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Mizzou Game Day Countdown: Week 3 vs. Abilene Christian

Missouri (1-1) followed a solid week one win over Louisiana Tech with a dud, losing 40-12 on the road in Manhattan, Kansas to Kansas State. This week, the Tigers will have a chance to put a game in the win column versus another team that wears purple and is also called the Wildcats in Abilene Christian (2-0).

In this first-time matchup between the pair, the Tigers will be looking to exert their dominance and get some momentum heading into conference play in week four against Auburn.

Our game day preview will look at the five matchups to watch, four Mizzou players to keep an eye on, three keys to the game, two questions that need to be answered and a prediction of who will win.

Kickoff Information

Time: 11 a.m.

Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

TV: SECN+ (Courtney Lyle, Dave Steckel)

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, Howard Richards, Chris Gervino)

Spread: Missouri -34.5

Series history: N/A


Mizzou Injury Report

QB Brady Cook: Probable

LB Chad Bailey: Probable

OL Xavier Delgado: Questionable

WR Demariyon Houston: Out

DL Ky Montgomery: Out

WR Chance Luper: Out

OL Hyrin White: Out

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Typically, we'd come out with five matchups to watch but we don't know if there are legitimately five matchups to watch. Cook isn't going to face a defense that he hasn't seen before and there is not an Abilene Christian player that would be classified as a game wrecker.

4 Players to watch

1.) Brady Cook

Cook will be under a microscope as long as he continues to start. Being the quarterback alone will make him a player to watch every week but after his last start saw him get benched he will need a game to not only boost confidence in himself but boost the confidence of the coaching staff and fan base in believing he should continue to start.

No one will reward Cook or the Tigers for having a dominant performance versus an FCS team but they will question him and the team if they play mediocre or flat out lose. Like many players this week, Cook doesn't have too much to gain but he has almost everything to lose.

2.) Luther Burden III

Burden has eight touches for 52 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on the season. Two of those touches came against Kansas State for nine scrimmage yards. His touches should only be going up week to week. Not to mention, as dynamic as a kick and punt returner the five-star prospect proved to be in high school, he hasn't fielded a punt or kickoff return this season.

Before the season there was a fear (among fans) that Burden would be getting force-fed the ball, and now that couldn't be further from the truth. Drinkwitz said it himself on Tuesday, that he has to do a better job of designing more plays to get him touches. So, anything short of 10 touches is a problem versus an FCS team.

3.) The entire Tigers' tight end position.

It feels like this position group has been good for getting its cardio in, and that's about it. Through two games the tight ends haven't really made a noticeable (positive) impact of any kind. Starting tight end Tyler Stephens first touch as a Tiger resulted in a fumble in week one. He somewhat made up for it by recording a 28-yard reception the next drive but since then the tight end group has been M.I.A.

A tight end is usually a safety blanket, especially for inexperienced quarterbacks. Whether it's Stephens or Kibet Chepyator, you'd like to see one of these players make a play which would also open up the offense.

4.) Sam Horn and other freshmen.

If there was a game on the schedule that said "talent show" or "open tryouts" this would be the one. Horn obviously has the most intrigue being that he is a four-star quarterback, and has the physical makeup of an SEC quarterback. Will he or any other freshman get the chance to play? Maybe, if the game is decided by halftime or during the third quarter.

Everything Drink wants to do here should be unveiled on Saturday. Whether that is getting some of his playmakers the ball more or seeing what he has talent-wise with his new players.

If not too many backups or freshmen see the field one could believe that the game is closer than anticipated (which is not good) or that Drinkwitz believes the players in the current rotation need more reps going into conference play.

3 Missouri keys to victory  

1.) Get the running game going. Running backs Nathaniel Peat, Cody Schrader and Elijah Young combined for 21 rushes and 32 yards. Now, Peat did have a loss of 15 yards on one play but that was largely because he had no place to go. If the offensive line can't create running lanes versus Abilene Christian it's going to be a long season. The run game opens up the passing game, so the Tigers should put up almost 500 yards of total offense and that becomes more likely when the offense doesn't have to accumulate all the yards one specific way.

2.) Get Burden involved. This was mentioned above. Drinkwitz should get the program's first five-star since 2012 the ball as much as possible, early and often. If Burden gets 10 or more touches before halftime and the team is up big then he could sit out a large part of the second half and get some rest before facing Auburn next week.

3.) Force turnovers and three and outs. Abilene Christian quarterback Maverick McIvor is the true definition of a gunslinger. He is not afraid to throw the ball over the top of the defense -- even if that means getting intercepted three times like he did last week versus Prairie View A&M. If Abilene Christian is able to muster up a good drive in the first quarter it will be okay. Every team has 15 designed plays to start the game (yes, even bad or overmatched teams) but after that McIvor should be under so much duress that he is either getting sacked, throwing the ball away or turning over the ball.

2 questions that need answering

1.) How many new plays, packages and players will Drinkwitz show this week?

Again, this would be the week for the Tigers to answer so many questions about themselves. Not too many people expected the Tigers to lose like they did last week and now it's up to the Tigers to figure out some of those problems. They won't be able to fix all of their problems this week against an overmatched opponent but they can try and fix some. Will Drink show some new personnel packages or plays to get some more players (the tight end group) involved or at least get some of the better and or proven players the ball more (Burden, Tauskie Dove, Dominic Lovett, etc.)? Will Drink play a lot of freshmen (Sam Horn in particular)?

2.) Is the offensive line capable of holding up?

This may be a silly question this week but there's a reason the phrase "any given Saturday" exists. The fact that after the Tigers rushed for over 330 yards versus Louisiana Tech and Drinkwitz said that most of the yardage was because of the running backs were making defenders miss and getting yards after contact is alarming.

Again, the Wildcat defense the Tigers see this week is likely lightyears behind the Wildcat defense they saw last week but they have to show some signs of consistency going forward.

The offensive line's play is just as detrimental to the team as the defensive line's play last season. If the offensive line can't build resistance in pass block and they can't make any holes in the run game in week three then getting to 6-6 is more of an uphill climb than people may think.

Predictions

Jarod: For as bad as the Tigers looked in Manhattan they're still an SEC team with far superior talent than that of Abilene Christian. Anything more than 14 points allowed and a 30-point win may bring on some questions. I think they avoid those questions with a lopsided 56-6 win.

Gabe: There's no world in which this game should be close. In some situations, you might see Mizzou let off the gas in the third quarter. Coming off a brutal loss, Eli Drinkwitz needs to get his team some confidence, whether it's real or not. I don't see the Tigers letting up much in this one. I'll take Mizzou 66-13

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