Mizzou 3-2-1: Missouri State
After each game, we take a look at what we learned, what we still don't know and make a prediction going forward. Here is the 3-2-1 report from a worrisome 72-43 season opening win over Missouri State.
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Those who projected this offense as the best in the SEC may have been on to something. Now yesterday's performance was against a middle-of-the-road FCS team so that should be taken in to consideration. But the numbers this offense has put up since back-to-back bad showings against the talent laden defenses of Florida and LSU have been pretty staggering. Over the last seven games Missouri has averaged 559 yards per game. The low during that period was 386 yards against Kentucky. The Tigers only had one other game during that stretch when they didn't eclipse 400 yards. That was when they amassed 399 against Arkansas. Points haven't been as easy to come by however. Mizzou is averaging 35 points per game over their last seven contests. But nearly half of those points came in two games. The opponents in those games were Middle Tennessee and Missouri State. Against the five SEC programs they played over that stretch the Tigers averaged 26 points per game. With the way the defense looked against the bears that'll need to increase to win games.
2. This defense has a lot of the same problems we saw last season. At times there were signs of life from Barry Odom's unit, but overall it was a dreadful performance. Miscommunication. Missed tackles. Mistakes on all three levels. Did I miss anything? Rashad Brandon was a bright spot at defensive tackle and should start from now on. Cale Garrett and Terez Hall also had multiple plays where they looked like they knew what they were doing. Kaleb Prewett played okay in his first game as a Tiger. Terry Beckner started slow, but made some positive plays in the second half. Fellow knee injury survivor Markell Utsey looked as if he was still feeling his way back from the injury. DeMarkus Acy and Cam Hilton both had games they would love to forget. The defensive ends played and that's about it. Jordan Ulmer made some nice plays in his first start, but also had moments where it was easy to tell he is a true freshman. Jerod Alton, Adam Sparks, Chris Turner, Kobie Whiteside, Joshuah Bledsoe, Nate Anderson, Tre Williams, Jamal Brooks and Walter Palmore all got their first action as Tigers too. Some showed flashes of potential. Others not so much.
3. Tucker McCann has a more mental toughness than many have given him credit for. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Ben Hochman called it. When Tucker McCann stepped up to the ball on his first extra point attempt less than a minute into the game, Hochman projected a miss. And after last years struggles, when that first kick went off the upright you could almost hear what everyone in Faurot Field was thinking. "Not again." Then the following kick-off sailed out-of-bounds and you could just imagine all the expletives that people where making up to describe their emotions at that moment. But to McCann's credit he bounced back. He did boot one more kick-off out-of-bounds, but he made all the rest of his extra points (most looking like they went right down the middle) and he drilled his only field goal attempt from 35 yards. Additionally, nearly all of his kick-offs that stayed in bounds ended up as touch backs. The leg has always been there for McCann. He can kick the crap out of a football. Can he execute when it's crunch time though? We still don't know, but yesterday was a positive in my mind.
TWO QUESTIONS WE STILL HAVE
1. Where is the pass rush going to come from? Missouri State was getting rid of the ball quickly on pass plays, but more pressure has to be applied by this defensive line against a team like the Bears. There were miss-matches in the Tigers favor at every position. Or at least there should have been. Mizzou finished the game with four sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hurries. We mentioned Rashad Brandon earlier. He was clearly the most disruptive player on the defensive line. Even when he wasn't making the play he was impacting what Missouri State was doing. Terry Beckner, Kobie Whiteside and Walter Palmore got in the backfield occasionally. Markell Utsey was mostly a non-factor. The top three defensive ends where Marcell Frazier, Jordan Harold and Chris Turner. Frazier finished with half a sack and a half a tackle-for-loss. Harold had one tackle-for-loss. Between the three of them they made five tackles. Nate Anderson didn't play until late in the game, but he did record one sack in limited action. That type of production may earn him more snaps next week. Tre Williams stepped on the field which is more than can be said for Franklin Agbasimere.
2. Who is the leader of this defense? Is it one of the seniors? Guys like Marcell Frazier, Jordan Harold, Anthony Sherrils, Eric Biesel and Logan Cheadle are playing significant snaps. Joey Burkett and Anthony Hines were also on the field a bit. Thomas Wilson has fallen out of the rotation and A.J. Logan is serving a six-game suspension. Harold is a team captain so naturally most would assume he is a guy that can rally his teammates when their play is not up to par. It didn't seem to happen against Missouri State though. Or if it did it was not effective at all. Perhaps it will fall to a underclassman. Terry Beckner and Kaleb Prewett were the first defensive players ready to answer questions from the media following yesterday's game. Regardless of who it is, someone needs to grab the reigns to this unit and make his presence felt.
ONE BOLD PREDICTION
You've probably noticed a trend this morning. Everyone is down on the defense. You know what though, I think they'll bounce back this Saturday against South Carolina despite no tangible support to back up my conclusion. Now they won't pitch a shutout or anything. But I think the blown assignments will drop drastically as well as the missed tackles. The defense will play well enough to secure a high scoring win against South Carolina, which is all that matters at this point.