We’re halfway through Missouri’s first gameweek of the 2020 football season, which means that kickoff of the Tigers’ season-opening game against Alabama is just over three days away.
Before the season begins, The Maneater’s football beat writers, Kyle Pinnell and Jack Soble, shared their thoughts on Alabama Week and the upcoming year.
###What constitutes success for the Tigers against Alabama?###
KP: The line heading into Saturday night’s showdown against the Crimson Tide is about what you would expect for a game between a consistent SEC powerhouse and a team coming off a six-win season with a new head coach in charge. ESPN lists Missouri as 27-point home underdogs and for good reason. The Crimson Tide have never lost a game when favored by this many points.
So, what constitutes success against this Alabama team? It’s beginning to build on the pro-tempo style that head coach Eli Drinkwitz has implemented this fall. Alabama will score on the Tigers, potentially a lot and in droves. But how well does this Missouri team stick to the plan and continue to run their offense? How good is their resolve against a team that could take those in attendance out of the game by halftime? Regardless of the result or spread, I want to see Drinkwitz’ team find those positives, no matter how small, and build off of them. If they can do that, I’ll feel good about how the Tigers’ first week went.
JS: A fast start.
Let’s be honest here — Missouri will not win this game. The Tigers are outclassed talent-wise by the Crimson Tide at almost every single spot, save for weak-side linebacker (Nick Bolton) and potentially defensive tackle (Kobie Whiteside). They will start a true freshman corner in his first collegiate game, where he will face the best receiver tandem in the country in DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. In all likelihood, the reason they are facing Alabama in Week One is the SEC’s schedule-makers adding two opponents to each team’s slate by shouting “Hey Nick, Kirby (Georgia), Ed (LSU), who do you want to play this year?” in an attempt to increase the conference’s chances of putting two teams in the College Football Playoff.
The one area in which Missouri has an advantage here is the element of surprise. Drinkwitz has opted against naming a starting quarterback, yes, but I would argue that the more important unknown is the offensive scheme. No one outside the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex knows what it’s going to look like, including Nick Saban and the vaunted Alabama defense, which means that it’s going to be difficult for them to game plan for it. It’s not unrealistic for Drinkwitz to use this to his advantage and pick up one or two quick scores in the first two or three drives before Alabama adjusts and lets their talent take over. If the Tigers can do that, no matter what happens throughout the rest of the game, it will have been a successful night.
###What are realistic expectations for the first half of the new regime’s new season?###
KP: Outside of Arkansas, Missouri has potentially the toughest adjusted schedule in the SEC, which is what happens when you replace four non-conference games with Alabama and LSU. For the context of this question, I’m going to consider the first half of the schedule as this Saturday’s game against Alabama until the game against Kentucky. If the Tigers can take two or three wins from that stretch of games, I would go as far as calling the entire season an unmitigated success. For that to happen, they need to win the game against Vanderbilt at the very minimum –– which, as the team knows, is easier said than done –– and find a way to upset either Tennessee or Kentucky. If Missouri can stay in those games and perhaps pull a win out of nowhere, it could change the discussion around this team going into the second half of its schedule.
Other than tangible results, meeting their own internal expectations is more important. Vegas has this team sitting around the three-win range, but they can’t judge themselves based on how they do against Vegas. Players have told reporters they really enjoy the new system and tempo to the game that Drinkwitz brings. Everybody will have the opportunity to make plays from every position. Who knows what the benchmark for a bowl game will be in this crazy truncated season, but if Missouri can find a way to steal two or three games before a November matchup against Georgia, it would go a long way toward qualifying for one.
JS: Kyle said it best — beat Vanderbilt and upset one of Tennessee or Kentucky, and at least make the first half competitive against vaunted opponents like Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia.
I would argue, however, that wins and losses have absolutely nothing to do with whether Missouri’s season is a success or not. What matters much more is whether or not the young talent on the team buys into Drinkwitz’s message and plays well enough to justify his long-term outlook. Can Ennis Rakestraw Jr. hold his own against the SEC’s best receivers? If given the chance, does Elijah Young look like the playmaking all-around talent at running back that they believe he is? Is Kris Abrams-Draine as electric with the ball in his hands as his high school tape showed?
If the answers to these questions are yes, and Drinkwitz continues to build a better recruiting class than former coach Barry Odom ever had, then the season will have been a productive one.
###Who is someone who is going under the radar but could make a big contribution?###
KP: Can I say Ennis Rakestraw Jr? Yes, I get that I may sound a little biased after recently writing a feature story about him and talking to a handful of his past coaches and teammates who spoke glowingly about him, but I’m truly excited to see what he can do. Rakestraw is a smaller cornerback, but he’s also extremely aggressive and competitive; I’m truly excited to see how he plays as a true freshman. On Tuesday, graduate receiver Keke Chism complimented the 18-year-old corner’s “bulldog mentality,” which matches what high school opponents said about him. There’s a possibility that Rakestraw will stand out for all the wrong reasons early on thanks to games against Alabama and LSU before Halloween, but there’s a reason that Alabama and Texas threw their hat in the ring for his services a year ago.
Outside of him, I’m interested to see starting left guard Xavier Delgado. The redshirt sophomore from Glendale, Ariz. has been brought up unprompted multiple times by Drinkwitz and is a player who seems to have earned his spot during fall camp. Missouri’s offensive line will pose a lot of questions for the coaching staff this season, but if Delgado can step up and become a staple at left guard for this Tigers team, it could go a long way towards bolstering the unit both this season and in the future.
JS: I’m going to stick with Kris Abrams-Draine, who I mentioned in the previous question. Recruited as a wide receiver, Abrams-Draine played quarterback in his senior year of high school in Mobile, Ala. where he ran all over opposing defenses. Abrams-Draine possesses elite elusiveness and knows how to make defenders miss, and those qualities are becoming increasingly valuable as football — at the collegiate and professional levels — modernizes into a game that largely depends on playmakers making plays in the open field.
That’s why it caught my attention when Abrams-Draine was listed as the starter for the Tigers at punt returner, where those abilities will have a chance to shine right away. Also, Drinkwitz mentioned at his press conference on Tuesday that he has wildcat plays built into the playbook for all situations. He referenced these plays as an emergency option if for some (possibly COVID-related) reason he didn’t have any available quarterbacks, but I have a feeling we’ll see a wildcat look at some point on Saturday regardless of quarterback availability. And I have a feeling that in that wildcat look, Abrams-Draine will be the focal point.
_Edited by Maia Bond | mbond@themaneater.com_