51ºÚÁÏ

Transcript

Eli ±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýHowdy, all, and thanks for coming by this week's Mizzou chat. We've got plenty to talk about, as always.

Some news just filed to the website: Trent Burns is set to miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery this week for a "stress reaction" in his right foot. Basically, the same injury that kept him out last year. More details in here.

Now, for your questions!

Tom O:ÌýI have seen how much Ok has improved through the portal, new quarterback and offensive coordinator based on just a few games. In your opinion has Missouri match or exceeded Ok progress. Just so you know one of my brother in laws lives in Ok and I have lost multiple dinner bets to him over the years. So last year was a welcome surprise and a great meal.On a side note another brother in law is a KU graduate and refused to put a dinner on his team last week. Football has become fun again.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýOklahoma really does look the part. Or did against Michigan, anyway. Bringing in Ben Arbuckle as a playcaller and John Mateer as QB are the headline moves, and that's looked great. The defense was no joke against Michigan, too.Ìý

I think most here are also pretty bullish on how Mizzou's acquisitions have looked, too. At the moment, it looks like both programs could've gotten better from last year — OU certainly, MU maybe. I actually need to see more from Missouri to believe that than I do of Oklahoma. Now, given the Sooners' schedule, they may very well take some losses before the Tigers come too Norman. But that game being in Norman means it'll be a tough one. Your brother in law might be getting ready for a dinner on you, Tom, since it seems like those in Sooner land are quite happy. After an ugly game last year, this year's OU-MU matchup could be quite fun — from a football standpoint... somebody's got to lose.

¸é³Ü²õ²õ:ÌýGood morning, Eli. Are Jason Crowe and Toni Bryant considered to be immediate impact players? In other words, will they immeidiately get significant playing time upon arrival in 2026?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýAt the moment, that's on the table. Crowe has one-and-done potential more than Bryant does, but both could be that type of player. As such, you'd expect them to play and probably even start from Day 1.Ìý

Now for the asterisk nobody really likes: They've still got a year each of high school basketball to play. That's important. Stock, potential, all of that can and will still rise and fall because of that. There's a high degree of extrapolation that happens when scouting high school juniors — it's banked on the thinking that they'll continue on a certain trajectory until they get on campus. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes they exceed it. Sometimes they drop off it a little bit. So we'll see — but immediate impact is absolutely possible and the hope.

Senior scramble:ÌýThe SEC In football this year might be the best conference in the history of college football. I think Mizzou is decent but I am afraid with there offensive line winning in the SEC will be very difficult. Our running backs are making most of the yards after contact at the line of scrimmage.If Pribula gets hurt the freshmen just won't have the experience. We saw what Oklahoma did to the really good Michigan Freshmen. Your thoughts thanks for the chat.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýMy very early take on the SEC, having not even watched every team play yet: The bottom of the league is a lot better than last year, and the top may have come down a bit too. There's a very broad middle tier with not a ton of separation in there.Ìý

As for the O-line. It's been juuuuuust good enough through the first two games. Not good enough to feel great about it but not bad enough to have cost the Tigers anything. But good enough against UCA and KU will not be good enough against South Carolina and Alabama, the first two SEC opponents on the slate. You can't expect Ahmad Hardy to carve out 103 of his 111 yards after contact every week. You can't let Pribula take more contact than is absolutely necessary.

As long the the offensive line continues to improve, it shouldn't be an issue. That's both optimistic and not guaranteed. Drinkwitz was clear this week in challenging that group to be better. There's still some work to be done, for me, in convincing that Peagler at right guard really is the solution. For now, it's wait and see.

Mizzou Fan - Dallas:ÌýGood Morning - The defense gave up big passing plays against KU. Our zone coverage was terrible. And….we just didn’t make the adjustments. Why??? Thank You

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýYeah, it was not very good at all. The safeties in particular seemed to struggle with what they were asked to do. The use of zone was actually an adjustment. MU got burned a couple of times in man coverage early on (think that 50-yard pass that came against Carnell), so it switched to more zone in the second half. That didn't go very well either. If you missed it earlier in the week, here are some game clips and explanations to see what was happening.

The upside of this: Mizzou's well aware of what didn't work. Drinkwitz said so publicly, which means there's been plenty of discussion behind closed doors about it. The risk: Personnel is personnel, and there's only so much scheme that can be taught in season. Along with the O-line, the safeties are the group I'm really focusing on to see needed improvement.

Nemo zebra:ÌýLooking at Mizz's 2026 fb schedule, it shows 4 non-conf games including @ KU and @ IL (plus Ark-Pine Bluff and Troy in Como). With the SEC going to 9 conf. games, something has to give. I can't see playing 2 Power 4 conference teams on the road in the same year when only 1 is required. Have you heard anything from Mizz administration about such?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýMizzou and Illinois are not playing each other next year. That series will now resume in 2027 — something settled on earlier this summer, largely in anticipation of the SEC going to nine games.Ìý

Missouri does have four noncons scheduled for other football seasons, which will require buyouts/cancellations from the athletics department. I haven't checked in on that recently, but as of a few weeks ago when I last talked to Laird Veatch, it was something he knew would be necessary and a process that was starting.Ìý

MU will have to play at least one other power conference team each season. I'm not sure how often it'll look to play more than that.

³¢³Ü:ÌýHow is Drink so successful in one score games? Really since Boston College last year I've looked at this record in one score games as something of a fluke. At this point, it seems to be more of a feature of the team. You're the expert, but perhaps the clock management at the end of the first half against ku provides some insight. He could've easily gone into the half with the momentum, but driving down and getting that field goal to tie it up could have really been crucial to the final outcome.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýGreat question. At what point does a fluke — and in general, one-score games are quite fluky/random — become a feature? Certainly it has by now for Missouri.Ìý

First, to illustrate what I mean by this, look at Mizzou's only one-score loss of the last two seasons: at South Carolina in 2024. That's a game the Tigers could've just as easily won. Remember the 4th down touchdown pass to Burden? Fluky play, but it worked. And then the Gamecocks got a fluky play out of nobody in black and gold being able to tackle Rocket Sanders and they won in the end.Ìý

So I guess we can say MU has been successful in one-score games because it has pulled off some extraordinary plays. Mevis' 61-yarder. 4th and 17 against Florida. Craig from 56 against Iowa. Zion Young's scoop and score. Vandy missing a field goal in 2OT. In a vacuum, each of those individually are remarkable. Most, if not all, were unlikely circumstances.Ìý

We can call it luck, I suppose, but it's also players making plays. I mean no disrespect to Drinkwitz with this, but that's who gets the credit for these one-score wins in my eyes: the players. He's helped with good clock management at times, and obviously brought the players into the team. But he didn't make those plays, the players did.Ìý

He does do some things that help. I get the sense that Mizzou works situational drills in practice more than your average program. Drinkwitz puts his trust in his players to go out there and do their thing. There can be a domino effect to that...

If I can make a longwinded answer even more longwinded: I've been reading Seth Wickersham's book about quarterbacks that came out this week (it's great, as expected, and you should read it), and he got some fascinating insight from John Elway about his success in two minute drill situations. Basically, the first two times Elway had to run the two-minute drill in high school, his team scored. From there and because of that, he just assumed he could always do it. Here's the Elway quote: "I did it once. Then it happened a second time. So by the third time, everyone just expected it to happen, regardless of how the game had unfolded before the last drive, so I began to feel the same way."

Simple and abstract as it sounds, confidence can be a part of this. I think it fits the bill of what Mizzou has been the last couple of seasons: quite and rightfully confident it can pull these things off somehow.

²ÑÂá³ó³Ù¾±²µ±ð°ù:ÌýDonovan Olugbode seems like a great find. Big kid with speed! I would love to see him get more reps but who does he replace? Because of his size, would it make sense to put him in the slot for more snaps as opposed to Coleman who might be better as a wide out?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýNo kidding. Heck of a start for him. Sometimes the preseason hype never translates with these true freshmen, but it absolutely has with Olugbode.

Mizzou sticks with the prototypical smaller, shiftier wideouts in the slot role, which is why Olugbode will remain on the outside. He's already getting a lot of reps as the WR4, but if he's going to move up, that's probably at the expense of Josh Manning. Manning is the big-bodied outside receiver, so that would just make more sense from a role/build standpoint.

³¢³Ü:ÌýThey do seem incredibly composed during those high pressure situations. Diametrically opposed to all of us fans watching/clenching

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýRight? I'm inclined to think that has to come from a combination of confidence and preparation, which are themselves intertwined.

Sec. 125, Row 9, Seats 1-2:ÌýThe game atmosphere at Farout has never been rowdier, louder OR more obnoxious and drunker (is drunker a word??). My wife and I sit down low in section 125 and in that corner with the team going in and out of the tunnel and many fans gawking just to get a look, you expect a certain mania at all times. But the (over)consumption of alcohol and that stupid Mr. Briteside song made last Saturday one of the worst ever. Why oh why did the stadium folks play along and play that song every two minutes (or so it seemed?) I mean really the ship has sailed where you can take your kids to the game anymore, but it is getting to the point where even folks who are not easily offended and expect a certain amount of drunkenness are considering sitting at home in the future. I realize the anecdotal nature of my comments here, but I talked with ten different folks last Saturday and all of them had some thought as to whether to keep up the Saturday trek from 51ºÚÁÏ next year. Watching grown men carry two beers at a time back to their seats only to build there own personal beer snake is becoming too much. Is the Mizzou admin concerned at all about the awful game day atmosphere?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI do think the Border War brought out a certain kind of crazy in fans, and certainly brought out Mr. Brightside a couple extra times. That game is not one I would take kids to, and I didn't see as many as usual there. I do think it will be more restrained for the rest of the home games.Ìý

Still, I hear your point. I don't see sports (and college sports in particular) separating from drinking culture anytime soon, and I say that as someone who can count on one hand the number of beers I've bought at sporting events in my life. (Now, I've only been of drinking age for three years, so maybe that's not the world's most effective point.) I'd encourage you, especially if this persists, to voice your concerns to the athletics department our your ticket rep, though. It's never a guarantee that anything will change, but they do look at feedback for gameday experience things. There could be folks from the athletics department reading this chat, too, but I'd encourage you to reach out there as well.Ìý

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýEli! Late to the chat. I think Mizzou is proving it's so much better than they were given preseason credit for. I think if anyone had a sense of what Pribula was, Mizzou starts the year in the top 20, maybe top 15. So much skill position depth. However (there's always a "however," right?) I feel like Mizzou was at least 20 points better than KU, but the trend of dominating opponents by letting them stick around with secondary breakdowns is troubling. Last year and again this year. Does this get fixed? That and the need for more explosive plays. I don't see them being able to string together so many 10+ drives against SEC teams, do you?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýTo your first point: Isn't it funny how quickly perception changes when an unknown is replaced by what looks like a positive? You're absolutely correct.

To your "however": If you look at offensive yardage, time of possession, that sort of thing, MU was definitely better than the scoreline showed. The play that honestly closed the gap the most? Pribula's fumble that was returned. Those are seven fluky points right there. Take that play out and it's 42-24. (Of course, the "take that play out" game is a dangerous one to play).Ìý

As I sort of mentioned earlier with the zone coverage question, the issue of coverage breakdowns is clear to anyone who understands the premise of football. Based on this one showing, I would not say the coverage integrity of the defense has improved from its issues with this last year. That should probably say something about the likelihood of it being fixed — if several transfers and a whole offseason can't fix it, what will any in-season tweaks be able to do? At the same time, though, it's so glaringly apparent that it has to be a point of emphasis during practices. When South Carolina comes to town, it'll be clear whether this is going to dog the Mizzou defense all year or whether it has been patched up.Ìý

I'm torn on the explosives point. There do need to be some. That held up the offense a little bit last year, though it wasn't the most pressing issue. But if the running game can be as efficient as it has been so far (within reason — there'll be a bit of a drop-off against SEC defenses) I can see there being a grind-it-out rhythm to the offense. So as much as it's possible, I think we need to see a couple of SEC games to have a feel for what's necessary and possible there.

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýBy the way, how refreshing to see Norfleet actually be part of the gameplan. Hmmm, maybe Moore will figure out that 6'7" mobile athletic TEs with terrific hands are really hard to stop, especially if you throw him something other than passes that take him into the sideline.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýIsn't it fun? Not like this was any groundbreaking analysis, but I wrote this offseason that if there's a dimension for the offense to grow — compared to sustain, which was most of the challenge this offseason — it was Norfleet's role as a receiver. That's absolutely been the case. Now, it's not Moore's fault this wasn't happening. Norfleet just hasn't been healthy enough to actually get volume and take the contact required. There've been flashes of how Moore wants to use him, but this is the most we've been able to see him really in play, and that's down to Norfleet being healthy.

³¢³Ü:ÌýCould you compare and contrast Jalon Daniels to LaNorris Sellers?

I think it's quite helpful we already have a game against a scrambling QB under our belt to prepare. However, it seems like Sellers is probably a more complete package

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýLu, I'm going to dodge the question a bit because this will be a story next week. At a very basic level, I view Sellers as a more talented, less erratic version of Daniels. But more to come on that next week.

And yes, it's certainly good to get a look at this style of QB early. Now, Mizzou knows its issues in those situations before SEC play, with a better chance to fix them.

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýBy the way, with the discussion of Mizzou in close games in play today, one thing that would help avoid such close games is better red zone offense and Drink being less conservative about going for it vs kicking FGs. The injury to Craig is clearly going to force him away from relying on the kicking game as much, and I think that's a good thing.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýWe're certainly going to see a more aggressive team in that sense. The team trusts Meyer up to 52 yards. But even then, I still think there's going to be more going for it outside of the red zone and maybe even between the 10-20, too. Just the nature of what it has to be without Craig.

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýTime out: You're only 24? That mustache is doing a lot of heavy lifting for you!

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýHa! Yes, only 24. Gotta keep the 'stache around to keep it ambiguous.Ìý

And on that fun note, we'll wrap up today's chat. Got a couple of stories to write and one to post soon here. Thanks for all the questions, and we'll chat again next week!

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