MU, Daniel can still regroup and reach their goals
You remember the 2003 Kansas State Wildcats, the team hyped as a national-title contender with Darren Sproles and Ell Roberson, the team that lost three in a row and fell out of the top 25?
Yeah, you remember those Wildcats. They won the Big 12 title game at Arrowhead Stadium, smoking previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma 35-7. Those Wildcats played in the Fiesta Bowl and might have beaten Ohio State had Roberson avoided any pregame controversy.
Missouri Tigers football fans need to remember that K-State team as they try to figure out how to react to Saturday night’s disappointing 28-23 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Nothing was settled Saturday. The Tigers can still reach every preseason goal they set. Chase Daniel can still win the Heisman Trophy.
No question, things became exponentially more difficult Saturday night. The Cowboys exposed at least one glaring Tiger weakness, and Daniel demonstrated that the pressure of being college football’s glamour player might be a little too much.
OK, here’s what troubled me. Missouri’s safeties can be exploited in cover 2. They don’t appear to have the necessary speed to prevent receivers from getting deep. When a defense plays cover 2, its corners will drop 12 to 18 yards deep and eventually turn a receiver over to the safeties. The key to playing cover 2 effectively is a good pass rush from your front four and fleet-footed, hard-hitting safeties.
Mizzou’s safeties are hard-hitting. They’re terrific in run support.
The Tigers might want to consider a nickel package that makes William Moore a linebacker and a reserve cornerback one of the safeties.
Offensively, Gary Pinkel needs to reduce the burden on Chase Daniel. He’s a wonderful football player, but he’s being asked to do too much, and he’s trying to do too much. Daniel looked a little Brad Smith-like on Saturday, cracking under the weight of being asked to throw or run on nearly every play.
The game was too close for Derrick Washington to run the ball just eight times. The Tigers have to display a bit of balance to beat good teams. When you play a team with good athletes on defense, you need play-action passing to create consistent separation for your receivers and provide Daniel wide throwing windows. Squeezing passes into tight windows is a recipe for interceptions.
The view from afar suggests that Daniel could benefit from dialing back the superstar extras. One of Daniel’s best assets was his leadership ability despite being sort of an odd duck and football bookworm.
He’s inching closer to jumping the shark. His “fauxhawk” hairdo surely made Brian Bosworth and other wild-and-crazy linebackers blush with envy. Quarterbacks? Not so much. Daniel’s friendships with Warren Buffett, Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez and playas across the globe are great fodder for TV producers and broadcasters.
Do they help him command respect in the huddle? I’m not sure.
Again, what we loved about Daniel last season and what seemed to make him unstoppable was the fact that his only passion seemed to be preparing to win games for the Missouri Tigers.
Please don’t misconstrue my point. Chase Daniel is still a terrific player, one worthy of serious Heisman consideration. On the field, he’s the No. 1 reason the Tigers remain a threat to win the Big 12 and national championship.
He can lead the Tigers to victory this weekend over the now-No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns, and everyone will forget that Oklahoma State upset the Tigers.
But even if the Tigers lose to the Longhorns, Missouri’s season is far, far from over. The Tigers can dive back into Big 12 North play, win their half of the conference and get a third shot against a Big 12 South power in the championship game.
We’ve seen this before. That’s exactly what transpired with the 2003 K-State Wildcats. They lost at home to Marshall and then lost back-to-back road games to Texas and Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats regrouped. Sproles went on to have an electric year, running for nearly 2,000 yards.
Let’s wait for additional information before we jump ship on the 2008 Tigers, Daniel and Pinkel.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
