Missouri players celebrate recovering a fumble in the first half of a game against Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Faurot Field in Columbia. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)

Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz said Saturday was Zion Young’s best game as a Tiger, and the analytics corroborated his claim.

The No. 21 Missouri Tigers (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern) took down the Auburn Tigers (2-5, 0-4 Southeastern) in a thrilling comeback win in which they were down by as many as 14 points. Starting quarterback Brady Cook went down on the first drive of the game, subjecting this offense to almost two quarters of Drew Pyne which had some noticeable effects on the analytics of this game.

Henceforth, the only position that didn’t really get effected by this change was the offensive line and they held up very well. The entire unit had 78 snaps, with 52 of them coming in pass blocking scenarios and just 26 of them coming in run scenarios. Amazingly, the offensive line had zero penalties the entire night and allowed 11 pressures. One offensive lineman in particular, had zero blemishes to his account and has been rewarded accordingly.

Defensively, the team had one of their best games of the season as they enabled the Auburn offense to score just 10 points on offense, with seven of them coming on a busted coverage. The defensive line had three sacks with 11 pressures in total, matching Auburn. The secondary allowed 17 receptions on 27 targets for 176 yards and a touchdown, with just one penalty to their name.

This week’s MVP’s are both first-time achievers this season, let’s take a look at what earned them the bid:

Armand Membou | Right Tackle

This was honestly a toss-up between Membou and Marcus Bryant, as both tackles had a pretty phenomenal game. Membou was just stellar though, as he was the only offensive lineman without a single pressure allowed in his 78 snaps. PFF also graded him as an 85 in pass blocking, far and away the best of any lineman on the roster.

Membou was in the 100th percentiile of pass blocking efficiency this week, and was in the 93rd percentile of pass blocking score. Run blocking wise, he fared decently well but with the abundance of pass blocking sets seen on Saturday Membou’s impact was felt more. Membou has been one of the Tigers most solid offensive linemen in recent memory since he earned the starting job as a sophomore, and he has been surehanded ever since.

There are a plethora of plays where you can show Membou absolutely manhandling an edge rusher like it’s nothing. I chose this play due to it’s magnitude when it comes to shifting the game, and how it displays Membou’s raw strength.

Membou and Marcus Bryant have been refreshingly good on the outside of the offensive line, but unfortunately the interior of the offensive line has been very poor analytically this season since the beginning of SEC play. Cayden Green, Connor Tollison, and Cam’Ron Johnson have been unable to get the necessary chemistry to pass block efficiently in the middle, and it’s causing Brady Cook to take lots of hard and quick sacks up the middle.

Zion Young | Edge Rusher

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz in his Tuesday presser said that Zion Young had his “best game of the season” against Auburn and the numbers and film corroborate that. Young was seemingly in the backfield on every snap. and led the Tigers in pressures, sacks, and hurries. He was also second on the team in stops, making it a banner day for the Michigan State transfer.

A banner day entails banner analytics, as Young was in the 91st percentile of hits, hurries, and sacks whilst he was in the 87th percentile of run defense. His 92nd percentile in Value Added to Team (VAT) is by far his best total of the season, beating his previous high of 63rd against Murray State.

What better play to show Young’s impact than his sack on the first drive that set the tone for the defense. Young showed an elite first step here and made a mockery of Percy Lewis, who was dominated by Young so badly that this first drive was actually his last drive of the game. He was replaced by Dillon Wade who took left tackle duties for the rest of the game. You can’t really have a better start than that, and Young’s numbers and praise showed that he continued that trend for the rest of the game.

If Young can create even 75% of the production the Tigers saw from Darius Robinson last season at the edge rusher spot, then he will be a very productive player for this team. One thing that has been missing from this team is consistent pressure from the edge, which was a noted loss from last years team with Robinson’s departure. Good edge play is usually a pretty good indicator of team success, but Young will have his hands full with a pretty potent and highly touted offensive line at Alabama this Saturday.

Legend

Offensive Linemen

OL Stats have two categories, team and individual. Each category has 5 stats, and they both contribute to the VAT.

Team

Line Yards: The line gets credit for rushing yardage between 0-3 yards (instead of 0-4) and 50% credit for yards 4-8 (instead of 5-10). Anything over 8 yards is quantified as a highlight opportunity, and credit goes to the runner. As with the pro definition, lost yardage still counts for 125%.

Run Efficiency: The percentage of carries (when four yards are available) that gain at least four yards, i.e. the percentage of carries in which the line does its job, so to speak.

Power: Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown.

Stuffed: Percentage of carries by running backs that are stopped at or before the line of scrimmage.

Sacks: Unadjusted sack rate for all non-garbage time pass attempts.

Individual

Run Block: A combination of many variables, including Run Blocking grade that give an overall run-blocking score.

Hits: Ratio of QB Hits allowed to Pass Blocking Snaps.

Pressures: Ratio of QB Pressures allowed to Pass Blocking Snaps.

Penalties: Penalty Rate.

Pass Efficiency: Pass Blocking Efficiency.

Edge Rushers

Pass Rush: Pass Rush Score, comprised of various pass rushing stats and factors

Run Defense: Run Defense Score, comprised of various run defense stats and factors

Stops: On a first down, if the offense gets 45% of the way to a first down or less.

On a second down, if the offense gets 60% of the way to a first down or less.

On a third or fourth down, if the offense doesn’t get a first down.

HHS: Hits, Hurries, and Sacks generated

Efficiency: Overall Defensive Efficiency