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Sunday grade card: Ole Miss

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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’ 38-27 win over Ole Miss.

Quarterback: Kelly Bryant was decent in the passing game and he wasn't asked to do much of anything as a runner after leaving Missouri's last game with a knee injury. He made a few nice throws, such as a big 20-yard completion to Johnathon Johnson in the fourth quarter that iced the victory, but he also threw a bad interception. He finished the game 23 of 35 for 329 yards and a touchdown. It's hard to be too harsh on Bryant in a game in which the Tigers scored 38 points and put up 562 total yards. GRADE: B-

Running backs: On a day when Bryant wasn't as much of a running threat as usual, the Tiger tailbacks more than picked up the slack. Tyler Badie showed his speed and versatility by scoring on a 21-yard screen pass in the first half and getting open for a 49-yard completion on a wheel route in the second. Larry Rountree III looked like the all-SEC caliber player he was billed to be during the preseason. He consistently hit holes hard and found yards after contact, with the highlight being a 41-yard scoring run in the second half. For the game, Rountree totaled 126 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and moved into ninth all-time on the school's rushing list in the game. Even third-stringer Dawson Downing got in on the fun, as he broke free for a 54-yard touchdown in the third quarter, his first career score. GRADE: A

Larry Rountree rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss.
Larry Rountree rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss. (Jordan Kodner)

Wide receivers: Johnson made a couple poor plays on special teams, but as a receiver he was really good. Missouri got him the ball in a variety of ways, from a jet sweep to a swing pass to downfield throws. Johnson showed both good hands and elusiveness, finishing with 110 yards on eight catches. Jonathan Nance and Kam Scott, who looks to have moved ahead of Jalen Knox in the pecking order, each had two grabs, and Dominic Gicinto made a big 26-yard catch for his first reception of the season. The play set up a Rountree touchdown. The receivers continue to be consistently solid, and on a night when the running backs accounted for three big scores, they didn't need to make the flashy plays. GRADE: A

Tight Ends: Albert Okwuegbunam's touchdown streak came to an end after he had scored in each of the past four games, but he did make four catches for 60 yards, including a 36-yard catch and run in the second half. Daniel Parker Jr. contributed a three-yard grab as well. Like the receivers, the tight ends didn't make many flashy plays but helped keep several key drives alive. GRADE: A-

Offensive line: Head coach Barry Odom said after the game that he challenged the offensive line to play better after last week's game, and they responded. Missouri averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a team and Bryant was only sacked once. Ole Miss only had two tackles for loss in the game as well. The starting five we saw in this game could finally be a consistent configuration for Missouri. GRADE: A

Defensive line: Missouri's defense didn't quite show the same form we've seen in the first four games of the team's home stand, but the defensive line was still fairly disruptive — namely, Jordan Elliott. The junior continues to show why the coaching staff predicted before the season that this could be his final year of college football. Elliott finished the game with five tackles, including two for loss, and two quarterback hits. The line also contributed to the team's goal line stand at the end of the first half, which played a huge role in keeping the momentum on Missouri's side. GRADE: B+

Linebackers: In the team's first game without Cale Garrett manning the middle linebacker spot, the Tiger linebackers made some nice plays but also gave up a few big runs. Nick Bolton finished with a team-high 10 tackles and made several thunderous hits, while first time starter Cameron Wilkins added six tackles. The duo also gave up two long runs to Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, including one that got called back due to penalty. We knew there was going to be an adjustment period without Garrett, and there is clearly a bit of room for improvement, but Wilkins flashed enough that there's also reason for optimism that the dropoff won't be too steep. GRADE: C

Sophomore Cameron Wilkins started in place of the injured Cale Garrett at middle linebacker for Missouri.
Sophomore Cameron Wilkins started in place of the injured Cale Garrett at middle linebacker for Missouri. (Jordan Kodner)

Secondary: Even though Ole Miss took about half its snaps with a running quarterback, the Tiger pass coverage got tested probably more than in any game so far this season. The cornerbacks passed the test. Jarvis Ware broke up a pass and seemed to be in consistently good position while DeMarkus Acy hardly drew any targets. The safeties weren't quite as good in coverage, although Joshuah Bledsoe did make a couple nice pass break ups. He also got beat in coverage on a touchdown pass to Moore, though. Like the linebackers, the safeties have to share a little blame in allowing Ole Miss' two long rushing plays. GRADE: B

Special Teams: Missouri's special teams had looked much better so far this season until Saturday. With regular punt returner Richaud Floyd inactive due to a hamstring injury, Johnson — who has almost always struggled as a punt returner in the past — muffed the first punt of the game. Ole Miss recovered and went on to score a touchdown. Johnson also made a boneheaded play when he kneeled at the two-yard line after fielding a kickoff. Throw in the fact that Tucker McCann missed two extra points and it was not a banner day for the special teams. (Though McCann does deserve some credit for going four-for-four on field goals.) GRADE: D

Coaching: As in most games, there are a few coaching decisions that can be second-guessed, such as matching up freshman defensive end Isaiah McGuire on a running back in coverage on Ole Miss' first touchdown. But no coaching decisions made a huge impact on this one. Give offensive coordinator Derek Dooley some credit for incorporating a few new creative wrinkles into his gameplan and Odom credit for making sure his team responded when faced with its closest game since Week One. GRADE: A-

Final Overall Grade: A-

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