Mizzou football midterms: Assessing the Tigers halfway through the 2020 season
Well, the Missouri Tigers have made it to the halfway point of their season smack in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. And since this is a scheduled week off, and not a missed game due to the virus, a hurricane or whatever else 2020 can throw at first-year MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz, it’s not a bad time for some reflection.
The Tigers stand 2-3 after a 41-17 stomping at the hands of the Florida Gators.
We’ve seen some highs, like the their goal-line stand and upset against LSU followed by a sound win against Kentucky. There have also been some humbling moments, including the blowout defeats to Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.
Those losses to Alabama and Florida showed that Mizzou remains a tier below the elites of the SEC. Which, in Year 1 of the Drinkwitz era, isn’t exactly a stunner.
MU’s 2-3 record so far needs context because of Mizzou’s top-heavy schedule. The Tigers were underdogs in all five of those games; just once were they expected to lose by single digits. In every other game, the opposition was a double-digit favorite.
While early rankings don’t carry as much weight as those made deeper into the season — especially during a pandemic — four of Mizzou’s five opponents thus far were ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. Some were pretenders (LSU and Tennessee, perhaps), but Florida and Alabama appear to be legit.
That leaves the Tigers with five games remaining in this strange 2020 season. Aside from a showdown against No. 5 Georgia, Mizzou’s slate eases considerably now, and there’s a real chance the Tigers can finish .500 or better.
But there’s a reason Drinkwitz warns against getting too after wins, or too low after losses. The 37-year-old aims to keep a level head as he leads his team through the grind of a 10-game, SEC-only schedule.
Here’s a midseason heat check for the Tigers, including some standouts, some areas to work on and an outlook for the rest of season.
Pleasant surprises
Jeffcoat and the defensive line: Opposing quarterbacks can’t ignore Trajan Jeffcoat rushing the quarterback from the BUCK linebacker position. Neither can MU fans. The man who rejoined the roster during preseason camp has been the Tigers’ best pass-rusher in leading the team with three sacks.
His late hit on Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, which sparked a halftime melee, wasn’t a great look. But Jeffcoat has been a much-needed steadying presence on a defensive line that entered the fall with plenty of question marks — especially when it came to getting to the quarterback.
It hasn’t been just Jeffcoat, though. The entire Mizzou defensive line has played admirably through the past few weeks despite missing some key players. Kobie Whiteside and Darius Robinson haven’t played in the past three games, and much was expected from that duo.
In their absence, the likes of Jeffcoat, Markell Utsey, Tre Williams, Akial Byers and Chris Turner have gotten in on the action. They played well in the Tigers’ wins and will look to build on that for the second half of the season. Mizzou ranks 41st nationally in rush defense — not perfect, but better than expected while battling injuries.
Offensive line: Drinkwitz had said he wasn’t sure what to expect from this unit, which struggled in 2019 and then lost several crucial pieces. But the Mizzou offensive line had been stellar, led by captain and right guard Case Cook along with center Michael Maietti, the graduate transfer from Rutgers.
Right tackle Larry Borom is proving to be reliable after shuffling through different positions last year. Left guard Xavier Delgado has also been dependable. Left tackle duties have been shared by Zeke Powell and Bobby Lawrence.
To keep up their good showing, the Tigers need some good health. Borom and Delgado missed the Florida game, while Powell was replaced for Lawrence midway through. A pair of freshmen replaced them, and the result was arguably MU’s worst O-line performance of the young season.
This off-week couldn’t have come at a better time. The Tigers have an opportunity to heal up and get back to generating a push.
Bazelak impresses: Little was known about Mizzou quarterback Connor Bazelak coming into the season. There were glimpses in 2019, but that was with a different coaching staff and offensive scheme.
Part of what’s surprising about Mizzou’s QB success so far is that it’s not come courtesy of Shawn Robinson. The TCU transfer started the first two games (technically three, since he was in a two-quarterback set against LSU). But ever since the second quarter of the Tennessee game, it’s been the Bazelak show.
Drinkwitz has tempered his praise of Bazelak with a dose of constructive criticism. Bazelak has a great arm, and he’s displayed that, but he’s still working through the intricacies of the quarterback position in this major conference. He needs to do a better job of keeping the ball off the turf, for instance, and avoid fumbling it away.
So far, Bazelak has thrown for 1,101 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while completing 69.1% of his passes. Certainly not bad at all.
Areas needing improvement
Pass defense: This fall, the Tigers returned the same scheme, defensive coordinator (Ryan Walters) and one of the best safety tandems in the league, in Joshauh Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie. But the pass defense has labored.
Mizzou was No. 6 nationally last season in passing yards allowed. While the Tigers lost some key contributors, like DeMarkus Acy, they were expected to continue stifling opponents through the air. Instead, Mizzou has allowed a 73rd-ranked average of 263.6 passing yards through five games. The Tigers ranked 16th in 2019, yielding 19.4 points per game, but that number has ballooned this fall to 33 — tied for 69th overall.
Part of that, Walters has noted, is because the Tigers have faced some brutal passing attacks. LSU, Florida and Alabama are among the best offenses in the SEC.
So things should get easier now, but Mizzou will need to play better, too.
Turnover woes on both sides: The Tigers broke out their new “Turnover Robe” against Florida — a silk boxing robe that Walters introduced the day before. One of the defense’s goals is to generate two takeaways per game, but the Tigers have only reached that mark once this season, against the Gators.
On the flip side, the offense has turned it over too much — especially on fumbles. Bazelak has been relatively mistake-free, throwing just one interception, but the offense’s overall propensity to fumble away possession almost doomed them in the LSU game and could be an issue down the stretch.
After a rough start on special teams — three muffed punts in MU’s first three games — that aspect has improved. Return man Cade Musser has been fair-catching just about every punt, which leaves yards on the table but guarantees that Mizzou maintains possession.
Offensive consistency: Statistically speaking, early evaluation of Drinkwitz’s offense was muddied by MU’s quarterback competition. Robinson played the majority of the Alabama game, while Bazelak played the final three quarters in the Tennessee game.
A few worrying trends emerged along the way. The wide receivers are a potential strength, but dropped passes have been a major source of frustration. The first two games of the season featured too many drops for sure. The LSU and Kentucky games were relatively clean, but miscues returned in the Florida game — especially when Bazelak needed completions.
The Tigers shine when they can feature plenty of running back Larry Rountree III. But for various reasons, they’ve been unable to do that at times. And that’s when they’ve looked vulnerable. Rountree has averaged 122.5 yards rushing in Mizzou’s wins and 62.3 in its losses.
Once again, it’s early and Bazelak is still learning his position, so there’s cause for optimism. Overall, Drinkwitz’s “pro-tempo” offense has shown some positive results.
Rest-of-season outlook
The Tigers get another ranked opponent after their off-week, in No. 5 Georgia. Then it’s four games against the easiest part of their schedule. Even if the Tigers lose to the Bulldogs and drop to 2-4, they have a real shot of finishing 5-5.
Remember, Mizzou was picked to finish sixth in the SEC East in the preseason media poll. But the Tigers could outperform those expectations with a strong finish.
Georgia, Nov. 14, Faurot Field: There are worse spots for this game to have fallen on Mizzou’s schedule. The Tigers get a week off to prep fully for the top-five Bulldogs while Georgia plays rival Florida. Scoring hasn’t exactly come easily to UGA with Stetson Bennett at quarterback, and that could give Mizzou an opening.
South Carolina, Nov. 21, Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks’ best win came against Auburn, though it’s unclear where Gus Malzahn’s Tigers stand in the SEC hierarchy. South Carolina is a relative unknown, though the Gamecocks can score. At a minimum, the Tigers should be competitive in this one.
Arkansas, Nov. 28, Faurot Field. Players and coaches from both sides probably have this game circled — it’s former Mizzou coach Barry Odom’s CoMo homecoming as Arkansas’ defensive coordinator. It’s been quiet between the rivals recently, but there’s high intrigue here, and not just because of Odom. Drinkwitz is from Arkansas, and rivalry games are always weird in college football. Nothing is guaranteed.
Mississippi State, Dec. 5, Davis Wade Stadium. After Week 1, this was looking like a probable loss for the Tigers. But the Bulldogs are in a state of disarray right now under first-year coach Mike Leach. Mississippi State has seen multiple starters opt out or transfer amid a four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs looked tough after upsetting LSU, but it’s been all downhill from there. This is another game Mizzou could win.
Vanderbilt, Dec. 12, Faurot Field. Mizzou’s record would look a lot better right now if it had played the ‘Dores as planned on Oct. 17. But the game was rescheduled because of Vandy’s COVID-19 outbreak. Expect Mizzou to win this one as Vanderbilt occupies a tier of its own at the bottom of the SEC.