In 1996, Sheryl Crow told the world that every day is a winding road. If Missouri football were a car on this hypothetical winding road, the road has started to feel rather endless at and near nauseating levels after Saturday’s 24-17 loss to Florida.
Not everything was doom and gloom for the Tigers at The Swamp. Senior running back Nathaniel Peat registered his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. The Missouri defense forced multiple turnovers for the fourth time this season, holding Florida sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson to his worst passing performance of the season.
However, the trip to Florida went like most other road trips under head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. The 7-point defeat was Missouri’s 11th loss in 13 trips away from Columbia under Drinkwitz. It was also Missouri’s third consecutive one-possession loss of the season, something the Tigers have not done since 1955. The Missouri offense could not stay out of its own way, and its rushing defense struggled to contain Florida’s rushing attack. The Tigers now sit at 2-4, which marks the first time Missouri has picked up its fourth loss before Week Seven since 2017. Also, freshman wide receiver Luther Burden III sustained what looked like a pretty serious injury. Not good at all.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s defeat:
Self-inflicted mistakes destroyed Missouri.
Sophomore quarterback Brady Cook had a very efficient start to the afternoon, completing his first eight passes for 63 yards to five different receivers. However, on Missouri’s third offensive drive of the game, Cook made a fatal mistake, as Florida redshirt sophomore defensive back Jaydon Hill anticipated a slant pattern from Burden, intercepting Cook’s pass and taking it 49 yards for a touchdown.
The blame could be placed on both Cook and Burden for the pick-six. Cook stared down Burden the entire way, which gave Hill a far easier read on the ball. However, Burden was knocked off of his route by Florida redshirt senior linebacker Ventrell Miller and just, stopped. Despite the odd reaction from Burden to the contact from Miller, the ball should have never been thrown in the first place.
Later in the game, Missouri sought to tie the game after being down 17-10. With the ball on Florida’s 16-yard line, Missouri senior wide receiver Tauskie Dove ran a post route on the left side of the field but was blanketed by Hill. Although Dove was not open, Cook attempted to throw him the ball, but it was intercepted by Hill for his second interception of the game.
Elsewhere, Missouri committed six penalties against Florida; while that is a season low for the Tigers, it keeps them in undesirable company, as they remain one of only three Power 5 teams to commit at least six penalties in every game this season along with Alabama and Tennessee. In a one-possession game, penalties are especially killer, and they certainly did not help Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
Missouri’s offense remained behind the sticks
The term “behind the sticks” means an offense is not picking up the required amount of yards to remain on pace to pick up a first down. Missouri’s offense has been playing behind the sticks for most of the season, especially on third down. Entering Saturday’s contest against Florida, the Tigers had faced 18 scenarios of third-and-eight or longer. Against Florida, Missouri faced eight of those scenarios, and the culprit was too many negative plays as well as penalties. The Tigers registered 11 negative plays against Florida to go along with six penalties.
Getting behind the sticks on third down makes it extremely difficult on an offense. The Tigers found themselves in that bind on Saturday, and it severely limited their ability to string together lengthy drives.
Florida’s rushing attack gashed Missouri’s run defense
Missouri’s run defense looked completely revamped through the first five games of the season. Gaps were closed, members of the secondary did an excellent job stopping the run, and teams simply had a far tougher time running on the Tigers as they did last season.
On Saturday, Florida’s running backs and offensive line made the Tigers look like their 2021 team. A quartet of Gators combined for over 225 rushing yards and over seven yards per carry; Missouri’s defense had not allowed over seven yards per carry in a game since last year’s debacle against Tennessee.
Kudos could be given out to multiple Gators for their exceptional rushing performance. Their offensive line as well as their pass-catchers created huge holes that Florida’s running backs hit hard. Florida had four carries of 40 or more yards and two others of 15 or more yards, all of which happened because of phenomenal blocking. For a Missouri defense that has played so well against the run all season, Saturday was certainly a step back.
The Tigers have a bye next week, where they will look to fix some loose screws before their homecoming game against Vanderbilt on Oct. 22.
Edited by Riley Gearhart | rgearhart@themaneater.comCopy edited by Jacob Richey | jrichey@themaneater.com