Tiger football’s annual Black & Gold scrimmage marked the rebirth of one MU’s proudest traditions — football — after 2012’s campaign saw Missouri fail to reach a bowl for the first time in eight years.
But as the wind swirled through Memorial Stadium’s lower bowl, the problems that plagued last season’s 5-7 squad could not be whisked away.
A starting quarterback remains unidentified. A young offensive line steps back over center. A new offensive coordinator still tweaks a spread-offense that failed its road test in the Southeastern Conference. A defense not returning its biggest playmakers takes the field. Even Missouri’s iconic “Rock M” is missing with Faurot Field being renovated.
Regardless of the fracas of uncertainty, the Tigers’ first team scored 21 unanswered points after spotting the second team two touchdowns to send the 18,384 fans home happy, an emotion seldom seen from a dejected fan base just months ago.
“The SEC is no different that I thought it was going to be — absolutely no different,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “It’s a great league with a lot of good football teams. Obviously we didn’t do as well, and it was a very difficult year. And we know that, but I feel very good about our program, and we’re working hard and we’re gonna get after it and get going. I think we have a lot to prove and that’s good.”
At the top of the list of things to prove is quarterback play. Junior James Franklin, sophomore Corbin Berkstresser and freshman Maty Mauk each took snaps with the first team.
Franklin led two first-half scoring drives of 60 and 37 yards, finishing 9 of 15 with 80 yards passing. On the first team’s second drive, Franklin went 4 of 6 through the air for 25 of the possession’s 60 yards and ran an up-tempo huddle that allowed junior running back Marcus Murphy to scamper for 18 yards to the five yard-line, then the remainder on the next play.
After an interception thrown by Mauk, Franklin completed to freshman running back Russell Hansbrough for six yards, then 30 more a play later setting up a one-yard touchdown plunge by junior running back Henry Josey.
“I thought I did pretty well,” Franklin said. “There’s a couple throws I wish I could have put a little more oomph into them or thrown a little earlier, but other than that, I thought I was alright.”
Berkstresser, who took Franklin’s place mid-season after the junior suffered a shoulder injury, threw for a team-high 93 yards on a 50 percent completion rating but threw two interceptions as well.
Mauk, who finished with 72 yards on 6 of 17 passing and another 27 yards rushing, was also picked off twice.
“(The coaches) said we’ll still be competing, and they’re not gonna let us know until maybe even the first game, so I’m excited. And I know what I gotta work on, and I’ll start working on Monday,” Mauk said. “I did some things well, and I also did some things that I know I can do but I didn’t do today, so I’m just trying to work on that stuff next week.”
Missouri’s rushing attack and defense were the true highlights of the scrimmage. The Tigers finished 20 yards ahead of their rushing average from last season, and the first team defense kept the second team off the board while notching four takeaways, three sacks and five tackles for loss.
The secondary, however, struggled to contain freshman receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, who finished with three catches for 49 yards while seeming to thrive in his role as a wideout, rather than a slot-man, where Pinkel situated him in last season
“I felt overall, I did pretty good. I had a lot of positive things,” Green-Beckham said, including a 35-yard catch and run on a dart from Berkstresser over the middle that set the first team up near the red zone.
But Berkstresser’s pass to an open Green-Beckham in the end zone two plays later was well short and intercepted by sophomore defensive back David Johnson.