Missouri's 30-27 upset win over No. 15 Kansas State will live in the hearts and minds of many Tigers' fans for the foreseeable future, but for head coach Eli Drinkwitz and Mizzou (3-0) that game is already on the back burner and they've set their sights on its Week 4 opponent, the Memphis Tigers (3-0).

"I think we took advantage of the opportunity that was presented to us. But to live in the past is to die in the present," Drinkwitz said. "It's only going to matter if we continue to put our best foot forward this week and focus on this week's opponent, and we got to move on. You know, it was good. You know, enjoy the moment, be present, but you can't live in the past."

Memphis, led by head coach Ryan Silverfield, is coming off a 28-24 win over Navy in Week 3. When the Tigers of Memphis face the Tigers of Missouri, the former will enter the game averaging 40 points per game while also boasting the nation's seventh-ranked defense, the No. 1 pass defense and is tied for 11th in takeaways.

When it comes to playmakers, Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan and running back Blake Watson were players Drinkwitz said the team has to key in on Saturday, and that to go 4-0 they'll have to up the ante versus Memphis at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

"They have a tremendous quarterback that I think plays at a really high level in Seth Henigan," Drinkwitz said. "Again, he's a three-year starter, a freshman All-American and when you got a really good quarterback and solid defense and confidence, you have a good football team. We're going to have to play better than we played on Saturday in order for us to have an opportunity to win this game. So we really got to play in focus this week.

"I think Blake Watson, who's a transfer from Old Dominion, (is) very dynamic (and) has game-changing (and) game-breaking speed," Drinkwitz said. "He's rushed the ball really well. I think that's helped in their pass attack. Obviously, (when) they're running the ball that well you have to commit a different style to stop it, and it creates one-on-one matchups."

Henigan has completed 71% of his passes for 791 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions this season, and in Week 3, he completed 23-of-35 passes for three total touchdowns and an interception. Meanwhile, Watson rushed the ball 10 times for 169 yards and a touchdown, including a pair of 69-yard runs.

It's also important to note that Watson has had four receptions or more in all three games this season, so he's someone who can also spark the passing game.

True freshman safety Marvin Burks alluded to this matchup being something he and the defense are comfortable with because a lot of what Memphis runs personnel-wise is what they see in practice.

"Because they run a lot of offense that we've seen. A lot of 11 personnel, so it's nothing too crazy," Burks said. "Not a lot of offset stuff, unbalanced. And you know, everything that they run we kind of see within our offense due to the spring, fall and everything like that. So I feel like our defense is going to be up to the task for that."

On offense, Missouri running back Cody Schrader said the team will have to essentially have a taste of its own medicine.

This offseason, Mizzou has said that its new offense has a lot of uniqueness in the sense that it has a lot of plays out of the same formations.

Schrader said Memphis does the same thing on defense.

"I think they disguise coverages really well. I think they bring different blitzes and disguise blitzes well,” Schrader said. “They make you think they're doing one thing when really they're doing the other, so just really sticking to our rules (and) sticking to our game plan is going to be huge for us. No matter the looks that they give us, we trust in the coaches and the play call and just have confidence out there."

Quarterback Brady Cook appeared to have sprained his knee around the 4:25 mark of the second quarter versus Kansas State, and now the team is calling it a hyperextension and that he’s day-to-day.

Cook finished the game last Saturday and completed 14-of-22 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown after the injury. Drinkwitz ruled him out of Tuesday’s practice, but he was in attendance wearing his typical green non-contact jersey with shorts.

He did what he could and was seen throwing passes to receivers in drills that allowed him to be stationary.

Cook proved his mental and physical fortitude last season by playing with a torn labrum in his right throwing shoulder from Week 2 through the team's Gasparilla Bowl appearance in late December before undergoing offseason surgery.

So, his status for Week 4 will probably be questionable when the team's injury report is released later in the week, but if he doesn't play, it might come as a mild surprise.

"I just felt my foot get caught in the turf and then my knee just kind of locked out. I honestly don't know," an unphased Cook said in his postgame presser on Saturday. "I'd have to go watch it. It happened so fast, but we'll see. It's all good.

"We talked about this last year. I think it would have to be like a broken leg or broken shoulder (for him to come out of the game permanently)."

Cook did miss two plays after suffering the knee injury, and Sam Horn was the one to replace him. So, if Cook can't go on Saturday, Horn will likely start in his place.

Marcellus Johnson replaced Cam'Ron Johnson in the starting lineup at right guard on Saturday, but the former left the game with 34 seconds left in the second quarter and didn't return.

"And really similar to Brady, there is no structural damage in his ankle," Drinkwitz said. "But he will be out today (Tuesday) for practice and will be reevaluated on Thursday to see what his status will be for the game."

Marcellus is also day-to-day.

Drinkwitz also said Marcellus, who served as the team's swing tackle for the first couple of games, was "playing really well" before his injury, and his PFF College grade backs that up, at least in pass protection.

So far this season, he has the team's highest pass-blocking grade at 80.7.

Team captain and MIKE linebacker Chad Bailey made his season debut versus Kansas State and played 23 snaps after being limited throughout fall camp and missing the first two games with a soft tissue injury.

Chuck Hicks, who started the team's first two games, got the start over Bailey in Week 3 and played 49 snaps.

Drinkwitz said that Bailey gave them about as much as they were expecting out of him and that his reps will go up as the season continues.

"It's about what we expected out of Chad. And we anticipate hopefully getting that (his snaps) up a little bit more, but we can't throw him out every single play” Drinkwitz said. “Not from a conditioning standpoint or a functional ability standpoint.”

He also said Hicks' play allows them to bring back Bailey at a steadier pace, and is a benefit to the linebacker unit to have another player be able to relieve Bailey and Ty'Ron Hopper of some snaps.

“Chuck has played really well, and Chuck has a good feel for our defense. And really, for us to be the best defense that we can be, we need three or four linebackers rotating consistently so that we're playing fresh,” Drinkwitz added. “And we missed that quite a bit last year. We were planning two guys 60-plus snaps a game. Ultimately, we'd like that to be more of a 40-30 split."

Burks was the team's crown jewel of the 2023 recruiting class.

The four-star Cardinal Ritter safety was an early enrollee and got a little bit of a headstart by participating in spring ball. Since then, teammates and coaches have raved about Burks and what his potential is.

Even before the start of fall camp, defensive coordinator Blake Baker named Burks the backup to free safety Jaylon Carlies. This is after the Tigers returned eight starters and brought in a couple of veteran safety transfers in former Florida Gator Tre'Vez Johnson and Florida State Seminole Sidney Williams.

However, the young St. Louis native is taking in being around the vets and soaking up whatever knowledge he can from them.

"I love all those guys in the safety room because they play a big part in why I'm in position to go out there and play fast and successful when I am on the field,” Burks said. “So, ever since I came here, they've always given me advice on how to study and watch film and learn the playbook. So, I love those guys a lot."

Well, in Week 1, he applied some of those film habits he learned and showed why he has ascended the depth chart so quickly by registering a sack, and now he's a significant part of the team's special teams units, including being the team's starting kickoff returner.

"(I'm) really proud of Marvin. He's a four special teams starter for us, which is hard to do as a true freshman," Drinkwitz said after the win over Middle Tennessee State.

It hasn't been easy, though. Just like almost every other freshman, there's been an adjustment period for Burks.

Just a year ago, Burks was a dazzling four-star Rivals 250 player who was almost always the best and most athletic player on the field. Now, he realizes how big the talent gap is from high school to college.

"(The) physicality. I know in high school I was able to just run through guys (and) just hit them," Burks said. "And now, there's more technique to it. Like, you've got to take the proper angles and you still got to be flying. You can't come up, you know, jogging. Guys (are) running, 20-21 mph.

"I've never seen that before. You know in high school, guys are barely cracking 18 mph. So, now you have a lot of guys who are 210-215 (pounds), who are running 20 miles per hour. So, you got to come with your stuff and compete, (and) that's something that I pride myself on competing every day."

Even though Burks has only played 27 defensive snaps this season, he's still managed to record four tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.

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