Dive into the Heart of Mizzou Athletics

The Tigers hit the road for a on oddball game, but our scribe in attendance says it wasn’t that bad.

The conceit of this weekly column is that I write something similar to what a boots-on-the-ground beat reporter would write in a Notebook, but from the other side of the country. As a New York City resident, I don’t have access to the community or clubhouse. I try to keep an eagle eye on television, and scout the web for stats and notes that can make for some interesting content. I don’t get to enjoy watching our guys in person multiple times a season.

Well, the tables have turned, as Jim Sterk’s bizarre scheduling choices allowed me my third chance to see the Tigers in the past decade. A trip to UConn in 2017 was a romp, and visiting Boston College was a fiasco, only slightly salvaged by the fun of a long weekend in Beantown. And I had a great time on the weekend trip to UMass. Traffic was kind of a nightmare on I-95, but the foliage and fellowship on the road trip made up for it.

Yes, it felt kind of silly watching the Tigers play in ostensibly a high school stadium, since I have seen them in great college football cathedrals like those erected in Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Athens and others. Yes, the crowd was mild-mannered, which was a bummer after attending games in feverish crowds like the 2013 SEC championship or 2023 Cotton Bowl.

But looking back, I will appreciate the trip for what it was, not for what it wasn’t.

Sure, the tailgating scene lacked a teeming sea of trucks, grills, catered spreads, and Chick-Fil-A nugget platters. It was intimate, and the fans were friendly and welcoming. (A stark contrast to their New England brethren at the school in the city to the East.)

The stadium was small, but the concession stand lines were brisk, the grub was inexpensive, and the beers were ice cold. The beers that I snuck past security were not cold, though, but again, good luck getting a few cans of domestic swill past the TSA-esque checkpoints at an SEC stadium.

We took advantage of one of the stadium’s quirks, which was a complete lack of sideline security other than a small chain-link fence. We were so close to the pregame warmups that we probably could have joined in, and we stayed there for a quarter of game action before moseying back to our seats. That was a first-ever gameday experience for me.

So while the game was an odd one on paper, and the butt of many jokes, I will appreciate it for what it was. I had a great time taking it in, as I’m sure many other of my fellow Acela corridor Tigers did. Now I would heartily recommend trying to see our Tigers in action in smaller, more intimate venues.

This mindset can also be applied to our fandom, as Sam Snelling wrote yesterday in his Pourover: “Eli Drinkwitz isn’t a perfect coach with a perfect football program. He’s a good coach with a good program.”

While the result in Texas was frustrating, it’s still a good time to be happy with the state of the team and program as a whole. Right now, I will enjoy the team for what it is, not get mad at what it isn’t.

Some other thoughts, not from a thousand miles away, but from about 15 rows up…

• I thought Marcus Carroll looked outstanding, and a little bit Schraderish. It was great to see him have a signature game after mostly living in Nate Noel’s shadows to start the year. Last season the team turned more and more to the run game as the season progressed, which might be a winning formula for this team, too.
• I liked seeing deeper rotations and think the staff should see if some of the youngsters can give them anything in league play. Clearly some are not yet ready, but Joshua Manning could add some juice to the passing attack, and perhaps Jakhai Lang and Williams Nwaneri can bring a few snaps of situational pass rush juice to a line that sorely needs it.

Mizzou leaned on its veterans to walk away with an easy, breezy win in beautiful Amherst.

Welcome to the MV3, a weekly piece where Rock M Nation’s staff votes on the three most impactful players in Mizzou’s previous game.

While last week’s MV3 was quite a bit of fun to put together, it’s always nicer to write this piece after a win. We love to celebrate the great things Mizzou does on the gridiron, and games like Saturdays make it simple. So why delay for another sentence or two of filler? Let’s see who our staff thought were the most valuable players this week.

1. Corey Flagg, Jr.

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Quentin’s sidebar perfectly summarizes the impact Corey Flagg had on this game — though I would’ve gone with the headline “Planting the Flagg” — so it’s hard to argue with his top billing here. With UMass on the verge of completing a big middle-eight swing, Flagg stepped in front of a Taisun Phommachanh pass and took it 80 yards to set up a Blake Craig field goal just short of the half. It was the dagger that effectively killed the game, as Mizzou would prevent UMass from ever threatening again while adding a few quick scores to start the second half. Adding three tackles is the cherry on top of Flagg’s most important contribution yet as a Tiger.

2. Luther Burden III

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Burden’s junior season perhaps hasn’t been as explosive as most Mizzou fans would’ve liked thus far, but he’s been the picture of steady excellence. Before a shoulder stinger — my guess, at least — forced him out of action in the third quarter, Burden racked up 127 total yards of offense on seven touches, including a 61-yard run sweep that started the game on a high note for the Tigers. He’s up to 498 total yards and six touchdowns on the season, and is primed to have more big games with some prime time match ups in the near future.

3. Marcus Carroll

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Marcus Carroll, who served as the first big name transfer portal addition for Mizzou this offseason. But with the emergence of Nate Noel as an explosive threat out of the backfield, Carroll has mostly been relegated to bruiser and goal line carries — not that he’s complained, of course. But with Noel dealing with some back tightness, Carroll got the bulk of the touches against UMass before ceding way to the youngsters. He didn’t disappoint either, averaging 6.1 yards per carry for a total of 91 yards and three scores. He also busted a 35-yard explosive play, proving he’s more than the thunder to Nate Noel’s lightning.

Others receiving votes: None

What say you? Did anyone else stand out to you during Mizzou’s win? Let us know in the comments!