As expected, Missouri took care of business against South Dakota with a 35-10 victory at Faurot Field on Thursday.

Sure, Brady Cook didn’t light the world on fire. But he was good: 17-of-21 for 172 yards and a score through the air, and another touchdown on the ground during the first half before Sam Horn entered for his second collegiate appearance, going 3-of-5 for 54 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

On the ground, the Tigers dominated proceedings 211-38 thanks to a strong performance by the offensive and defensive fronts coupled with a career day for Cody Schrader.

Sure, it was an FCS opponent. But the 2023 season, one during which Tigers fans will be looking to see significant progress, is off to the right start.

Player of the Week: RB Cody Schrader

Have a day, Cody Schrader.

The grad student was Mizzou’s leading rusher a season ago, and it looks as if he may be ready to kick it into another gear in 2023. He had 18 carries for a career-high 138 yards and a score against the Coyotes on Thursday, adding 3 catches for 13 yards. His longest carry was for 42 yards.

The 2021 D-II rushing title winner, who transferred from Truman State ahead of the 2022 season, could prove one of Mizzou’s valuable assets if it’s to make a push up the SEC East standings.

Freshman of the week: DB Marvin Burks Jr.

The St. Louis product had a chance to show what he could do in Blake Baker’s defense right from the start, ending the evening credited with 4 tackles and 1 sack.

The 4-star recruit, originally committed to Ole Miss, ultimately opted to stay in-state and sign with Mizzou. Safe to say Game 1 was a solid debut.

Biggest surprise: No takeaways by the Mizzou defense

In the takeaway department, this was a rather clean game: South Dakota had the lone one of the day, an interception of Horn.

Against an opponent like the Coyotes, it would have been nice to see the Tigers force a turnover of their own, but it wasn’t to be. We’ll see if that changes against MTSU during Week 2’s contest.

Biggest concern: Tigers let their foot off the gas pedal

The Tigers had the game in hand at halftime but struggled offensively coming out of the locker room. Harrison Mevis missed a 34-yard field goal that would have stretched the lead to 31-3. On their next drive, backup QB Sam Horn was intercepted. They then had to punt it away before getting back into the end zone in the 4th quarter.

Again, the lead was large enough that the margin for error was a little wider than usual, but it would have been nice to see the Tigers continue to create more distance with Horn in and Cook done for the day.

Developing trend: Cody Schrader’s 100-plus-yard performance

Before Thursday, Cody Schrader hadn’t run for more than 100 yards in a game for Mizzou — his career-best with the program was 89 against Georgia.

It’d be surprising if his 100-plus-yard game against South Dakota is his last. Thursday requires the qualifier that it was against FCS competition, but Middle Tennessee State giving up over 200 yards rushing to Alabama is something that could play into his favor as far as making it back-to-back games with over 100 yards.

Key stat: 1 sack allowed

Good to see the Mizzou offensive line keeping Cook upright for most of the game. Along with the 1 sack allowed, the Tigers held the Coyotes to 0 quarterback hurries.

Last year, Mizzou gave up 23 sacks. It’s not a high number, but it was still around the middle of the pack among SEC schools in 2022. Tigers fans (and Cook) will enjoy seeing that number come out a little lower at the end of this season.

First impression about Week 2

Middle Tennessee State (0-1) is very much not an FCS team, and that in and of itself will equal much more of a challenge for the Tigers in Week 2.

The Blue Raiders were clobbered by Alabama 56-7 on Saturday. MTSU had trouble gaining much traction against the Crimson Tide, finding itself down 28-0 at the break. Blue Raiders quarterback Nicholas Vattiato managed just 127 yards, going 21-of-32 while throwing an interception.

This has the opportunity to be a letdown game for the Tigers if they aren’t careful. That said, holding serve at home and starting the year 2-0 will give them momentum as Kansas State is up next during Week 3.