Dive into the Heart of Mizzou Athletics

A weekly list of fantastic stories (and quotes) you may have missed this past week at Rock M Nation dot com

Welcome to Rock M Digest, a renewed weekly column where I, Madame Editor, share with you my must-read picks for the Rock M Nation content of the week. These stories made me think (sometimes too much), laugh, smile, cry… you get the picture. We’ve got a talented bunch of writers at this site, and since I have the distinct pleasure of reading all of it — I love reading it all, I swear — I want you, the readers, to know what you should be checking out if you don’t have time to read all the content. After all, we did put out 48 stories this week alone. And that’s not including podcasts (which I’ve linked to below) and Rock M+ content, which isn’t found on the main RMN page.

At the bottom, I’ve gathered up my favorite quotes of the week and presented them with no context. There is a link to the story included, and I highly recommend reading the stories that go along with them.

DISCLAIMER: I’ll largely focus on new content here, instead of cramming a bunch more unsightly Texas A&M content into your eyes.

Let’s begin.

Rock M Recs

Mizzou Volleyball sweeps Bama in SEC home opener

Winning is fun. Watching Jordan Iliff tally yet another kill is fun. Watching Colleen Finney’s facial expressions is realllllly fun. And reading Matthew’s recap about Mizzou’s dismantling of their first SEC home opponent Alabama is a lot of fun as well, especially when accompanied by Cal’s photos.

Five Takeaways from Mizzou’s 45-3 win over UMASS

In Nathan’s version of the 5 Takeaways, he reminds us first that no one wanted to be here— not either team and not a crowd, as hardly anyone was in attendance Saturday in Amherst. As for the other takeaways, he tells us fast starts are fun, wonders about the injury to Luther and others, and reminds us that we can take absolutely NOTHING from this game, Enjoy!

Dennis Gates and Mizzou Men’s Basketball looking forward to 2024-25 season

Basketball season is almost here, and I love a good media day where we get to hear from Dennis and his players. I particularly love this quote, captured by Adeen, from freshman Marcus Allen really stuck out to me. “We have a great group; we love playing with each other,” Allen said. “That atmosphere and that camaraderie is what brings us together.” We love to see it.

Mizzou Soccer Crushes Ole Miss 5-0

Who knew hat tricks extended into the soccer universe?! Not me, friends. Not me. But that’s exactly what Milena Fischer did, as Dylan writes in his soccer recap. Kate Phillips did Kate Phillips things, Emily Derucki picked up her first career goal, and the Tigers got the first five-goal SEC game of Golan’s tenure. If you’re looking for good vibes, make sure you check this one out. And while you’re at it, check out Dylan’s Tiger Targets, which discusses the lead up to Thursday’s game.

Mizzou Hoops Player Previews

It’s officially player preview season for Men’s Hoops, and The Matts — Watkins, with some video assistance from Harris — have put together quite the collection thus far. This week alone, you can read about Peyton Marshall, who has dramatically reshaped his physique and worked on his passing reads, but his strength on defensive and the glass might earn steady minutes, Annor Boateng, the top-30 talent and headliner of a ballyhooed recruiting class might find the best route to minutes is wreaking havoc on defense and in the open floor, and Trent Pierce, who after a freshman year to forget, looks to boost his stock and reassert himself as a key member of the Tigers’ rotation. You don’t want to miss ‘em, I promise.

BREAKING NEWS: Mizzou Gym announces HUUUUUUUge roster addition

I’ve been holding onto this intel for weeks, and I was absolutely bursting at the seams to get this one out. After spending the last year traveling the world, Mizzou’s third all-time leading scorer on beam is back for one last go-round. In this article, I examine what this means for the Tigers, as well as the backstory as to how I found out about this in the first place. My first real breaking news piece!

SEC Previews: LSU and Matt McMahon build the old-fashioned way

OMG, you guys, the season is so close that the team previews have started. Second worst on the list? #15 LSU, who used to have high highs and low lows, and then they hired Matt McMahon. It’s not McMahon’s fault; after the MESS that was the ending of Will Wade’s career, LSU needed to make a sensible hire. But as Sam writes, that’s not super exciting, and so far, McMahon has turned in one of the most bland and traditional builds you can think of. Oh, and while you’re at it, do read the #16 preview, too, for South Carolina.

Quotables

“I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna gonna keep me down.” — Chumbawumba (1997) —Nathan Hurst, Is UMass a get right game for Mizzou Football?

“While the Missouri Tigers baseball team continues to play Fall Ball games against themselves, the softball Tigers have taken a different approach, facing off the likes of against MO State, Kansas City (formerly UMKC), kansas and Kaskaskia College. And on a beautiful and unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon, the Tigers faced off against Braggin’ Rights rival Illinois, who was 21-31 last season in the Big 10.” —Karen Steger, Timely hitting leads Mizzou to 9-3 W over Illini

“Visions of dancing joyously into the 12-playoff at 10-2 or 11-1 have gone up in flames. The warning signs from weeks 3 and 4 are now full-blown emergencies, and the Tigers will have to rally to meet their goals… It was a complete and total system failure. The preparation was poor, despite a bye week, as shown by Texas A&M’s ruthless execution on offense. The team’s motivation and mindset were lacking, evidenced by a few humiliating moments. Execution was completely missing; not one unit of the team had a good day (except for punting). —Dan Keegan, A Fan’s Notes: It’s Now or Never

“Did you know UMass is #1 in the country for dining? Or at least that’s what their website claims, which is frankly a wild thing to advertise on your website with no citations. No. 1 according to whom? No. 1 in the country for dining in what category? I understand that college marketing is steeped in half-truths, but this feels like something that needs to be interrogated.” —Josh Matejka, Pregamin’ UMass

“South Carolina proved doubters wrong last season. So, why are we forecasting them at the bottom of the standings again? Unlike last season, Paris’ roster doesn’t have 824 games of experience, which ranked fourth in the SEC. Nor are the Gamecocks second in minutes played. Yes, the Gamecocks were overlooked, but they also leaned hard on experience to prove doubters wrong. —Sam Snelling, South Carolina hopes to carry the momentum from last season

“Mizzou ran three more plays on the same amount of possessions as A&M but was doubled up (at a minimum) in total yards, yards per play, yards per possession, yards per carry, yards per attempt, average yards gained on 1st-down, and points per opportunity. This was a total ass whipping. As a top ten team. Shameful.” —Nate Edwards, Beyond the Box Score: Butt

“Through five games the Missouri Tigers look like they’re a good football team who had a rough game on the road at A&M. Vanderbilt certainly proved their near win in Faurot was no fluke by taking down number one Alabama last night for the first time in 23 tries. Boston College has proven they’re feisty, Buffalo even has shown they’re decent. Winning those games shouldn’t be completely discounted, but applied in context. The context being that Missouri is a better team than you think they are right now, but they’re not what we thought they were coming into the season.” —Sam Snelling, Pourover: Take nothing for granted for success can be fleeting

Hot Shots

In this week’s Hot Shots, Mike & Cal both attended volleyball matches. Cal also took in a softball game. Meanwhile, Matthew and I took some photos at the gym intrasquad, and I took a couple shots at baseball as well.

Listen Up!

We’ve been busy this past week with non-football related podcasts! Here’s what you may have missed.

• There were two— count em, TWO — episodes of my podcast, Majority Rules, is now available. First, in this very special extra episode, special guest Nate Salsman and I delight in the Helen Hu return announcement. Join us for 45 minutes of utter joy.

• And then in our regularly scheduled episode, we discuss track/xc recruiting, wrestling rankings, the prowess of women’s golf, Helen Hu’s return, soccer’s improvement, diamond sports fall ball, swimming, soccer’s needs and volleyball’s recent struggles.

• In a new episode of Before the Box Score, the Nates, Edwards & Hurst, reconvene to ask what the heck is going on with Mizzou post-A&M.

• And then in their preview episode, they tried to fill 30+ minutes with a preview of UMass. They’re not good, guys. But enjoy the podcast!

Mizzou Sports this Week:

• Sun, Oct 13: VB v. Tennessee, 2pm | SOC AT MS State, 5:30pm
• Wed, Oct 16: BASEBALL, 3:30pm (home)
• Thur, Oct 17: BASEBALL, 3:30pm (home)
• Fri, Oct 18: SB v. MO Southern, 6pm | SOC v. OU, 7pm | W GOLF AT Bahamas Invite | XC AT Crimson Classic
• Sat, Oct 19: FB v. Auburn, 11am
• Sun, Oct 20: VB v. MSU, 2pm | M GOLF AT Williams Cup (Wilmington)