Mizzou heads into SEC play with a 3-0 record, but the win over Troy was a mixed bag that showed both real progress and a few things that still need cleaning up before the Tigers go to Starkville.
The biggest bright spots came on defense and special teams. Up front, Jalen Marshall and Donta Simpson both gave Mizzou useful snaps in the middle of the line.
Marshall logged a career-high 31 snaps, while Simpson matched his career best with 22. According to Pro Football Focus, Marshall piled up three run stops, posted an 80.7 run-defense grade - the best on the team - knocked down a pass and added 0.5 tackles for loss.
Simpson did most of his work in passing situations and finished with four pressures.
“I thought our defensive front played well,” Eli Drinkwitz said. “(They) stuffed the run, pressured the quarterback, and I thought the line of scrimmage played well with the TFL’s.”
That front has helped keep Mizzou under 100 rushing yards allowed per game so far, and the Tigers have produced 14 more pressures than they had at this point last season. Against Kansas and Troy, Mizzou held both teams to 2.2 and 2.3 yards per carry.
On offense, Tristan Wilson turned in one of the better line performances of the day. The starting left guard has settled into a permanent role after spending time at different spots over the past two seasons, and he looked the part against Troy. Drinkwitz said the offensive line was a strength after a rougher opening stretch.
“The offensive line played really well,” Drinkwitz said. They really did.
I thought our run game improved. The protection was great.
They were tremendous all night.“
Wilson’s work showed up in the run game. He delivered a pancake block early in the first quarter, helped open the second-half first play for Jamal Roberts alongside Cayden Green, and worked up to the second level in the fourth quarter to help spring another Roberts run. Wilson earned a team-best 67.2 run-blocking grade from PFF and paired it with an 85.2 pass-blocking grade, tying Curtis Peagler for second on the team.
Special teams also got a much-needed lift. DeMarion Fowlkes, now handling punt returns with Kevin Coleman Jr. playing on Sundays, broke loose for a 68-yard punt return touchdown early in the second quarter. That made him the third Tiger this decade to do it, joining Coleman in 2025 and Luther Burden III in 2022.
The return also stood out because it came one week after Mizzou’s special teams were a mess against Kansas, when the Tigers gave up two blocked kicks, a touchdown and multiple penalties. Fowlkes also contributed as a gunner, forcing four fair catches.
“He played really well,” Drinkwitz said. “Not just on the punt return and making great decisions, but he was our gunner on our punt team and forced four fair catches. They tried to double-team him twice, and neither time were they effective.”
Bruno Reus added another strong special teams performance by pinning Troy inside its own 15-yard line five times. Those drives produced only three points and an interception for the Trojans in the second quarter. Reus, a transfer from Florida State who followed special teams coach John Papuchis, helped tilt field position in Mizzou’s favor all night.
But the passing game wasn’t as clean. Austin Simmons finished 10 of 19 for 91 yards, and even though pass protection held up - the only pressure in 21 dropbacks came from Jamal Roberts - the timing between quarterback and receivers was off.
There were underthrows, overthrows, dropped balls and receivers falling down. Drinkwitz didn’t sugarcoat it.
“We couldn’t find the completions when we needed too,” said Eli Drinkwitz after the Troy game. “We weren’t great throwing and catching the football. There was receivers falling down, receivers running the wrong routes too deep, quarterback throwing the ball too early.”
That disconnect showed up on third down, where Mizzou finished 2 of 11. The Tigers had been much sharper in that area against Kansas and Arkansas-Bluff, going 7 of 16 and 6 of 10, respectively. Against Troy, eight failed conversions came on third-and-5 or longer, and seven ended in incompletions.
“Just uncharacteristic play in the pass game, specifically on third downs,” Drinkwitz said. “We were not good enough to get any sort of rhythm. When you’re 2-for-11, it’s hard to do anything consistent enough.
Mizzou will also need to tighten things up in the secondary. Troy hit two of its biggest plays through the air, a 76-yard pass to TK Keyes and a 55-yard strike to Howard Kinchen, both of which came on breakdowns that included missed tackles and poor technique. Those are the kinds of mistakes that can get exposed quickly in the SEC.
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For Missouri, the challenge is as much about composure as it is about coverage. Containing Taylor means keeping him from extending plays and preventing Mississippi State from turning routine downs into long afternoons for the defense. If the Tigers can settle in quickly and match the intensity around them, they give themselves a chance to make an early SEC statement, but this trip figures to ask plenty of questions before it offers any answers. [Read more 🡒]