Dive into the Heart of Mizzou Athletics

Emptying the notebook on the UMASSacre.

After sleeping on the 45-3 result, it I feel a little bit bad for UMASS. They got to host their first SEC opponent in program history on national TV and got utterly dominated. It’s a little like going over to an acquaintance’s house and coming down with the bubble guts. You have no choice but to absolutely wreck their john. Any port in a storm, and so on. You still feel bad about it, though, as you try and sneak out as unobtrusively as possible. Anyway, sorry for the clogged commode, UMASS. Hope you’ve got a good plumber.

I posted my five biggest takeaways from the beat down of UMASS immediately following the game, but have a few more thoughts following the game I thought I’d drop on you as well.

Let’s empty the notebook:

Spare Thoughts:

• Brady Cook designed runs actually worked! While Kirby Moore only dialed up two designed quarterback runs, both worked to perfection, which is a far cry from previous games. On the second drive of the game, Cook ran a well-timed QB draw, running up the middle for 15 yards. On the third drive, a well-planned zone read went for 10 more yards. Let’s hope these results don’t lure Kirby into running more of these types of plays against SEC defenses, but hey, they worked against UMASS.
• No Noel, no problem. It became obvious early in the game that Nate Noel wasn’t going to play, as Marcus Carroll, Jamal Roberts and Kewan Lacy all got carries in the first 20 minutes of the game. Come to find out he had some back tightness and was unable to loosen up to play. His absence was no problem for the Tiger running game as they wracked up 231 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, three of which went to Carroll.
• This was a great opportunity to see some early playing time early for young players. We got to see several freshmen and sophomores get playing time not just in garbage time, but in real moments when the game was still up for grabs. Jamal Roberts, Kewan Lacy, Williams Nwaneri, Jakhai Lang, Josh Manning and more all got real reps in the first half and early in the third quarter.
• The front four of the Tiger defense put up some real pressure on UMASS quarterback Taisun Phommachanh, causing several throw-aways as well as forcing a fumble and coming up with three sacks. Two of those sacks were by defensive linemen in Chris McClellan and freshman Williams Nwaneri (his first career sack,) meaning Corey Batoon didn’t have to blitz much to get pressure.
• On that note, Jakhai Lang was a stand out in the first half at the defensive end position. With senior Joe Moore out with an injury, Lang was able to get on the field early and often, making one tackle but pressuring Phommachanh into several times, including forcing him into an intentional grounding penalty in the second quarter. The Tigers are in desperate need of better EDGE play. Maybe Lang can fill that hole?
• Fast starts to both halves were enjoyable to see. Three touchdowns to start the game on offense was great, as well as two straight punts forced on defense, but how about the start to the third quarter? UMASS received the kickoff, went three and out and then Mizzou came right down and scored a touchdown on Marcus Carroll’s 35 yard run. The defense comes back and forces another three and out followed by a one-play touchdown drive on Josh Manning’s 63 yard touchdown catch.
• Speaking of Josh Manning, we finally got to see him open it up! We heard all off-season about how impressive Manning had looked, but that had translated to very little playing time on the field early this season. Well he got a chance in the third quarter following Luther Burden’s injury and didn’t disappoint. He caught a pass about 10 yards downfield along the sideline and turned on the jets. Nothing stopped him until he hit his head on the goalpost. Let’s see more of that, please!
• Brett Norfleet looks like he might finally be getting healthy. After suffering a shoulder injury early in the season, Norfleet has not looked like the SEC All-Freshman tight end that he showed to be late last year. Well he finally broke out as Brady Cook found him for three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. That included a rare 36-yard reception over the middle of the field to put the Tigers into first and goal. He caught the next play for a touchdown, once again in the middle of the field. Adding him as a weapon to the offense would be huge moving forward.
• Not to end on a sour note, but the one negative thing I gleaned was that the secondary still seems to be an issue. The overall final numbers for UMASS passing the ball are not worrisome (15/25, 142 yards, 1 INT) but the very soft zone that Corey Batoon rolled out there again this week was unimpressive. Several open receivers in the first half provided the only meaningful ball movement for the Minutemen. If the Tigers don’t shore up the back end, Jalen Milroe and others will wreak havoc on this defensive unit down the road.

Some good news that came through after we hit ‘publish’ on the Five Takeways Saturday: it looks like Luther Burden will be okay. Thank God.