Each Tuesday during the season, PowerMizzou.com will recognize the eleven players who turned in the best individual efforts in the previous week's game. A players standing on the list one week has no impact on his ranking the following week. Here are our top performers in Saturday's 26-11 loss to West Virginia.
1. CB Aarion Penton
Penton had six tackles and an interception and generally was the best Tiger on the field on Saturday. He was called for a pass interference penalty which was questionable at best. Penton fulfilled all the hopes Mizzou fans had for him coming into the season.
2. The offensive line
This was the biggest question mark coming into the year and it generally held up well. Mizzou went with the same five players all day long. It wasn't perfect, but Tyler Howell, Kevin Pendleton, Samson Bailey, Alec Abeln and Paul Adams held West Virginia without a sack and helped the Tigers to 462 total yards, more than they had in any game last season.
3. WR Chris Black
Black had six catches for a team-best 104 yards in his first game as a Tiger. He was Missouri's most reliable receiver and made a few catches late, trying to help the Tigers in a miracle comeback from 23 points down in the fourth quarter.
4. QB Drew Lock
Lock threw for 280 yards, had a touchdown and didn't throw a pick. The completion percentage needs to be higher, but he did move Mizzou down the field a few times. He added 29 yards on nine carries and showed enough athleticism to move the chains with his feet a couple of times.
5. LB Michael Scherer
Scherer led the way with ten tackles, including one for a loss. While the Tiger linebackers were taken advantage of in the passing game, it generally seemed to be the outside backers more than Scherer.
6. WR J'Mon Moore
Moore had a team-high eight catches for 102 yards, a career-high, against WVU. He was clearly Drew Lock's top target. While he did have a couple of drops, he also made more plays than any Tiger receiver, including a nice 42-yarder over the shoulder.
7. P Corey Fatony
Fatony wasn't great, but he was generally effective. West Virginia didn't have a chance to return any of his kicks. A couple of them were definitely lacking in distance and the 39.9 yard average isn't as good as he was last year, but he had a couple of very good punts as well.
8. S Anthony Sherrils
Sherrils had seven tackles, one TFL and an interception. The numbers alone might merit a higher spot on this list, but it seemed he was involved in some of the coverage issues that kept WVU drives alive at times. Decent game, but Sherrils is likely capable of better.
9. DT Josh Augusta
Augusta had two tackles, one for a loss. He's mostly on here because we thought it was cool seeing a 365-pound defensive tackle run the football.
10. RB Alex Ross
Ross had 18 carries for 67 yards and a three-yard catch. Pedestrian numbers that Missouri would like to see him improve upon, I'm sure. He was pretty much avoided by the West Virginia kickoff team all day long.
11. QB Marvin Zanders
Zanders had limited opportunity, but did have 47 yards on seven runs, even though WVU largely knew he was going to run the ball when he was in. He certainly did enough to merit an extended look and perhaps an expanded role.
