Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
1) It is November. The college basketball season is supposed to start in 24 days. We know nothing about it. Last week, there was a tweet indicating Missouri was facing Bradley in a non-conference game. Liberty and Wichita State seem likely still. If the SEC/Big 12 challenge happens, Mizzou will play TCU. Other than that, we don't really know and neither do they. We've got to wait to get more on the schedule from the SEC before we know what the non-conference looks like.
2) It is hardly breaking news that Missouri's offense struggled against Florida. We talked a fair amount about that already. One big issue I noticed while looking over some more stats was the lack of the big play. Mizzou had exactly one play that covered more than 20 yards. That came on a 32-yard run by Jalen Knox (which accounted for approximately half of Mizzou's rushing yardage for the game). Contrast that with the LSU game in which Mizzou had EIGHT DIFFERENT PLAYERS with a 20-yard play (six receivers and two rushers). Some of that is lack of execution by Mizzou, some of it probably has to do with Florida's game plan. And the lack of big plays isn't necessarily a death sentence. Mizzou had only two the week before against Kentucky.
Here's the reason I think it sticks out: Teams that aren't elite level in terms of talent rely on a big play more than those that are. If you have really good players everywhere, it's easier to go 80 yards in 10 plays because you have guys who can consistently execute snap after snap after snap. Missouri doesn't have that. There's a penalty or a drop or a missed assignment or whatever. If you have a 60-yard play, that eliminates a lot of opportunities you have to screw up. If you have to snap the ball 12 times to cover those same 60 yards, that's a whole lot of things you have to do right to get there. As we've seen, especially with drops and penalties, Missouri rarely is consistent enough to string together that many plays. They need the quick hitters, especially against a team like Florida, which has more talent across the board.
3) I've mentioned a few times that Missouri fans became the victims of their own increased expectations this weekend.
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