‘You can’t overreact’: How Mizzou football hopes to improve in upset bid at Tennessee
The Missouri Tigers were soundly blown out in MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s debut to Alabama. After opening the game with a three-and-out, the defense allowed touchdowns on three straight drives.
But … pump the brake. MU defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said there was both bad and good on display in the Tigers’ season opener.
“You can’t overreact,” Walters said. “Obviously you have to address the issues you saw, correct technique. I don’t want to overreact off of one game after arguably the best offense in the country.”
The Tigers picked it up after a slow start. Mizzou outscored the Tide 16-10 in the second half, though the opposition did put in backups after the result was no longer in doubt.
Mizzou’s second-half performance prompted Jeremy Pruitt, coach of Tennessee — the Tigers’ next opponent — to offer some some kind words for MU.
“If you look at how they played the game last week, it obviously didn’t start off the way they wanted it,” Pruitt said during the weekly SEC teleconference call. “They end up winning the second half. They kind of dominated the second half.”
Mizzou has another tough opponent in No. 21 Tennessee at 11 a.m. Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols are coming off a 31-27 win at South Carolina and are on a seven-game winning streak that stretches back to last season and includes a victory over MU.
A significant part of Mizzou’s game plan will center around quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who picked apart the Tigers through the air last season. Guarantano threw for 415 yards and two touchdowns against a Mizzou secondary that was missing cornerbacks Jarvis Ware and DeMarkus Acy.
“We were kind of limited on packages and play calls,” Walters said. You look at them this year. Obviously, the quarterback is back. I feel like he’s been there forever now. Offensive line is big and athletic.”
Getting to Guarantano became a more difficult proposition within the last few days. Vols offensive lineman Cade Mays, a transfer from Georgia, was granted immediate eligibility and is expected to suit up Saturday. Mays adds to an already strong line that features All-SEC performers like Wanya Morris and Trey Smith.
It’s an area in which Mizzou met some resistance against the Tide. The pass rush didn’t get home enough to disrupt Alabama starter Mac Jones. Instead, he fired darts — at one point tossing 10 straight completions — from a clean pocket.
But there was an unexpected boost for the defensive line, in Trajan Jeffcoat. The newly reinstated Jeffcoat collected a sack and caused some push up front for the Tigers in the trenches. Walters said he’s a likable teammate, and some players even cried “tears of joy” when Jeffcoat re-joined the team during camp.
“That’s how special of a person he is and how much he meant to the locker room,” Walters said. “He is a big, fast, physical, angry kid on the field. He’s infectious in the locker room. We were fired up to get him back. It makes our job in the secondary easier when he’s on the field.”
Sure, some worrying tendencies emerged last weekend vs. Alabama. But Walters also noted a few good things: Martez Manuel had 3 1/2 tackles for loss, starting at free safety. Walters also liked how young cornerbacks Ish Burdine and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. played. And the Tigers’ tackling was on point, he said.
“We tackle as well as we did Saturday all year, I’ll be happy,” Walters said. “They didn’t have a whole lot of explosive plays. We didn’t have a whole lot of missed tackles. We had to make some plays in space and we made them. If we tackle that way all year, I’ll be happy.”