Grades from Mizzou football’s 41-17 loss to Florida, and a look ahead to the off week
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz has warned how football’s a game that will humble you real quick, and that’s exactly what happened for his Tigers in a 41-17 loss at No. 10 Florida.
A lot happened Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, including some off-field drama in the form of a midfield brawl. The Mizzou offense struggled immensely while the defense, after a hot start, slowed as the Gators kept the pressure on and the Tigers’ miscues mounted.
While the Tigers weren’t favored by any means to down a top-10 team, they took the punches from a talented Florida squad that was looking to make a statement on the other side of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Mizzou will look to regroup during an off week that will include Election Day in the middle. But it was an otherwise subpar day as the Tigers saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
Here are this week’s grades for the offense, defense and special teams, along with a look ahead to bye week.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Mizzou finally picked up its first interception of the season, courtesy of cornerback Jarvis Ware that also came with an assist from linebacker Nick Bolton. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was looking to throw but was hit by Bolton that led to a fluttery, wayward pass.
Ware picked it off for his first career interception, and while he bobbled it a tad as he entered the end zone, it gave the Tigers’ six important points. It was the first big momentum swing of the day and gave Mizzou the lead, though the Tigers faltered from there.
GRADES
Offense: C-. It was an unimpressive day from the Mizzou offense, and it likely deserved a worse mark if it wasn’t for a pair of garbage-time scores.
The Tigers just didn’t look comfortable Saturday even without the brawl. There were drops and fumbles. Despite Florida missing three defensive back starters, Mizzou wasn’t able to move the ball consistently.
Defense: C. The Tigers got off to a fast start even with some blown coverages. While Florida looked poised to get into the end zone, MU stopped them to settle for field goals. Once Ware returned his first career interception for a touchdown, it was looking like the Tigers seized momentum.
But the Gators scored 28 unanswered points. While part of that was on the offense not helping out the Mizzou defense, the Tigers just weren’t able to contain Trask, Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney.
Special teams: C. MU kicker Harrison Mevis missed the first field goal of his career, making fans go “huh?” when his 31-yard attempt went wide. The high snap didn’t help, but the Tigers could’ve used the score with the game still in doubt. Mevis converted on a 29-yard attempt later in the game, though.
Otherwise, punter Grant McKinniss was called upon often, finishing Saturday with seven punts. He had some nice boomers, including two that went for 50-plus yards.
NEXT UP
The Tigers get an off week that was built into the schedule, as opposed to a COVID-induced bye week when the Vanderbilt game was moved.
Election Day off-day: Mizzou made national headlines this summer when it organized its peaceful march from The Columns to the Boone County Courthouse, where 62 football players registered to vote. The NCAA instituted a mandatory off day on Tuesday, Election Day, to allow players to vote. Drinkwitz said there might be plans to have them vote together as a team.
Yes, another ranked team: After Mizzou gets a rest, it hosts No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 14 on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. That’s another ranked SEC opponent, Mizzou’s fifth in six games to start 2020. It gets easier afterwards, but the Tigers will aim to get back into the win column.