Here are a couple of quick thoughts from Missouri’s 38-18 win against FCS opponent South Dakota State.

What It Means: Not much. The Tigers are replacing a ton of key starters from the 2013 team, and most fans and media members figured the team would need the relatively tame non-conference schedule to develop. Missouri could’ve been sharper in some areas, but didn’t do anything too concerning either.

What I Liked: Missouri won the game and avoided any major injuries. That’s the most important outcome. The rest of the positives played out as expected: Marcus Murphy proved himself a dangerous all-purpose threat, the starting defensive ends combined for 2.5 sacks, the offensive line looked as good as advertised in the running game (5.5 yards per carry), Maty Mauk threw touchdown passes of 44, 39 and 29 yards and the defense forced three turnovers.

What I Didn’t Like: The Jackrabbits’ first offensive play went for a 75-yard touchdown. South Dakota State’s all-time leading passer went down early in the first quarter, but backup Zach Lujan consistently stung the Tigers secondary. Lujan missed on his two first-quarter throws, then completed 21-of-26. (As an aside, South Dakota State’s backup quarterback threw for 140 yards in the third quarter, while Mauk threw for zero third-quarter yards.) Mauk relied too much on big plays and didn’t sustain many long drives, failing to see some open receivers and throwing off-target to others. Special teams botched several plays.

Who’s The Man: Murphy. He caught passes, ran the ball effectively and …

Key Play: Murphy planted his feet two yards deep in the end zone on a third-quarter kickoff return and turned on the jets, taking advantage of good blocking to streak to a 100-yard touchdown. Missouri led just 21-18 at the time as Zach Zinner ran for his second touchdown on the previous play.

What’s Next: Missouri travels to Toledo on Saturday (noon ET), where Gary Pinkel coached from 1991-2000. The Rockets’ spread offense produces points, averaging 33.0 per game in 2013, but must replace quarterback Terrance Owens, who logged more than 9,000 yards of total offense and 72 touchdowns in his career.