Missouri escaped Saturday night with its perfect record intact, but the Tigers left Columbia with plenty to sort through after a 27-17 win over Troy in Week 3.
No. 21/19 Missouri moved to 3-0 and now turns toward Mississippi State in its first SEC game of the season, but the performance against the Trojans was far from clean. For long stretches, the Tigers looked flat against a Group of Six opponent, and Sunday’s updated polls only sharpened the picture ahead: seven of Missouri’s final nine opponents are ranked in either the coaches poll or the AP Top 25.
The offense never found much of a groove, and the passing game in particular was rough. Austin Simmons opened with five straight completions, then settled into a night that never really recovered.
He finished 10 of 19 for 91 yards, with an adjusted completion percentage of 57.9%. He also had two throws that probably should have turned into the first interception of his Mizzou career.
The running game, though, gave Missouri something to hang onto. Jamal Roberts and the ground attack were the offense’s most reliable piece, and at one point in the second half the Tigers were running at roughly a 70% success rate.
Still, the rhythm never quite matched the production. Eli Drinkwitz said the issue was the way Missouri pieced together its playcalling.
“In the first half was there wasn't a commitment to running the ball. It was a little bit of, like, run then throw, then run then throw, and then third down, and then get off the field, and then come back out and start with the run and then throw it,” MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got to find a commitment to what we're doing to establish a rhythm so that we can have some sort of payoff plays, and that didn't really happen.”
Up front, Missouri’s offensive line did its part. Simmons was pressured just once all night, and Pro Football Focus did not charge that pressure to any of the Tigers’ starting five. The line also helped the run game generate more push than it had earlier in the night.
The passing attack, however, never took off. Simmons missed several throws, Drinkwitz said some receivers ran the wrong routes, and the tight ends were quiet. Cayden Lee and Donovan Olugbode combined for seven catches and 61 receiving yards, and that was about the extent of Missouri’s production through the air.
On defense, Missouri’s front delivered one of the night’s bright spots. Langden Kitchen forced a fumble that Jason Dowell recovered and returned to the 12-yard line, setting up Jamal Roberts’ second-quarter touchdown. The Tigers pressured Troy quarterback Goose Crowder 10 times, and every one of those pressures came from the defensive line.
That came despite the absence of Darris Smith for most of the game. Smith tried to return in the second half after being evaluated for a lower-body injury, but he lasted only a play or two.
The linebackers helped Missouri bottle up Troy’s run game, especially after halftime. The Trojans managed just 84 total yards in the final 30 minutes, and they never found a consistent rhythm. Tackling, though, was not spotless, and Troy still found a way to extend a few plays and break off some longer runs.
The secondary had the kind of night that can’t be judged cleanly without the full picture. Missouri’s coverage failed badly on both Troy touchdowns.
Santana Banner lost leverage on the first one, and Trajen Greco’s poor tackling angle turned it into a 76-yard score. Greco was again out of position on the second touchdown just before halftime.
But outside those mistakes, the corners settled in. Banner recovered from the early error and was excellent during a second-half shutout, and Sione Laulea’s interception helped swing the game. The big busts were the headline, but there were still some positives in the back end.
Special teams made a huge difference after a rough week. One game after Eli Drinkwitz said the unit left him “embarrassed,” Missouri got a 68-yard punt return touchdown from DaMarion Fowlkes that helped flip the game and sparked a 24-0 run. Brunno Reus also had a strong day punting, averaging 46.3 yards per punt and placing four of his seven kicks inside the 15.
“Special teams was really not where we needed it to be,” Drinkwitz said. “We emphasized it all week, and those guys responded in a positive way.”
The clean-up list wasn’t limited to execution. Missouri was flagged nine times for 90 yards, including a holding call on Curtis Peagler that wiped out a big Roberts run and a personal foul on Jeremiah Beasley after a fair-catch punt.
Drinkwitz called that one “just ego.” There were also a couple of false starts on third down.
“Self-inflicted wounds,” Drinkwitz said. “Those are things that we have to do better at.”
In Other News...
Missouri Escaped Troy With A Problem Tigers Fans Can't Ignore
Missouri got out of Troy with a win, but it did not look like the kind of afternoon that lets a team breathe easy. The Tigers leaned on a 27-17 result in a game full of mistakes and defensive breakdowns, while Eli Drinkwitz was left to acknowledge both the sloppy play on that side of the ball and the offenses own inefficiencies.
The good news is Missouri is still undefeated, and the schedule does not leave much time for self-scouting. SEC play is next, starting with Mississippi State, and the gap between surviving a game like this and being ready for what comes next is the part Tigers fans cannot ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Finally Got The Response It Needed In One Troubling Win
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For Eli Drinkwitz, it was the kind of response that mattered even in a win that still left plenty to sort through. The special teams play looked sharper and more reliable, but the bigger message from the sideline was that Missouri still has to keep improving across the board if it wants better results ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou's Win Over Troy Made One Trust Issue Hard To Ignore
Missouris 27-17 win over Troy did what it needed to do, but it also offered a pretty clear snapshot of how Eli Drinkwitz is viewing this roster right now. The Tigers used a concise lineup of 42 players, leaned on a handful of sophomores who brought energy to the game, and got just enough from Connor Bazelak, who finished 10 of 19 for 91 yards and a touchdown. Elijah Dotson and Daeden Hopkins were among the younger players who helped make the rotation feel more productive than decorative.
What stood out, though, was the trust issue underneath the result. Drinkwitz said the rotation came down to confidence in the players who gave Missouri the best chance to win, which is fine in theory and revealing in practice. When a coach keeps narrowing the circle that way, it usually says as much about who he still believes in as it does about who is merely getting reps, and that remains one of the more interesting threads to watch as the Tigers move forward. [Read more 🡒]