After each Mizzou game, we look at three things we learned, two we still don't know and make a prediction. Here's the 3-2-1 from the loss to Tennessee.
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Damarea Crockett is a bona fide star. He now has 1,062 yards for the season. That's a freshman record. He has 10 touchdowns. That's a freshman record. He is 12th on the single season yardage chart. His 225 yards on Saturday were the second-most against Tennessee and the eighth-most in Tiger history. He's on pace to break Henry Josey's school record of 6.7 yards per carry with at least 150 carries (Crockett is at 6.9). That enough for you? The kid's a star.
2. The defense needs the offseason. It wasn't just the scheme. It isn't just the injuries. This Missouri defense just played a large part in losing a game by 26 points in which the offense put up the second-most yards in school history (740) and set a record for first downs (41). The offense wasn't perfect and the kicking game contributed to the issues, but they all took a backseat to a Missouri defense that was torched on the ground and in the air by the Volunteers, led by Josh Dobbs' 413 total yards and five total touchdowns. That side of the ball needs a complete and total reset no matter who's in charge or what system he wants to run.
3. Missouri makes WAY too many mistakes. Well, let's be honest, we already knew that. But for the second time this season, Mizzou was caught with 12 men on the field on fourth down, prolonging an opposing drive that ended in points (Odom said he tried to call timeout, but didn't get it called before the flag). The Tigers make terrible mistakes at the wrong time. They can't tackle. They're good for at least two turnovers every week. And the coach either didn't consult his "when to go for two" chart or he needs a new one. Missouri compounds the number of mistakes it makes by making them at the worst possible times and then being unable to overcome them.
TWO QUESTIONS WE HAVE
1. How did it go so bad so fast on defense? Yes, the scheme change was a terrible idea. Yes, the injuries are piling up. But Missouri quite simply has gone from one of the best defenses in the country to one that looks hapless. The Tigers are getting torched downfield. They can't tackle. They commit bad penalties. What happened? It's the great mystery of the 2016 season.
2. Who comes back? There are six days left in the season. Missouri isn't going to talk about it, but we are. The major question now--with even a 5-7 APR bowl bid out of the picture--is who's on board next year? How many transfer and which ones? What moves are made on the coaching staff? These questions aren't going to have answers for weeks or months, but make no mistake, they're the only questions that really matter right now.
ONE BOLD PREDICTION
Crockett is going to finish as Missouri's all-time leading rusher. Honestly, maybe it's not that bold. He's less than a quarter of the way through his career and almost exactly a quarter of the way to Brad Smith's 4,289 yards on the ground. This has come on 153 carries. Smith had 799 carries in his career. If Crockett gets 25 next week, he'll end the season with 178, on pace for more than 100 fewer than Smith. He figures to get more and more work as his career goes on. In the first five games of the season, he had just 40 carries. In the last six games, he has 817 yards on 113 carries.
