays, which is going to happen, but I'm not going to pout too much when Burden and Wease combine for 8 catches on 17 targets. The Tigers and Kirby Moore absolutely tried to get the ball to their top two playmakers in the passing game, and while they obviously won a few times, that really wasn't a poor performance overall. Again, Cody Schrader was the true catalyst for their offense.
JDJ was having a damn fine game, notching 6 solo tackles (7 total) and making a key stop before apparently fracture his radius or ulna, not sure which. Hope he can 'go clubbing' in a few weeks. But, next man up and/or team effort will suffice as always. CJ Allen and a by-committee situation should hopefully fill in until he's back. But, he's the QB of the defense and a leader, so that will be a big loss as well.
Will be interesting to see how we rotate Everette and Humphrey. Everette gets picked on a bit, but he's really good at covering the bigger WRs in the league. Struggles more with the smaller, quicker guys. Humphrey seems a bit better suited for those. I got real, real scared when Lassiter came up lame. Looks like he'll be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he works his way into the first round of the draft (may depend on his 40 time among other things). He had as many passes defended as he did tackles (2 apiece), if that tells you anything. There were a couple of busts, and hard to tell on first viewing whose fault it may have been.
The 385 yds of total offense the Dawgs managed represented the lowest output of the season (386 vs. Ball St, but that was odd, as we had many a short field). You can bet opposing defenses will be studying the hell out of yesterday's game. Serve is to you, Bobo.
Woodring continues to impress. The last FG (47 yds, so no gimme) was bigger than big. The swing of being up 6 or 9 can't be overstated in terms of importance and taking pressure off the defense. Went from having a TD get you beat, to just making sure you don't allow an easy big play.
Overall, it was a great win. Missouri looked to be every bit the #12 ranked team in the CFP rankings. With just a couple exceptions, we are not the smothering, go for the knockout in the first 30 minutes type of team this year. That's OK. It does give you a bit of concern, though, because obviously in close games, a fluky play or bad call can get you beat. But, this team continues to show that they are unflappable, and fully expect to win. Getting a game sealing first down, score, stop, or turnover has become commonplace, and while can't say I knew we had it the whole time, I'm slowly getting to a place of having full confidence we will make 'the play' when needed.
On to Ole Miss, and it's gonna be huge. The Rebels may have lost a bit of urgency after LSU's loss to Bama, but they will absolutely be ready to give us our best shot. One of these days, we'll win a game without ever trailing, but just keep winning, and I'll be a happy lil' camper.
