As we will do throughout this football season, HawgBeat went behind enemy lines to gain insight on the Missouri Tigers with MizzouToday Senior Editor Kyle McAreavy.
Missouri hasn't quite had the year it hoped for entering the season, but the Tigers still sit with a 9-3 (4-3) overall record with wins over teams like Boston College, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Mississippi State.
Under Drinkwitz's leadership, Missouri has accumulated a 36-24 (21-20 SEC) overall record in five seasons. This year, the Tigers boast the No. 61 total offense (393.4 YPG) and No. 73 passing offense (224.6 YPG) in the country.
Here is what McAreavy had to say about Saturday's matchup, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri...
1. Who are the key playmakers to know on both sides of the ball for Missouri?
McAreavy: "Offensively, it’s quarterback Brady Cook, receiver Luther Burden and running back Nate Noel. Cook has looked much better since returning from his wrist injury two weeks ago and has the offense humming pretty well. Burden is likely going to be one of the first receivers taken in next year’s draft, though this season has been a bit disappointing for him stat wise because the offense just wasn’t functioning at its expected level through the early part of the year. Noel has been very good when given enough opportunity. He was dealing with some injuries, too, that lowered his output for a few weeks, but has been back to his top overall performance the past two weeks.
"Defensively, edge rusher Johnny Walker Jr. is definitely one to keep an eye on. He’s by far the best pass rusher of the group and has been one of the most consistent parts of Mizzou’s defense. Linebacker Corey Flagg has been a key piece, too, and safety Daylan Carnell is the leader among the main coverage group who has been projected to possibly leave early after this season."
2. What are Missouri's biggest strengths? Biggest weaknesses?
McAreavy: "Offensively the strength has been the run game most of the season, and the focus on running the ball the past few games has opened up the pass game in a way the Tigers were struggling with early in the season. The offensive weakness is red zone execution. The Tigers have stalled out within the 20 a lot this year and the kicking game hasn’t been good enough for that to be a viable way to win games.
"Defensively, the pass coverage has been consistently good, though has had trouble allowing big plays. It was a definite problem early in the season with a handful of long touchdowns in the first few big games, but seemed to be under control until popping back up throughout the game against South Carolina two weeks ago."
3. Where do you think the Battle Line Rivalry ranks for Missouri compared to its other rivals?
McAreavy: "Mizzou’s No. 1 rivals is Kansas. That’s not going to change, the hatred runs deep between those schools. I definitely think Mizzou fans care more about the rivalry with Arkansas than with South Carolina out of the two yearly trophy games Mizzou plays, and having the matchup consistently be rivalry week at the end of the season has added something extra to it. But I think it’s still too young for there to be the type of animosity from Mizzou’s older Big 8 or Big 12 rivalries."
4. Are there any notable injuries to know for Missouri, and if so, how will that affect the game Saturday?
McAreavy: "A lot of the key injuries, Brady Cook and Nate Noel especially, are far enough along in recovery to not be big issues.The Tigers lost starting center Connor Tollison for the year about three weeks ago, but Drake Heismeyer has done an admirable job filling in. And Mizzou officially lost third receiver Mookie Cooper for the rest of the year when he had surgery on Tuesday, but he hasn’t played in a month. With the question on Cooper answered, I don’t think there’s any major open injury questions right now."
5. How do you see this game playing out and can you give a score prediction?
McAreavy: "With the projected weather forecast, there’s definitely room for weird variance, especially with the way the Tigers have struggled to tackle big runners the past couple of weeks. But I have a feeling Mizzou is going to do everything it can to have an undefeated home record for the first time since 2010 and send Brady Cook off with a senior day win.
Score Prediction: 35-24, Missouri
