After every Mizzou game, we hand out the grades position by position. Here are the marks from a 48-45 win over Arkansas.
QUARTERBACK: Drew Lock was 25-for-42 for 448 yards and five touchdowns. And yes he had two interceptions, but come on. Missouri isn't even a part of this game without him. Plus, he had at least 80 yards of dropped passes that killed drives. Plus he had a 35-yard run and almost had the game-winning score on a 13-yard scamper. FINAL GRADE: A-
RUNNING BACKS: The numbers weren't flashy, but Ish Witter was a workhorse. After the game, Barry Odom said he was a guy he would hold up as an example in the program for years to come. Thirty-nine carries for 170 yards and never a thought about turning it over. Larry Rountree III will have his day, but this is Ish Witter's time. FINAL GRADE: A-
WIDE RECEIVERS: Emanuel Hall had two huge plays, then got hurt, but Nate Brown and Dominic Collins did very nicely in his absence. Johnathon Johnson couldn't catch anything all day and then set up the game-winning drive with a spinning third down grab at midfield. And how do you even begin to assess the enigma that is J'Mon Moore? These guys don't make every play. But on Friday, they made enough. They aren't robots. The toughness to overcome mistakes shouldn't be overlooked. FINAL GRADE: B
TIGHT ENDS: Albert Okwuegbunam has caught 25 passes this year. Eleven of them have been touchdowns. My goodness this kid can play. FINAL GRADE: A
OFFENSIVE LINE: Not perfect. Maybe not great. But solid. Especially when they had to be. At crunch time, the Tigers gave Lock time to throw and Witter enough room to run. FINAL GRADE: B+
DEFENSIVE LINE: Marcell Frazier was all over the place. Terry Beckner Jr. flashed and made some plays. Overall, the line wasn't bad against the run, but they had just a handful of plays that really hurt the numbers. Frazier has a shot at league defensive lineman of the week. The rest can get better. FINAL GRADE: C
LINEBACKERS: They've been so good for the last five weeks. Not today. Not a lot of difference making plays. Too many missed tackles and runs up the middle. The three starters only combined for 13 tackles. FINAL GRADE: D
SECONDARY: Well, this was the early season secondary. Two deep throws early in the game were a sign of things to come. Adam Sparks did have an interception and Anthony Sherrils made a few plays in the second half, but this wasn't a day the secondary is going to look back on fondly. FINAL GRADE: D-
SPECIAL TEAMS: Arkansas was much better in both returns and coverage. The Tigers really weren't very good at either one. The biggest play of the game was Tucker McCann's 19-yard field goal and that counts for something, but overall, not Mizzou's strongest effort here. FINAL GRADE: C-
COACHING: This team doesn't win this game a month ago. This team probably isn't even competitive in this game two months ago. The belief Barry Odom and his staff have instilled in this group is impressive. Impressive enough we'll forgive Odom for calling a timeout about six seconds too soon on the final drive, which he admitted was a mistake after the game. "The team made me right," he said. FINAL GRADE: A
