Grading Missouri’s 37-31 loss to Wyoming and looking ahead to West Virginia
Missouri suffered one of its worst losses of the Barry Odom era on Saturday in a 37-31 loss at Wyoming. The game took away a lot of buzz that MU had going into its home opener against West Virginia and created a ton of concerns on both sides of the ball. Here are grades for all four units, a highlight from Saturday’s loss and areas to address ahead of West Virginia.
Play of the game
Larry Rountree’s goal-line fumble: There were plenty of nominees, but not one summarized the game MU played better than this one. Kelly Bryant led MU downfield but Rountree fumbled while crossing into the end zone and the ball was recovered by Wyoming. Bryant tackled Cowboys safety Alijah Halliburton to prevent a touchdown, but the Pokes still netted a field goal off the play. Rountree’s would-be touchdown plus the Cowboys’ field goal made the play worth a 10-point spread, but Bryant’s tackle ended up keeping Wyoming from running away with the game.
Grades
Offense: C+. Missouri put up 31 points on a non-power conference team. That should be enough to get a win. Bryant wasn’t perfect, but had a strong second half and accounted for nearly 450 yards of offense. MU got a lot out of tailback Tyler Badie and the Tigers’ wideouts made some big plays. On most days, the unit did enough for a win.
Defense: F. Missouri’s defense was awful, especially against the run, as the Cowboys ran for nearly 300 yards. The Tigers’ strength in 2018 was its run defense, which makes Saturday’s performance so baffling. MU looked lost at times and gave up multiple big plays with wide-open seams. And the Tigers missed an innumerable amount of tackles.
Special teams: B-. There were penalties and some issues, but still a vast improvement given how this unit has performed in the past. Richaud Floyd had one of the best punt returns MU has had in over a year and Tucker McCann made all of his kicks without issue. And the Tigers didn’t really give up a big return to Wyoming or let it be the reason the Pokes scored.
Coaching: F. Where to start. Derek Dooley’s playcalling was suspect in the red zone, especially when the Tigers went away from the run despite having success with it. Barry Odom shouldn’t have punted in the fourth quarter when MU had decent field position and was still trailing, and the defense couldn’t get off the field or stop the run at all. MU continues to hamper itself with slow starts.
Next up
As Missouri welcomes West Virginia to town on Saturday, here are two things the Tigers need to improve:
The run defense: Another part of the grade card that had multiple nominees, but the Tigers’ aren’t going to win many games if they can’t stop the run. That has to be one of the top priorities.
Ball security: Missouri could have led the nation in dropped passes and interceptions the past few years. Bryant and Rountree had costly fumbles and MU got away with a few more lucky breaks on that front. At some point the Tigers have to hold onto the ball.
This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 2:40 PM.