As far as non-conference games go, Missouri has seen its fair share of romps thoughout the years. Just ask Miami (Ohio), a team the Tigers beat by 38 points last season.
Saturday’s rematch against the Redhawks wasn’t nearly as convincing, but the result was the same. Sophomore quarterback James Franklin overcame a shaky start to lead Missouri to a 17-6 season opening victory Saturday.
“I just think a win’s a win, and it’s something I have to learn to enjoy,” Franklin said. “There’s things that I’m worried about and things that I’m focused on that I didn’t do so well.”
As for his own performance, Franklin was his harshest critic.
“I’ll give it a C-minus, being positive,” he said.
It certainly wasn’t a perfect first start for Franklin, but he ended up going 17-of-26 for 129 yards, rushing for a touchdown and throwing for another. He showed steady improvement as the game progressed, as he took the Tigers to the endzone in an eleven play, 76-yard drive on his second series.
“I thought he did a lot of good things,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “I thought he made some mistakes. I could sit down and give you first game quarterback stories for every quarterback I had. He did a lot of good things to get better. He made some good throws in the second half, some big plays, so that was good.”
Redhawk quarterback Zac Dysert had a strong game as well, throwing for 194 yards on the Missouri secondary. But Dysert couldn’t find the endzone, instead throwing an interception to Missouri cornerback EJ Gaines at the end of the second half.
After a first half where both teams traded stalling drives, both squads started to make plays and mistakes as the game opened up in the second half.
Missouri got into trouble early in the third, when Dayonne Nunley intercepted Franklin’s throw into double coverage, giving the Redhawks the ball at the MU 14 yard line. Three plays later, Miami running back Erik Finklea trotted into the endzone to cut Missouri’s lead to four.
Franklin said he took the mistake in stride.
“The guys were really encouraging me and I was helped by the defensive side, the offensive line and the receivers,” Franklin said. “They still trust me and once we started opening up a little more I started feeling more comfortable.”
Two MU possessions later, Franklin led the Tigers to the Miami 10 yard line in four plays. He then connected with sophomore receiver Marcus Lucas in the back of the endzone to give Missouri a 17-6 lead.
“Marcus was a backside read, too,” junior receiver T.J. Moe said. “That’s the thing that James can do for you, he goes through his reads really well, and he can beat you with his legs too. He was saying after the game (that the game) just happens fast, so he just has to get used to it. He knows all the reads, knows what he’s doing.”
Pinkel said the interception and subsequent touchdown were proof his young quarterback is growing.
“You grow up from that,” Pinkel said. “As a quarterback, you grow through adversity. You don’t like going through it, but you grow from it. He came back and made some good throws. Each score we had after that was throws he had made to get us into position.”
Missouri’s defense held steady the rest of the way, limiting the Redhawks offense to just 94 yards in the second half.
But the unit didn’t come away unscathed, as linebacker Will Ebner suffered a high ankle sprain and defensive end Jacquies Smith dislocated his left elbow and will likely miss next week’s game. The injury to Ebner comes right after he recovered from a preseason concussion.
“It’s remarkable that a guy that tough, in that good of shape and a good athlete could have the luck he’s having injury-wise,” Pinkel said of Ebner. “It’s just absolutely amazing. I guess the good news is that he can come back, so that’s the process. Both of these guys we’ll get back, we’re just not sure when.”
The Tigers will have a quick week before heading to Arizona to play Arizona State on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. Pinkel said his team will take responsibility for showing growth from this game.
“I told our football team – and I tell them that every year – the teams that improve are the ones that compete for championships,” Pinkel said. “You have to improve each and every week, and not all teams do that. It’s my job to get that done and get it going there. We have a big game Friday night.”