Mizzou takes care of business, improves to 3-0 with ho-hum win over Troy
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Mizzou football is 3-0 on the season after downing Troy 27-17 on Saturday. While it was a bit of a frustrating game for Eli Drinkwitz and Co, they can at least take solace in that.
Let’s start with the positives. Even with Ahmad Hardy still away from the field while he works his way back to action, the Tigers appear to be in good hands at running back. Jamal Roberts was the best player on the field Saturday evening, leading all rushers with 22 carries for 128 yards and 1 touchdown. Roberts outrushed Troy’s entire team by over 30 yards.
The Tigers also protected the football well, which probably ended up winning them the game. Missouri‘s defense forced a pair of Troy turnovers while the Tigers offense committed none. Missouri has turned the ball over just twice so far this season.
Now for the not so good. After an excellent outing last week against Kansas, Austin Simmons wasn’t near as sharp on Saturday. The Mizzou QB’s timing was off for most of the night. The Ole Miss transfer completed 10 of his 19 passing attempts for 91 yards and 1 touchdown at an average of 4.8 yards per attempt.
It wasn’t all bad, though. Simmons fit this throw into a super tight window for his lone touchdown of the night:
Missouri’s secondary struggled as well. The Tigers are going to have a rough time against the best quarterbacks in the SEC if they play like they did on Saturday. Troy quarterback Goose Crowder finished the afternoon 18-of-28 for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Next up for Mizzou, the Tigers are set to travel to Starkville to face off against Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
