COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Gone is the playoff push, replaced by something different.
Missouri is entering the waning stages of its football season without the stakes of its first 10 games, which undoubtedly changes the outlook of Southeastern Conference matchups against Mississippi State and Arkansas.
The Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC) face the Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6) at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi, and on the SEC Network. Even with a chance at cracking the College Football Playoff field gone, there鈥檚 still plenty to follow for Mizzou in its penultimate regular season game.
Here are three storylines to follow when Missouri and Mississippi State face off Saturday:
Resolve needed for another rebound
The Bulldogs, especially defensively, shouldn鈥檛 be too much of a test for MU, which is solidly a road favorite. The game itself, however, will test Mizzou鈥檚 resolve.
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In both 2023 and 2024, the Tigers have managed to avoid losing streaks: After each loss, they鈥檝e won their subsequent game. Now, it鈥檚 not about doing that to preserve a path to the CFP but to chase down another 10-win season and maximize potential.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a competitive character,鈥 Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said of what has helped the Tigers bounce back after defeats. 鈥淲inning and losing has to matter to you, but you have to be quick to move on: Learn the lesson, leave the event. I think that鈥檚 something that our guys have embraced.鈥
The broader shift in what 2024 will be for MU will test that in a new way.
Roles for underclassmen
Worth watching not just against Mississippi State but also against Arkansas will be the roles that some of Mizzou鈥檚 younger players step into. They鈥檙e more likely to find prominent ones in the Tigers鈥 eventual bowl game, but there are some snaps, touches and targets up for grabs.
Starting wide receiver Mookie Cooper will miss his fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury, putting second-year wideout Joshua Manning in line for another start. Cooper鈥檚 continued absence also opens the pathway for young receivers like Marquis Johnson and Daniel Blood to step onto the field.
Defensively, freshman Nicholas Rodriguez remains a part of the linebacker rotation. He earned the responsibility of playing as Missouri鈥檚 lone linebacker when the Tigers used their 3-1-7 third-down package against South Carolina.
Perhaps the most compelling freshman to watch, though, is running back Kewan Lacy. He won鈥檛 be redshirting this season, and Mizzou鈥檚 game plan against the Gamecocks even included plays specifically designed for him.
鈥淲ell, the role is what he earns,鈥 Drinkwitz said of Lacy. 鈥淲e had a couple of specific plays that we wanted him in the game for, and we had repped him all week. We weren鈥檛 quite sure how long Nate (Noel, returning from a foot injury) could go. 鈥 If Nate couldn鈥檛 go, those were going to be Kewan鈥檚 plays because we felt like we needed a little bit more explosiveness to it. We want to continue to integrate Kewan into our offense and continue to get him going, so we鈥檒l see how that plays out the last three.鈥
Whether youngsters are called upon to get significant snaps and potentially burn redshirts comes down to a 鈥渃ombination of things,鈥 Drinkwitz added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of depth and need and a combination of readiness,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hese guys, a lot of them have contributed on special teams and a couple other ones, especially with the injuries that we鈥檙e dealing with, we needed to finish games.鈥
Can coverage hold up better?
Perhaps Missouri鈥檚 costliest flaw against South Carolina was its pass coverage, which was often porous in allowing explosive plays to the Gamecocks.
鈥淚t was kind of the perfect nightmare for us,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
And his diagnosis of where the failure stemmed from seemed rather all-encompassing. There was a miscommunication based around a 鈥減ush鈥 call, which gives players the flexibility to change a coverage scheme after an offense lines up or motions. A miscommunication also popped up on a cornerback blitz, leading to a touchdown.
Additionally, 鈥渢here was times where (the pass) rush didn鈥檛 quite get home,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
Giving the quarterback time is also giving receivers time to break down their defenders.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e playing man-to-man coverage and a guy motions across the field and then catches the ball on the other side of the hash 鈥 and the quarterback still has no pressure, that鈥檚 one-on-one, that鈥檚 a really long time to hold up,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
Mississippi State鈥檚 offense is competent enough to make Mizzou pay for lapses in coverage, so cleaning that up will be a key to MU getting its expected victory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of scheme 鈥 coaches take ownership of that,鈥 Drinkwtiz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of execution 鈥 players take ownership of that.鈥
