On the final play of the first quarter, it looked like Missouri might have finally found a spark. The Tigers had been badly outplayed by No. 21 Tennessee to that point, with the Volunteers out-gaining them 167 to 13 in total yardage, but linebacker Nick Bolton had just jarred the ball free from Tennessee running back Eric Gray. Safety Martez Manuel picked it up and returned it to the Tennessee side of the field, potentially positioning Missouri to tie the game at seven points apiece.
Instead, a personal foul penalty on the Tigers gave Tennessee the ball at the Missouri 20-yard line. The very next play, Gray found a hole on the right side of the line of scrimmage and cruised, untouched, into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown. The score gave Tennessee a two-touchdown lead that it would not relinquish. It also summed up the day for a Missouri defense that got dominated at the point of attack, surrendering 232 rushing yards in a loss that drops the team to 0-2 under new head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
Drinkwitz seemed at a loss in trying to explain why the Volunteers were so successful on the ground, repeatedly saying he would have to watch the tape. But he acknowledged that the Tigers needed to be better at the line of scrimmage, which seemed to be the root cause. The team’s senior-laded defensive line routinely got driven backward, giving Tennessee’s one-two tailback punch plenty of room to operate.
“We gotta stop people, gotta make tackles,” Drinkwitz said. “I mean, we can’t give up 10-yard gains on second down. They were four-for-four on fourth down. I think all of them were quarterback sneaks. We gotta be better in the trenches, and we gotta be better on defense."
Tennessee’s offensive line has never been short on talent, and it got even more prior to Saturday’s game, when the SEC granted a waiver to Georgia transfer Cade Mays, making him eligible. The Vols’ starting line featured two former five-star and three four-star recruits. But Missouri’s defense, and particularly its defensive line, were thought to be the strength of the team entering the year. The Tigers have five seniors on the defensive front.
Tennessee clearly won the battle of the line of scrimmage, however. Gray rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown, while fellow tailback Ty Chandler racked up 90 yards and a score. The Volunteers had eight rushes gain 10 yards or more. Taking away sacks and kneel-downs, they averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The Missouri defense only allowed more rushing yards twice last season, in losses to Kentucky and Wyoming.
Bolton attributed the issues to missed gap assignments and getting out-physicaled at the point of attack.
“We just gotta maintain gap integrity throughout the game,” he said. “I felt like we got out of our gaps a couple of times, that kind of led to some big runs. But other than that, we just gotta be assignment sound, stay in our gaps, be physical at the line of scrimmage.”
Tennessee’s rushing success led to two issues for the Tiger defense. One, it rarely put quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who has been turnover-prone at times during his college career, in positions where he might force a throw. After taking an early lead, the Volunteers largely succeeded in milking the game clock and keeping Missouri from capturing momentum with a turnover. Second, the early-down success of the Tennessee running game put its offense in manageable third- and fourth-down situations, where its line excelled.
Getting off the field has now been a problem for Missouri in consecutive weeks. Alabama converted nine of 14 third down opportunities in the season-opener. Tennessee wasn’t quite as successful, but a week after going 1-12 on third downs, the Volunteers moved the chains on six of 13 opportunities. After four of the stops, head coach Jeremy Pruitt opted to keep his offense on the field. Tennessee converted all four, all of which were short-yardage situations.
“Those are momentum-killers, right there,” Drinkwitz said of the conversions, “and we gotta figure out how to be better.”
Bolton believes the solution to playing better defense against the run will be limiting “mental mistakes” and executing better. He acknowledged that, given the number of potent rushing attacks left on Missouri’s SEC-only schedule, doing so will be vital. If an offense gets its rushing game going like Tennessee did Saturday, the job becomes harder for the entire defense.
“It’s always hard to stop an offense when they can be able to beat you in the pass game and the run game,” Bolton said. “Defensively, we pride ourselves on stopping the run, so in order for us to be successful on defense, we have to stop the run early and often.”
Bazelak takes over, looks good at QB
Missouri’s offense certainly wasn’t immune from blame for the team’s slow start. The Tigers gained just one first down in the first quarter. Their first two drives of the game netted nine total yards. Starting quarterback Shawn Robinson completed just one of four passes, which went for no gain.
As a result, with the team already trailing 14-0, Drinkwitz turned to redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak to start the second quarter. Bazelak played a possession in the second quarter last week, and he didn’t clarify after the game whether he would have entered the game at that point regardless of the score, but he instantly infused some life into the offense, leading them on a 65-yard field goal drive. After that, Bazelak remained in the game, playing every snap behind center.
Bazelak mostly impressed, although he did throw one costly interception in Tennessee territory. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 218 yards and ran for another 11 yards, and his stat line could have been significantly better if not for a few drops. He showed poise in the face of pressure, at one point picking up a bad snap and coolly completing a pass to Keke Chism with defenders bearing down on him. His downfield passing ability, something Robinson hasn’t yet shown, appeared to open up the running game.
“I did think he played, handled himself well, handled the environment,” Drinkwitz said of Bazelak. “Other than the one decision on the interception, I thought he managed the game really well. He gave us a chance to move the ball, he made some good throws, made some good reads.”
Saturday represented the most snaps Bazelak has played in a game since his senior season of high school in 2018, but he said he wasn’t fazed by the moment, or by entering the game with a 14-point deficit.
“I was cool, calm and collected,” he said. “I don’t get very nervous. … I think the offense kind of rallies around that.”
The question now becomes how reps will be divided at the quarterback position moving forward. On both of the team’s two depth charts this season, Bazelak and Robinson have been listed as co-starters. Not surprisingly, Drinkwitz didn’t want to commit to a decision about the position in his postgame press conference.
Bazelak said that’s alright with him. He believes he’s gotten enough practice reps with the first-team offense even with Robinson starting the past two weeks, and he’ll embrace whatever role he’s given.
“I think really, both of us, we really just want what’s best for the team, and we want to win,” said Bazelak. “That’s the bottom line. We don’t really care who’s out there playing quarterback. Obviously we’d both love to be out there winning games, leading the offense, but if it’s Shawn, then I’m going to support him and try to win games, and I’m sure he would do the same.”
Offense struggles to finish drives
Once Bazelak entered the game, Missouri succeeded in moving the ball against Tennessee’s defense. The Tigers gained 335 yards across the final three quarters, and five out of seven drives reached Tennessee territory. Yet those five possessions resulted in just one touchdown. After the game, Drinkwitz and his players all pointed to red zone execution as an area that needs to improve.
“We gotta put points on the board in the red zone,” Bazelak said. “That’s what we focused on all week, and three points isn’t enough down in the red zone. We gotta score touchdowns and can’t turn the ball over.”
Running back Larry Rountree III summed up the issues that kept the Tigers from scoring more points as “self-inflicted wounds.” Drops, in particular, proved costly. On Bazelak’s first drive, slot receiver Jalen Knox dropped a pass that would have moved the Tigers inside the five-yard line and might have resulted in a first down. Later, Dominic Gicinto got behind the defense but appeared to trip and couldn’t haul in a Bazelak deep ball that very well could have resulted in an 84-yard touchdown.
Drops were an issue for Missouri’s receivers against Alabama, as well, especially early in the game. Asked how that can be fixed, Drinkwitz said “I don’t know, but we’ve got to address it.”
“Four big drops, two on third downs, one for an explosive play that would have been big for us,” Drinkwitz said. “One was a third down that led to a field goal, the other was a drive that had a chance to be a touchdown. … I mean, we can’t drop the football.”
Bazelak’s interception also brought a drive that crossed midfield to a fruitless end. He tried to loft a pass for Daniel Parker Jr. on an out route but underthrew it, and Tennessee safety Theo Jackson undercut the pass. Bazelak said he never saw Jackson on the play.
“He made a great play on it, and I never really saw him until he picked it off,” Bazelak explained. “So that’s on me. I gotta verify that there’s a guy there, and I underthrew it a little bit. … That’s just another mistake in the red zone that can’t happen.”
One silver lining for Missouri from the loss was that true freshman kicker Harrison Mevis remained perfect on the season, making both of his field goal attempts, one from 50 yards out. But Rountree stressed that settling for field goals once the team crosses midfield won’t get it done against SEC competition.
“I would say what it takes to be successful, is — I’m not being funny or nothing — but you gotta have some pride in yourself and grab (your) nuts and know that you’re going to score,” he said. “Like, ‘we came down in the red zone, and we’re going to score.’
“We have to execute. When we get in the low red, we have to execute. I can’t count how many times we were in the red zone today and we didn’t. We only scored once. That’s not good enough.”
Williams starts over Gillespie
There did not appear to be any surprise inactives on the Missouri roster due to COVID-19 quarantines, but an unexpected starter did take the field with the first-team defense.
Redshirt freshman Jalani Williams got the start at boundary safety in place of senior Tyree Gillespie. Drinkwitz said Gillespie had been away from the team due to a family issue for much of the week, which gave Williams the majority of the practice reps. Gillespie did, however, wind up playing most of the game.
“Tyree had some personal issues this week back home with his family, and so we’re really proud and pleased that he was here this week and made it to the game,” he said.
A few other personnel notes: Redshirt sophomore Trajan Jeffcoat started the game at outside linebacker, even though the depth chart listed him as the backup to Tre Williams at the position. Jeffcoat, who didn’t play at all last season, was dismissed from the team and rejoined the roster in August, looked like the most disruptive player among the front four, logging a sack and a tackle for loss among his three tackles. Fellow sophomore Isaiah McGuire drew the start on the opposite end of the defensive line, at defensive end, in place of Chris Turner. McGuire recorded three tackles, including his first career sack. Finally, redshirt freshman Ishmael Burdine made his first career start in place of the injured Jarvis Ware at cornerback. Ware injured his knee in the first quarter against Alabama and was listed by the team as “day-to-day” leading up to Saturday but did not suit up for the game.
