Don’t get cute, Missouri.
The Tigers can’t get caught trying to earn style points after a less-than-perfect win against South Dakota in the season opener.
Quarterback Maty Mauk and the rest of the team need to be consistent, not spectacular. A one-point win at Toledo with no major injuries wouldn’t be a major accomplishment, but it wouldn’t be shameful, either.
Missouri is a more explosive team than Toledo. But can it grind out stops on third-and-3 or move the chains after second-and-10?
Safeties Braylon Webb and Ian Simon must prevent the big play over the top while cornerbacks like Aarion Penton and Kenya Dennis, best suited to cover underneath and intermediate routes, play tighter coverage against some tall Toledo receivers.
Toledo opened the Glass Bowl in 1937 and never has hosted an SEC team. This is one of the biggest home games in school history, especially given that the opposing coach is the team’s all-time wins leader in Gary Pinkel, and the opposing quarterback broke all sorts of high school records barely more than an hour’s drive from the stadium.
A win in a tough road environment, no matter the margin of victory, would represent a nice stair-step for the 2014 season.
It’s time to play ball.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
