Cowbells are ridiculous; the Tigers’ win was anything but
After reviewing the boxscore from Mizzou’s 39-20 win at Mississippi State, here’s a few various and sundry items to further note from the performance:
- First off, cowbells are ridiculous. Starkville was one of only two SEC towns that I didn’t get to during my time in Mizzou Athletics (Auburn being the other). I’m sure Starkville is a charming college town, but I do not regret missing a football game there just because of the cowbells. It’s beyond annoying to watch a game from there on TV or listen on the radio, because of the incessant ringing of those stupid things. It’s ridiculous that the Bulldog fans get to bring those noise makers into their games (they’re approved by the SEC), while the rest of us fan bases can’t have their own gimmick to create artificial noise…
- Okay onto the actual game. Last night in my five takeaways piece, I didn’t spend much time on the Tiger defense, and while it wasn’t a dominant outing, they certainly played a huge role in the dub. You could argue the scoop and score was the biggest play of the game as that seemed to unlock any tension the Tigers might have been feeling. The offense – who had gone three and out in its two possessions prior to the defensive TD – drove for three long scoring drives right after that, and you knew at that point that this one was going to go Mizzou’s way…
- More defense – Mississippi State did all of its damage on first down. The Bulldogs averaged 11 yards on first down, which is obviously problematic. They had 83 yards passing on three “big” first down plays covering 49, 17 and 17 yards, and they had three “big” runs of 43, 33 and 23 on first down as well. Both of its TDs on the day came on first down – an 11-yard TD pass in the first quarter and a 43-yard TD run midway through the third…
- For the game, MSU ran 50 plays for 338 total yards (6.7 avg.). The six big plays listed above accounted for 182 of those yards (30.3 avg.). Back those big plays out (yes, I know they still count, but hang with me) and in the Bulldogs’ remaining 44 plays, they netted 156 yards for a paltry average of 3.5 yards per play. That’s winning defense. Corey Batoon’s squad just has to find a way to cut down on the mistakes that allow the chunk yardage plays if the Tigers are going to get to 10 wins this season…
- The Tigers were especially dominant on 3rd down on both sides of the ball. Mizzou’s offense averaged 9.4 yards per play on third down (converting 11-of-18 overall), while MSU averaged only 1.7 yards per third down attempt (converting just 2-of-10). Mizzou’s third down passing attack was pinpoint, as Brady Cook went 4-of-6 for 130 yards (32.5 yards per completion). The Bulldogs managed only 1-of-6 passing on third down for 11 yards in the air, while their four third down rushes netted a mere six yards…
- All told, Mizzou was 11-of-18 on 3rd down and 2-of-2 on 4th down for a combined conversion rate of 13-of-20 (65%), while Mississippi State was 2-of-10 on 3rd down and just 1-of-3 on 4th down for a combined rate of 23% (3-of-13). That’s gonna win you some games…
- In my five thoughts piece I labeled Mizzou’s second half performance “dominant” and got some pushback in the comment section, which is great. One of those comments said you can’t call an 11-7 scoring edge dominant (Mizzou only outscored Mississippi State 11-7 in the second half), and while that’s a fair point, keep in mind MU took a knee at the Bulldog 2-yardline to end the game or it would have been more, plus you had a missed FG so it very easily could have been 21-7 for a final score of 50-20. But moreover, my comment was specifically calling out the Tiger offense for imposing their will like we’ve rarely seen in the second half. Mizzou was not afraid to run the ball, and run the ball and run the ball again, even when the Bulldogs stacked the box and knew it was coming. It still worked, so to me, that was a dominant offensive mindset. Again the time of possession edge in the second half was ridiculous (26:14 to just 3:46)…
- Let’s dive into Brady’s passing day. He was outstanding really in every area. At or behind the line of scrimmage he completed 4-of-5 passes (80%) for 21 yards. On short passes (1-5 yards) he completed 8-of-9 balls (89%) for 136 yards. On mid-range balls (6-14 yards) he completed 5-of-6 (83%) for 88 yards. On deep balls (15 or more yards) he was an effective 3-of-5 for (60%) for 111 yards. Yes, it came against a Bulldog defense that came into the game ranked 127th nationally in total defense, but anyone who has nits to pick with Brady’s game is just looking for something to complain about…
- Don’t know about you, but I was surprised that Mississippi State went for it on 4th and 3 early in the 4th quarter trailing only 31-20 at the time. Mizzou, despite owning the ball for 13:03 of possession time (running 22 plays to MSU’s 5) in the 3rd quarter, was only up 11 at the time, and the Bulldog drive had reached the Tiger 17 yardline for what would have been a basic chip shot FG of 34 yards to make it a one-score game. But rookie head coach Jeff Lebby decided to do the stupid analytics thing that ESPN is so in love with, and go for it with a freshman QB who isn’t the most accurate passer around. It worked out well for the Tigers, as Michael Van Buren’s pass fell harmlessly incomplete at the Mizzou 9-yardline to give the ball back to the Tigers. Mizzou’s offense summarily drove it up the Bulldog’s hoo-ha (that’s an official industry term) with a 14-play, 83-yard TD drive that sucked 8:43 off the clock and ended in Marcus Carroll’s third rushing TD of the day to effectively end the game. Take that, Mr. Analytics…
- The Tiger special teams weren’t exactly special on Saturday, but thankfully it didn’t negatively impact the outcome. Blake Craig went 1-of-2 on field goal attempts, making from 35 and missing from 44. He also had one kickoff that went out of bounds, allowing MSU to start its first second-half possession at its 35 yardline. Of course, if took them only two runs to move all the way down for a TD that got them back in the game at the time. Shame on the Tiger defense for giving up two long runs there, certainly, but Craig’s error definitely contributed to the situation. Luke Bauer only had to punt twice, and that was good news because his two boots traveled only 39 and 32 yards, for an average of just 35.5 per kick. Again, that’s some nit-picking on an otherwise great day for the Tigers, but in a close game, this kind of play from special teams can get you beat very easily, and will need to be cleaned up…