Missouri heads into its bye week in rough shape physically, but the break could hardly arrive at a better moment.
The Tigers are coming off a 31-3 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, their largest defeat in almost two full calendar years. That alone would make the off week welcome. Add in the injury situation, and it becomes even more important.
Missouri had 24 players listed on Wednesday’s SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report, the most it has had all season. That number shrank as the week went on, and only tight end Brett Norfleet and linebacker Jeremiah Beasley missed the game entirely. Still, plenty of Tigers were dealing with issues and trying to push through them at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“I mean, every one of those guys was in the injury room and was limited in some sort of capacity throughout the week,” Drinkwitz said. … “Guys are beat up.
That's this league. We got to get other guys to step up and play.
And that’s not an excuse. That's not why we had the performance that we had today.
We just-we just were off.”
Two more defensive regulars were clearly affected. Fifth-year edge Darris Smith and fifth-year defensive lineman Sterling Webb both attempted to play against the Rebels, but each lasted only a handful of snaps before shutting it down because of lingering injuries. Smith has now gone through that same cycle in each of Missouri’s last three games.
Starting linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. has also been battling through an injury for the past two games. After the Ole Miss loss, Drinkwitz said Woodyard was scheduled to undergo a procedure Monday, though the timetable for his return was not known on Saturday.
“Whenever he's healthy and available to return, he’ll be available to return,” Drinkwitz said. “Really proud of his toughness, putting our team first and playing through an injury, giving us everything he can. You've got a lot of warriors in that locker room that are fighting as hard as they can, so definitely not disappointed in them.”
Missouri’s offense has had its own share of wear and tear. The Tigers have already been without star running back Ahmad Hardy and offensive tackle Josh Atkins all season, and the hits keep adding up when other players start missing time too.
Norfleet sat out for the first time this season against Ole Miss, while standout left tackle Cayden Green has continued to play through injuries.
“That's just kind of the way it is when you play in the SEC,” Giudice said. “Guys are going to be dealing with things here and there, but you know, just focused on getting better as a team, as individuals, and getting healed up, ready for the next game.”
That next game comes Oct. 31 at Arkansas, where Missouri will face a Razorbacks team that is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in SEC play. Arkansas has looked a little better over its last two games, losing 24-17 to then-No. 15 Tennessee and then beating Vanderbilt 31-21.
The schedule sets up a critical stretch for Missouri after the bye: a trip to Fayetteville, then home games against No. 19 Texas and No. 5 Georgia in the following two weeks.
“Now we have a bye week to all get healthy as a team and physically and mentally see what we could do better,” linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said. “And I feel like it's a great opportunity for us to improve as a team.”
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Missouris 31-3 loss to Ole Miss was more than a bad night on the scoreboard. It brought back the same familiar frustrations Tigers fans have seen before: inconsistent line play on both sides of the ball, missed tackles that turned routine snaps into bigger gains, and an offense that could not finish drives once it got near the end zone. The numbers behind it only deepened the concern, with the Tigers getting little done up front and even less to slow the Rebels quarterback.
The bigger issue is how much of this looked like a repeat rather than a one-off. Missouri struggled to generate pressure, had trouble closing on ball carriers, and never found a rhythm in the red zone, which left the game feeling out of reach long before the final whistle. For a team trying to prove it has turned a corner, the performance raised the same question it always seems to at this point in the season: how quickly can these problems actually be fixed? [Read more 🡒]
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The upside is that the calendar is loaded with chances to earn that respect. Missouris non-conference slate and SEC grind both include ranked opponents, giving the Tigers multiple chances to make a statement before the picture around the league settles in. Around the athletic department, there is no shortage of activity either, from footballs Oct. 31 trip to Arkansas set for a 6:45 p.m. CST kickoff on SEC Network to updates on former Mizzou players in the NFL and steady progress in tennis, volleyball and swimming. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Built A Brutal Early Test For Its Young Roster
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The real grind comes in December, when Missouri is slated to run through a stretch that could feature Pitt, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois. For a team trying to grow up fast, that kind of schedule can be unforgiving, but it also offers a faster path to learning what holds up under pressure. Gates has made it clear the scheduling is intentional, aimed at strengthening the Tigers profile while giving their younger players the kind of experience that only comes from being thrown into the deep end. [Read more 🡒]