Missouri-Central Florida college football preview
When/where: 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia
TV/radio: SEC Network; KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 1-0
The line: Missouri by 9 1/2
MISSOURI (2-0)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | South Dakota State | W, 38-18 |
Sept. 6 | at Toledo | W, 49-24 |
Saturday | Central Florida | 11:01 a.m. |
Sept. 20 | Indiana | 3 p.m. |
Sept. 27 | at South Carolina | TBA |
Oct. 11 | Georgia | TBA |
Oct. 18 | at Florida | TBA |
Oct. 25 | Vanderbilt | TBA |
Nov. 1 | Kentucky | TBA |
Nov. 15 | at Texas A&M | TBA |
Nov. 22 | at Tennessee | TBA |
Nov. 28 | Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
CENTRAL FLORIDA (0-1)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | vs. Penn State (Dublin, Ireland) | L, 26-24 |
Saturday | at Missouri | 11 a.m. |
Sept. 20 | Bethune-Cookman | 5 p.m. |
Oct. 2 | at Houston | 6 p.m. |
Oct. 9 | BYU | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 18 | Tulane | TBA |
Oct. 25 | Temple | TBA |
Nov. 1 | at Connecticut | TBA |
Nov. 14 | Tulsa | 7 p.m. |
Nov. 22 | Southern Methodist | TBA |
Nov. 28 | at South Florida | TBA |
Dec. 4 | at East Carolina | 6:30 p.m. |
What’s at stake
Much like last season, Missouri was something of an enigma to a lot of fans, opponents and national observers. So far, the Tigers largely have passed every test with flying colors. No. 20 Missouri can continue moving up in the polls with a solid home victory.
Cheers if …
The passing game hit some big plays against South Dakota State in the opener, but quarterback Maty Mauk and Missouri really sizzled last week against Toledo. Senior wide receivers Jimmie Hunt, Bud Sasser and Darius White have all contributed, but that chemistry (and the resulting production) must keep building.
Jeers if …
Missouri has given up a few big plays in the run game. It’s not time to panic, but the gap-discipline issues and missed tackles are concerning. Of course, those issues also are correctable. The Tigers need to make progress and stop getting gashed for big-gainers on the ground.
Three things about Central Florida
1 Sophomore running back William Stanback missed the Knights’ opener against Penn State. He is on the preseason Doak Walker Award list after rushing for 443 yards in 105 carries with six touchdowns as Storm Johnson’s backup. Stanback should boost a run game that managed only 24 yards in 29 carries versus Penn State.
2 The Knights boast a talented and experienced receiving corps. Seniors Rannell Hall, Josh Reese, J.J. Worton and Jackie Williams along with junior Breshad Perriman have combined for 505 career receptions for 7,375 yards with 40 touchdowns.
3 Strong safety Clayton Geathers is a tackling machine. He totaled 15 tackles, including two for a loss with a fumble recovery, as the Knights limited Penn State to 57 yards rushing in 28 carries. Of course, Christian Hackenberg did throw for 454 yards.
Key matchup
Central Florida’s offensive line vs. Missouri’s defensive line: Defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray have been quite the wrecking crew with 8 1/2 tackles for a loss and 5 1/2 sacks through two games, but the Tigers would love to see more production from the interior line, especially against a young Knights crew up front.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 21 | Bud Sasser | 6-2 | 220 | Sr. |
WR | 88 | Jimmie Hunt | 6-0 | 205 | Sr. |
LT | 65 | Mitch Morse | 6-6 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 70 | Anthony Gatti | 6-6 | 305 | Sr. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 320 | Jr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch L. Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Jr. |
RT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 300 | Jr. |
TE | 80 | Sean Culkin | 6-6 | 245 | So. |
WR | 8 | Darius White | 6-3 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 7 | Maty Mauk | 6-0 | 195 | So. |
TB | 6 | Marcus Murphy | 5-9 | 190 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Jr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 33 | Markus Golden | 6-3 | 260 | Sr. |
DT | 89 | Matt Hoch | 6-5 | 295 | Sr. |
NG | 96 | Lucas Vincent | 6-2 | 300 | Sr. |
DE | 56 | Shane Ray | 6-3 | 245 | Jr. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 240 | Jr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | So. |
LB | 40 | Clarence Green | 6-0 | 225 | Jr. |
CB | 1 | John Gibson | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
SS | 9 | Braylon Webb | 6-0 | 200 | Sr. |
FS | 21 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Jr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 185 | So. |
P | 92 | Christian Brinser | 6-2 | 195 | Sr. |
CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 11 | Breshad Perriman | 6-3 | 214 | Jr. |
WR | 6 | Rannell Hall | 6-1 | 200 | Sr. |
LT | 72 | Torrian Wilson | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 61 | Tarik Cook | 6-2 | 291 | Jr. |
C | 55 | Joey Grant | 6-2 | 285 | So. |
RG | 76 | Colby Watson | 6-5 | 318 | So. |
RT | 74 | Michael Campbell | 6-6 | 285 | So. |
TE | 84 | Justin Tukes | 6-5 | 250 | Sr. |
QB | 13 | Justin Holman | 6-4 | 213 | So. |
HB | 39 | Joseph Puopolo | 5-10 | 242 | Jr. |
RB | 28 | William Stanback | 6-1 | 225 | So. |
K | 83 | Shawn Moffitt | 5-11 | 180 | Sr. |
CENTRAL FLORIDA DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 92 | Luke Adams | 6-4 | 260 | So. |
DT | 94 | Demetris Anderson | 6-2 | 299 | Jr. |
DT | 99 | Jaryl Mamea | 6-1 | 283 | Sr. |
DE | 69 | Thomas Niles | 6-2 | 270 | Jr. |
OLB | 57 | Tony Gray | 6-1 | 210 | Sr. |
MLB | 41 | Terrance Plummer | 6-1 | 236 | Sr. |
OLB | 51 | Errol Clarke | 6-1 | 240 | Jr. |
CB | 12 | Jacoby Glenn | 6-0 | 186 | So. |
SS | 26 | Clayton Geathers | 6-2 | 208 | Sr. |
FS | 37 | Brandon Alexander | 6-2 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 38 | Jordan Ozerities | 5-10 | 186 | Sr. |
P | 36 | Caleb Houston | 6-1 | 200 | So. |
Tod Palmer’s pick: Missouri 41-20
Missouri’s offense has shown some firepower on the ground and through the air. Meanwhile, the defense, assuming it’s made strides in maintaining its assignments, could be primed for a big game against a young quarterback and a relatively inexperienced line.
Tod Palmer, tpalmer@kcstar.com
This story was originally published September 11, 2014 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Missouri-Central Florida college football preview."