mizzou-fan

"Yeah, we only lost by 29......I think that might be worth a trip to the ol' prize box"! LMAO

I also remember thinking, on that first 4th down and short, that we should go for it. Considering the opponent, and the most likely eventual outcome, why not go for it? I mean what would we have to lose? Another thing that bothered me about Odom's game management was how he burned through all of his timeouts, in both halves, like they were going out of style. Again, maybe not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, again considering the probable (and final) outcome. Maybe he was truly using the game as a "learning game", but if so, that's contrary to what he and Lock said in how they were approaching this game...as any other game. Hope it was just a one time off day, but Lock looked out of sorts most of the night. The clock in his head, that all QB's need, wasn't working. He held the ball way too long far too many times. I don't know what he was thinking on that safety.

Agreed.....and well said.

which is exactly why I said, "aside from Bama".

SEC coach: Mizzou not using TEs properly: "...To be honest, I don’t think Missouri is using them properly...." I think it's safe to say we probably don't do a lot of things on offense properly...and yet we seem to mostly eek by in games....keep them close and win some and lose some. By coach Odom's and Dooley's own montra..."we just want to be in the 4th quarter with a chance to win." Imagine if we played our personnel and game plan properly. We wouldn't have to hope it was close in the 4th quarter because we would probably be dominating the score up to that point. (aside from Bama).

The problem for Missouri (and every other team that has to play Bama) is that their 3rd and 4th string players are more than likely starters on any other team. Your secondary will be fine....unfortunately for Mizzou.

Our game this past Saturday was hopefully an anomaly. Lock didn't look that great, but of course a big part of that was the weather. Hopefully we get Emanuel Hall back this week. Maybe then, just maybe, Lock might get a few completions against your D. More than likely though, this will be another easy roll for you guys.

I'm not usually one to complain about officials, but there were some attrocious calls in this game. 1. Taking away Crockets TD was pure theft and completely changed the course of the game. It was rightly initially ruled a TD. No way in hell upon any of the replay angles they showed was there indisputable evidence showing he stepped out. Complete BS. 2. The supposed interception late in the game by SC, was also complete crap. The Mizzou player had the ball on his chest when he was already down and laying on his back. The SC player ripped the ball out well after that. Both officials who were right there after that play looked at each other... waiting for the other to make the call because neither of them had a damn clue. Then they both gave in to the pressure of the SC bench players and coaches begging for the call to go their way. That said, not sure on our last drive, why we are still passing the ball when we're getting yards in chunks every time we run. One more first down, and we are in a much better situation to kick a game winner, or better yet, score a running td. Instead, we settle for a 57 yard field goal which both Odom and Dooley were damn lucky we made. But the problem is it left too much time for SC. Nearly every game in the Mizzou South Carolina series has come down to the final seconds. Our last series we played to not lose, as opposed to playing to win. Between that and the botched officiating, chalk up another close loss that should have been a dominating win. This one is gonna stick in the craw for awhile. Congrats SC.

Good question, agdawg. Actually, I would say that when it comes to Georgia, there is certainly a high degree of frustration with Mizzou fans, in the sense that you guys have kind of been at the top of the division for a while now, and although we haven't played well overall, we tend to play you decently. But I think the perception is that we beat ourselves in the past couple of years more than anything. I pretty much agree with that, although I (and I think most Mizzou fans) really respect GA and how good they are. Also some of the nicest fans we've encountered....which makes it hard to "hate" you guys! And yeah, I would agree with you too, that the South Carolina series has been really strong no matter how the other team is playing overall, each team tends to play the other really well. The fact that Bentley isn't starting tomorrow, and a senior getting his first start instead, kind of scares me. Those type of situations can sometimes rally a team to play really well. So, I think tomorrow's game could be another nail biter close game, in a series that has had a lot of games like that. Good luck to you guys tomorrow.

This situation doesn't call for officials with yellow flags or school administrators with a one-game suspension. It calls for Police to arrest those punk thugs. That was nothing less than pre-meditated assault that happened to be during a football game.

I think it's tough because Mizzou's true rival was (and is although we are no longer playing regularly) Kansas. That was bitter and as fierce as any in the country, and it literally went back to the Civil War days. Once it came to an end (hopefully only temporarily), it was hard to find any real meaning in a somewhat contrived "rivalry" with Arkansas. But, I'm sure it will get better with time. I will say, that at least in Basketball, I think the rivalry with Arkansas is already felt much deeper than it is with football. But the football side of things should hopefully get better over time.

"Mizzou-Arkansas — Neither school wants to acknowledge the other as a rival, which actually makes this a fairly intense rivalry." ^That was funny!

Thanks, SLG. Hope you guys (aside from this weekend), have a great rest of the season!

Tigurr, you make some valid points, but to clarify my own, I was only comparing Lock's overall skills to other QB's overall skills (independent of receivers, OC's, head coaches, etc.) And by running out of time, I was meaning with regard to his time left at Mizzou since he's a senior. And yes, I definitely agree with you that from an entire team and program perspective, the coaching staff needs to grow a lot, and hopefully soon. We seem to have a knack for hiring coaches and assistants that have to learn on the job. Not ideal for sure.

I'be been a Tiger fan all my life. I lived through the Woody Widenhofer years, the Stull, Smith, and Pinkel eras. All of which had their own ups and downs (and even a 5th down). I've seen the highs and lows. Brad Smith, under Gary Pinkel, really started the renaissance. Chase Daniel and even to some extent, Blaine Gabbert all did their parts to evolve and push the program to new places. Drew Lock, has arguably more arm talent than Smith, Gabbert, or Daniel. But to this point, the stats don't lie when it comes to his win/loss record against teams with winning records. He really needs to step it up and lead this team starting this Saturday. He's got to take over, do whatever it takes to move the sticks and score points. I don't think anyone could argue that he can make every throw, but now his team (and for his own future draft stock and career), his team needs him to be more of a vocal leader on the field and on the bench. He needs to get fired up and fire up his team to play focused, well-executed, passionate, tough-minded, never quit football. He needs to use his arm, his legs, his football IQ, his determination, his grit to extend plays, and encourage others around him to do the same. Now is the time. He's running out of opportunities for proving he's an elite quarterback. Lots of QB's can throw the football (Blaine Gabbert comes to mind), but not as many can truly lead his team with all of the other less tangible skills (Tebow at Florida, McSorely at Penn State come to mind). I think he has that in him, but only time will tell if he can find it. For whatever it's worth, I think you could say similar things about Jake Bentley at USC at this point in his development. Here's hoping Lock finds it before Bentley does....at least this weekend.

I would take Lock to start a team with anytime. But I admit he wasn't all that he needs to be, this past Saturday. While his passes were on time and on target, his receivers had way too many drops, so not Lock's fault. But, I would have liked to see Lock move more. Aside from his one running TD, which was a designed run, he never really seemed to move around much to extend plays or seek first downs. For whatever reason, probably nerves, I don't know....he was content to stay in the pocket and he held the ball longer than he usually does. I would have liked to see some rollouts, or naked bootlegs...something to get his feet going. Might have loosened him up some, as well as kept the Georgia Defense guessing some. Instead the Georgia D was able to "lock" in on him and pursue him downhill all day. I also figured, with Dooley coming in as OC this year, that we might see some basic formations with Lock under center instead of always in the shotgun. So far, to my recollection, he hasn't been under center at all. He'll need that in the NFL, and he indicated that one of the reasons he came back this year was to get more ready for the next level, and that he felt Dooley would be a big help with that. I don't want to abandon the shotgun...in fact we should probably keep using it 90% of the time. But an occasional under center formation would get Lock more comfortable with that skill, would keep opposing Defenses guessing some (making them think instead of just playing), would allow for some additional creativity with rollouts and play action, and would get help Lock with his footwork and timing.

^KirbySmart, Lock was 23/48 because of numerous drops by the receivers. If you go back and look at the tape, Lock's ball placement was nearly perfect on each throw. His passes were on time and on target. Which is all he can do. His receivers were nervous or otherwise not fully focused Saturday.

Amen, brother. Was thinking the exact same thing with the Tiger name originating back in the 1860's.

Hype Vids are kind of cool for fans I guess. And I'm definitely hyped for this game Saturday, but I don't need a video to get ready to go. What I could really use, is a hype video to get me ready for my client meeting tomorrow, and then for all the yard work that's waiting for me this weekend.

Welcome to CoMo. I grew up in Columbia, just a few miles from TheZou. It's a fun atmosphere on game day. I would love to get down and see a game between the hedges someday. Hope you enjoy your time and the food/places/people. Mizzou fans truly love being a part of the SEC. Here's hoping you have a great time, but end up witnessing a Mizzou upset!

Probably not. But I think this game will tend to be a bit lower scoring than most. Both offenses, trying to keep the other side off the field, will slow things down and use the run more. I think that will keep the overall score lower than might otherwise be the case.

Agreed. This is a good thing for sure. I had always assumed the NCAA set the rules regarding bye weeks. I'm sure now that the SEC has done this, other conferences will follow.

I just noticed the picture of Lock at the top of this article. That looks like one hell of a bruise on the inside of Lock's throwing hand....must have been from two weeks ago. It obviously didn't bother him last Saturday at Purdue. I'm hoping beyond hope, that both sides of the ball for Mizzou have some surprises in store for this week. Perhaps we aren't really all THAT bad in our secondary? Maybe we were playing some extremely basic coverages because Acey was out? Is it a stretch to think that maybe we did this so as to not put too much on film for Georgia? I don't know....but it would be nice if that was the reality. The truth probably is that our secondary is young and our zone coverage sucks. Maybe we can grow up some between now and Saturday. Offensively, it would also be nice to see if Dooley breaks out any new formations we haven't seen yet. Kind of a curveball if you will, to keep the Georgia D honest. Again, this probably won't be the case, but it would be nice to see something new....if for no other reason than to make the Georgia D have to think instead of just play and react. Should be an entertaining game, that's for sure. Going with my heart on this one instead of my head: Mizzou 34 Dawgs 31

Yeah, the Big10 network announcers were pretty worthless for player health updates or much of anything else. About the only thing they were good at was saying Dooley was the OC for both teams. SMDH.

Yeah, Badie is looking good (and Roundtree).

Anyone know if Crocket is hurt? He didn't seem to get many carries Saturday. And it seems like Downing could have gotten at least a couple of reps back there but through 3 games I haven't seen him except on special teams.

Offensively we looked good except for a few questionable play calls. Receivers looking good. Drew still needs to use his feet more, especially on 3rd downs when we need to move the sticks. Defensively, wow... where to start? No pressure up the middle all night. The open green grass radius around many of the Purdue receivers was way too big all night. That's gotta get fixed. More man coverage and less zone. Special Teams, looked good with the exception of the kickoff out of bounds. Overall, some very positive things to take into Georgia week. But the defense has to get it together. On a side note, how spoiled are we with the SEC Network? The announcers on the Big10 network were complete idiots.

Agreed. The open grass radius around the Purdue receivers was way the hell to big all night. That's gotta get cleaned up in a hurry.

Don't understand how guys continue to screw this up. Either don't drink at all, or walk, call an uber, a taxi, a friend, whatever....just don't get in a car and drive. Glad no one got hurt. Hope he figures things out.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. But if it did, no one would care. Good riddance.