Tag: footballs

No. 19 Missouri football finished the season strong with a 27-24 win over Iowa in the Music City Bowl.

The win clinched MU’s second straight 10-win season. 

The Tigers did some things well and not so well in their final game of 2024. Let’s review what happened.

What went well

Quarterback Brady Cook had a “get on my back” type of game, which was very much needed when you realize what he had working against him.

Star receiver Luther Burden III, starting tight end Brett Norfleet, starting receiver Mookie Cooper and star right tackle Armand Membou all didn’t play. Then, starting receiver Theo Wease missed the second half with an upper-body injury. 

Also, the run game was non-existent with the running backs combining for 13 carries for 33 yards. The team ran for 89 yards and Cook had 54 of those himself. 

In the fourth quarter with the game on the line, on the final offensive possession, Cook completed a six-yard pass to reserve receiver Logan Muckey for the latter’s first reception of the season. He also completed a 20-yard pass up the seam to fourth-string running back Tavorus Jones. 

Cook helped make players, who don’t really play, look good in a big spot. Obviously, Muckey and Jones have to hold up their end, but it takes a lot for a quarterback to trust those reserve players, especially with the game on the line. 

Cook completed 18-of-32 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 14 carries for 54 yards. 

What went wrong 

Again, the rushing attack out of Cook was non-existent. Iowa played a big hand in that and Membou not being on the right side stopped MU from running to its best side. But you can’t have the quarterback outrushing the team’s entire running back room by himself.

Special teams almost cost the team the game while simultaneously winning MU the game (more on this below). 

The run defense left a lot to be desired. You’d think since Iowa was without star running back Kaleb Johnson, who is one of the premier backs in the nation, that MU would be all right stopping the run and it wasn’t. Iowa’s RB2 Kamari Moulton rushed for a game-high 96 yards and a touchdown while RB3 Jaziun Patterson ran for a season-high 74 yards. 

What was the turning point

There were a couple of key turning points. One of them was when MU was down 24-14 midway through the third quarter and Cook connected with wide receiver Marquis Johnson for a 44-yard gain down the middle that put Mizzou in the red zone.

The Tigers would score four plays later on a Joshua Manning jet sweep.

The deep shot to Johnson gave MU a shot of adrenaline and with the score a few plays later, it made it a one-score game, and that’s when the writing started to appear on the wall. It wasn’t fully on the wall because Iowa had play well up to that point, but MU entered the game 10-1 in one-score games over the last two seasons. So, it felt like once MU narrowed the deficit to 21-24 it had Iowa right where it wanted it entering the fourth quarter. 

The second big turning point was Toriano Pride’s interception in the fourth quarter. Iowa was already on MU’s side of the field when he made the play and the offense would capitalize to set up a Blake Craig 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 24-24.

Iowa is one of the best teams in the country at not turning the ball over. So, it was huge for MU to force one when it did, and get points out of it to tie the game.

What to be hopeful for 

Fans hoping to see what Johnson, Manning and Daniel Blood would do with more playing time got their wish. The trio of receivers all played a decent amount with the former two being dubbed as starters. 

Johnson had a career day with seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. Manning didn’t record a target but he did have a rushing touchdown.

Blood didn’t really see many snaps until the second half, but he had two receptions for 38 yards and both of them were important. The first, a 21-yard reception, came during a passing cold streak, which saw Cook complete 2-of-10 passes after a hot start. Later in the game, he’d convert a third and 10 when he caught a 17-yard pass. 

This game somewhat signaled a preview of what they could do an increased roles next year alongside incoming Mississippi State receiver and third-team All-Southeastern Conference selection Kevin Coleman. 

“As these other guys move on, it was awesome to see Luther, (I) appreciate him coming back today, and Theo is moving on, as those guys move on, it’s really about Marquis and Josh (Manning’s) turn next,” head coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. “And we’re really excited. It was easy to recruit a quarterback when you can send a tape of Marquis and Josh. So, (I’m) very appreciative of him (Johnson), and know that he’s got a lot of work to continue to improve but we know that the next year, hopefully two, but probably just one, is going to be really special.”

What to be concerned about 

In a bowl win, there’s not too much that fans probably should be concerned about when you think about the roster turnover this team will have. bUtah if you want to to nitpick there are a few things.

There was a kickoff returned for a 100-yard Iowa touchdown that made this game closer than it should’ve been. There was a late-hit out-of-bounds penalty against the punting team and then there were two kick returns by Johnson where he returned the ball out of the end zone and got it to the 10 and 15-yard line, respectively. What are the kick return rules? Why not fair catch every kick return and get the ball at your own 25-yard line? 

Tackling was also a problem. Iowa’s second and third-string running backs were having great games and when they hit the hole they either made a MU defender miss or they ricocheted off of them and got more yards after contact.

Tackling has been an issue all season and it’s cost them at times. MU got a couple of linebackers in former West Virginia Mountaineer Josiah Trotter and former Nebraska Cornhusker Mikai Gbayor out of the portal who are good tacklers. So, that should help at the second level but they’re not going be the only ones tasked to tackle.

It just has to be better. Players have to stop going for so many hits and go for form tackles. 

Honestly, tackling has been an issue since this writer started here in 2022, and Drinkwitz has said as much several times over the years.

Again, this is probably nitpicking because next year will be a completely new team, but those are things to think about.

Player(s) of the game

Brady Cook

He literally won MVP honors so how could it not be him? 

But kicker Blake Craig is another worthy candidate for Player of the Game honors after he nailed two clutch field goals (51, 56) in the fourth quarter. He also broke the bowl record for the longest made field goal twice.

Defensive end Johnny Walker recorded four tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss while playing with an undisclosed injury that Drinkwitz thought would’ve kept Walker from playing in this game. 

Johnson is another player who had a big day. 

Anyone one of those players would probably suffice.