Josiah Trotter didn’t just show up in his NFL debut Sunday - he took over the day.
Even with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers falling 33-27 to the Cincinnati Bengals, the former Missouri linebacker was all over the field. Trotter finished with 11 tackles, the most by either team, and he also logged Tampa Bay’s only sack. He added two tackles for loss, another team high for the Bucs, along with a pass defended and an interception he turned into a touchdown.
For a player some believed Tampa Bay reached for in the second round of the NFL Draft, that’s the kind of opening statement that gets attention fast. It’s still early, of course, but Trotter has already put himself in the conversation for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Elsewhere around Mizzou, the quarterback situation looks settled, and that changes plenty for the Tigers moving forward. There’s still work to do, especially with the offense needing more polish and the backfield missing Ahmad Hardy, even as Jamal Roberts and Xai’Shaun Edwards have held things together.
The offensive line also needs to find more cohesion. But the biggest question has been answered, and that gives the team a higher floor and a bigger ceiling.
Simmons has already drawn NFL Draft scout buzz, too, which says plenty about the impression he’s making.
On the football side of things, one photo from Friday night also made the rounds and apparently had to be shared. Dan sent it to the Rock M football Slack channel, and it was too good not to mention.
The shot on the right was initially thought to be no. 10 Daeden Hopkins, but Dan later clarified it was Jamal Roberts.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s one of those images that instantly becomes part of Border Ware lore.
There’s also a college football heavyweight matchup looming that could get weird in a hurry. LSU and Ole Miss are set for a game that could break the college football world, with [LSU coach Lane] Kiffin again at the center of the spotlight. The Rebels and their fans would love nothing more than to get one over on their former coach, while LSU is staring at what should be its first real test after rolling over the corpse of Dabo Swinney’s Clemson program and then handling Louisiana Tech.
Please god, just let it be funny.
Missouri men’s golf is also back in action, but this trip takes the Tigers north of the border. After opening last week in Knoxville, Missouri heads to Foot’s Bay, Ontario, for the Canadian Collegiate Invitational from Sept.
13-15. The event will be played at Öviinbyrd Golf Club and is hosted by Golf Canada in partnership with Kent State and Penn State.
And on the volleyball side, Missouri closed out the Mizzou Tournament the right way. Dawn Sullivan’s team beat Florida Gulf Coast University in four sets on Sunday afternoon at Hearnes Center, winning 25-14, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18. That gave the Tigers a 3-0 weekend on their home floor, with just two sets dropped across the whole tournament.
In Other News...
Missouris Kansas Win Hid An Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
Missouri opened the 2026 season with a little more balance in the offense than it showed a year ago, mixing the run and pass more evenly through the first two games. On paper, that looked like a step toward a more versatile attack, the kind that can keep defenses honest and give the Tigers a steadier weekly floor as the schedule stiffens.
The issue is what happened when the Tigers tried to lean on the ground game against Kansas. The rushing attack never found the kind of consistent success rate that usually signals a functional run game, and the early numbers suggest this is more than just a one-off blemish. Missouri won the game, but the film and the production both leave a familiar question hanging over the offense: can the Tigers generate enough on the ground when opponents force them to earn it? [Read more 🡒]
Missouris Border War Win Showed Why Tigers Fans Should Be Excited
Missouris 38-21 win over Kansas in the 2026 Border War did more than keep the Tigers unbeaten at 2-0. It offered an early look at a team with real balance, as Austin Simmons handled his first road start with poise and efficiency, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns without an interception while Missouris passing game kept finding answers.
The spread-out production was the part Tigers fans will like most, with Donovan Olugbode and Cayden Lee both topping 120 receiving yards and reaching the end zone. Missouri also had a disruptive night on defense, where Robert Woodyard Jr. forced a fumble and added an interception, another sign this group can win in more than one way as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Just Earned The Ranking Fans Have Been Waiting For
Missouris start to the season got a meaningful bump in the rankings after its 38-21 win over Kansas, with the Tigers climbing from No. 23 to No. 20 in the Week 2 AP Top 25 and moving up to No. 22 in the LBM Coaches Poll. It is the kind of early-season recognition Missouri has been chasing, and it reflects the value of opening with a win that carried enough weight to sway both major polls.
For Tigers fans, the bigger significance is the return to familiar territory. Missouri is back in the top 20 for the first time since Week 11 of 2025, a reminder that the program is once again being viewed through a more ambitious lens. The rankings will keep shifting, of course, but this is the sort of step that signals Missouri has earned a little more attention, and maybe a little more scrutiny, than it had a week ago. [Read more 🡒]