Missouri linebacker Corey Flagg (11) tackles Murray State running back Kywon Morgan (6) in the first half of a game on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at Faurot Field in Columbia. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
The graduate transfer’s pick quelled any comeback attempt from UMass at the end of the first half.
Deep concern wasn’t in the building quite yet. But it was perched somewhere close to McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
With Mizzou leading 21-3 towards the end of the first half, UMass was stringing together consecutive positive plays on offense. The drive included a 39-yard run by defensive back Te’Rai Powell on a fake punt that gave the Minutemen new life.
To preface, an 18-point lead is large in any football context. However, these circumstances were different, a combination of two factors that made alarm bells ring louder for the Tigers.
Mizzou’s season leading up to Saturday had been, to many, underwhelming. The sting of a 31-point shellacking to No. 14 Texas A&M the week prior still seemed prevalent; in a game that was to be a test of Mizzou’s legitimacy at a national level, the Tigers fell terribly flat, as the myriad of warning signs flashed in the four games previous showed up in College Station.
Then, there was the present day. Mizzou’s bizarre trip to UMass was ripe for a rebound; the Tigers entered Saturday as almost a 30-point favorite against the 1-5 Minutemen, which is what made the end-of-half march by the home team more intriguing.
After the successful fake punt, a 13-yard run by CJ Hester put UMass at Mizzou’s nine-yard line with 70 seconds remaining in the half. UMass went two yards forwards, then two yards backwards to set up a third-and-nine. Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh dropped back to pass and fired a dart over the middle.
Earlier in the week, Corey Flagg Jr. had this to say about what went wrong defensively against Texas A&M.
“I think it was just a lot of guys…trying to make a play instead of just, including myself, instead of just doing our assignment, doing our job and playing with the defense,” Flagg said.
But what if you could remain within the defense and make a play? With the Minutemen threatening, Flagg baked a cake and ate it, too.
WATCH: @CoreyFlaggJr picks off UMass with clock winding down in the first half.
Per @Dave_Matter, the 80-yard INT return @MizzouFootball‘s longest INT return since @__Perk3‘s 100-yard return vs. South Carolina on Sept. 21, 2019. pic.twitter.com/5kfmShExow
— Tamar Sher (@tamar_sher) October 12, 2024
During this past Tuesday’s edition of “Tiger Talk”, linebackers coach DJ Smith inadvertently foreshadowed Flagg running like the wind that whipped all afternoon in Amherst.
“He can really, really run. He’s faster than what his tape shows,” Smith told Mike Kelly. “He’s a very instinctual player.”
While Smith was complimentary of Flagg’s wheels, the graduate transfer took a more self-depreciating route after the game.
“I need to go to speed school,” Flagg said.
Although he couldn’t take the interception all the way to the end zone, the Miami transfer’s hurricane of a turnover put Mizzou at the UMass nine-yard line with nine seconds to go. Although Brady Cook was sacked on the next play, there was still time for Blake Craig to kick a field goal, which he did so successfully to complete a 10-point swing that stomped out any spark of a Minutemen revival.
For a defense that’d experienced lapses in coverage over the past few weeks (including Saturday), Flagg’s shining moment proved all the more valuable. It was Mizzou’s first takeaway since Dreyden Norwood’s interception against Boston College.
The moment was reminiscent of something Flagg’s former UM teammate, current Tennessee Titans linebacker James Williams, told me at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February when asked about how he overcomes in-game adversity.
“I can’t be 11 people out there trying to make every play,” Williams said. “I’ve just got to do my job and make sure my teammate does his job. We’ll all be successful together.”
It was a celebratory day for not just Corey Flagg, but his brother, Caleb, who forced a fumble on that was recovered by Shemar McNeil in the fourth quarter. Caleb was praised numerous times by players and coaches throughout fall camp, and he recorded his first big play of the 2024 season with Mizzou up big late in the game.
“I told y’all, he’s a dog,” Corey said. “He’s better than me. I’m dead serious.”
Only time will tell if Caleb can surpass his older brother. For now, the two can enjoy their fruitful outings in Amherst before a trip back to Columbia to take on Auburn next Saturday.
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