Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ 34-24 season-opening win over Central Michigan.
Quarterback: Connor Bazelak certainly kicked off his first season-opener as the starting quarterback in style. On Missouri's first play from scrimmage, Bazelak hit Boo Smith deep down the middle of the field for a 63-yard gain. Aside from that play, he looked a lot like the Bazelak from last season. He went on to complete 21 of 31 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He made just about all the right decisions and looked crisp on short throws. He wouldn't connect on another true deep ball, although he did find Tauskie Dove for a 22-yard completion that helped set up the go-ahead field goal in the final seconds of the first half. He might have to show a bit more dynamism against SEC competition, but on a day when Missouri gashed Central Michigan on the ground, Bazelak turned in a solid performance. GRADE: B
Running backs: Entering Saturday, a popular talking point was how Missouri would replace Larry Rountree III, who averaged more than 22 touches per game last season. In his first game outside of Rountree's shadow, Tyler Badie provided an emphatic answer. Badie carried the ball a whopping 25 times for 203 yards — both career highs by a mile — and a touchdown. He became just the 12th Missouri player ever to rush for 200-plus yards in a single game. He also added three catches for 40 yards and another score. Afterward, Eli Drinkwitz admitted he didn't foresee Badie handling quite that large a workload, but he had to ride the hot hand, and Badie was on fire. Fittingly, he sealed the game with a 69-yard run in the final minutes. Add in a nice 32-yard touchdown scamper by Elijah Young, and it was an impressive showing for the Tiger tailbacks. GRADE: A
Wide receivers: Missouri showed off its depth at wide receiver, with six different wideouts catching at least one pass. Keke Chism operated as Bazelak's top target, routinely getting open over the middle of the field when Missouri needed a conversion. He and Ohio State transfer Mookie Cooper both caught four passes. Cooper failed to break free for a long gain, but he showed off some elusiveness in the open field and Drinkwitz showed that he will be a featured part of the offense. As mentioned above, Smith and Dove both got open for important grabs, and Barrett Banister did what he does and found first-down yardage on third and five with his one grab. There were definitely a few times when Bazelak couldn't find an open receiver, but the group didn't have any drops and got open enough to keep the Chippewa defense from loading the box. GRADE: B
Tight Ends: Niko Hea only recorded two catches for eight yards, but his second grab was an impressive snare over a defender for a two-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter. No surprise, Daniel Parker Jr. served primarily as a run-blocker. This is far from the flashiest position on Missouri's roster right now, but those two are more than serviceable as long as they stay healthy. GRADE: C+
Offensive line: Missouri's offensive front struggled quite a bit early but clearly improved as the game progressed. Badie ran well, but he couldn't have surpassed the 200-yard mark without the line opening up some wide holes. That said, there's clearly room for improvement, particularly at the tackle spots. Central Michigan totaled two sacks and 14 tackles for loss. GRADE: C
Defensive line: A unit that was billed as the strength of Missouri's defense largely underwhelmed. Yes, Trajan Jeffcoat had a key strip-sack and Akial Byers came through with some timely pressure, but the Tiger defensive front also got pushed around at times by Central Michigan's offensive line, resulting in some massive running lanes for the Chippewa backs. Plus, most of the pass-rush resulted more from blitzes dialed up by new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks than linemen beating the man in front of them. True freshman defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo flashed his ability and came up with a late sack and redshirt freshman Johnny Walker Jr. generated a bit of pressure, but overall Missouri will look for more from its front four as it enters SEC play. GRADE: C-
Linebackers: Blaze Alldredge's Missouri debut didn't start particularly strong, and he admitted as much after the game. Alldredge and fellow linebacker Devin Nicholson got caught out of position a few times, particularly early in the game, which allowed Central Michigan to rip off some big gains on the ground. But both linebackers, and especially Alldredge, redeemed themselves a bit with their pass-rushing ability. Nicholson recorded one sack, while Alldredge racked up 3.5, the most by a Missouri player in a single game since Brian Smith in 2006. Coaches often say if a player is going to make a mistake, they'd rather the mistake be made at full speed, and that pretty well sums up Alldredge's performance Saturday. Look for him to gain consistency with experience in the scheme. GRADE: B-
Secondary: The defensive backfield proved to be the inverse of the defensive line. The position group entered the season as perhaps the biggest area of concern on the unit, yet showed out well Saturday — particularly once Jaylon Carlies returned from a targeting suspension in the second half. Tulsa transfer Akayleb Evans came up with a key interception in the first half and Carlies picked off an overthrown pass in the second. Converted wide receiver Kris Abrams-Draine and converted quarterback Shawn Robinson split time at nickelback and both made head-turning plays. Ennis Rakestraw rebounded from a tough first half and looked better in the final 30 minutes, while Martez Manuel never came off the field, per usual. Missouri showed depth, too, going at least two deep at every position except Manuel's. GRADE: B+
Special Teams: The kicking game loomed large for Missouri. Drinkwitz noted after the game that Harrison Mevis' 53-yard field goal, which gave Missouri a three-point lead in the final seconds of the first half, served as a momentum boost. Continuing his freshman form, Mevis also calmly drilled a 44-yarder that sealed the win for Missouri in the final minute. Punter Grant McKinniss pinned the Chippewas inside their own 15-yard line four separate times. In a game where Central Michigan actually out-gained Missouri in total yardage, special teams provided a welcome boost. GRADE: A
Coaching: It wasn't perfect, but Missouri played a pretty clean game, especially by Week One standards. Speaking of key stats that helped Missouri overcome being out-gained, the Tigers finished plus-two in turnovers and never gave the ball away. Missouri also only got called for four penalties, while Central Michigan was whistled for 10, which cost it 80 yards. There were a few head-scratching play calls (the decision to pass the ball on fourth down and one comes to mind) but Drinkwitz clearly looked like he was experimenting a bit to see what worked in a game setting, and he adjusted well by feeding the hot hand in Badie down the stretch. GRADE: A-
Final Overall Grade: B
