The SEC East is often predictable.
Georgia and Florida typically occupy the division’s top two spots, and recently the team beneath them has been either Kentucky or Missouri. So, when it comes to bestowing the “best of the rest” moniker for the division, the annual matchup between the Tigers and Wildcats often plays a deciding role –– or at least serves as a point of reference.
This year, that matchup came two weeks into the season with both teams still trying to form an identity. An SEC conference game in Week 2 provided Saturday night’s game with extra energy and storylines, but Missouri football couldn’t bounce back from a slow start in their 35-28 loss to the Wildcats at Kroger Field.
While Saturday’s game showed similarities between both programs, fans could also pick up on the subtle differences that could create a slight gap between the programs in the SEC East standings come season’s end.
Both Kentucky and Missouri brought in explosive playmakers from the transfer portal over the summer in junior wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and sophomore wide receiver Mookie Cooper, respectively. The two receivers generated plenty of excitement from their fan bases –– and for good reason –– but Saturday night belonged to Robinson.
On the second play from scrimmage, Robinson, the Nebraska transfer, displayed his dynamic playmaking ability with a 64-yard rush, cutting across the field and taking the ball into the red zone. He finished with 174 total yards, while Cooper ended with just one reception for 16 yards, all while dealing with an ankle injury that has nagged him for weeks. Robinson changed the game as Kentucky’s top offensive threat, an element that the Tigers simply couldn’t match.
Third down success was just one of multiple tiny details that seperated the two sides as Kentucky jumped out to its early 14-point lead. Missouri succeeded on just 50% of its third down opportunities in the first half, while the Wildcats went 5-6.
Sloppy play plagued the Tigers, who gave up 65 yards on penalties alone –– 30 more yards than Kentucky. Those penalties and third down struggles both halted Missouri’s drives and extended the Wildcats’.
“We didn’t start fast or execute early and then you look up and it’s 14-0,” Missouri junior safety Martez Manuel said. “Offense got us back in the game multiple times, while the defense didn’t step up and let [the game] slip away.”
Offensively, both Kentucky and Missouri have shown in past seasons that they want to build an identity focused around running the ball, which hasn’t changed this year. In Week 1, Tigers’ senior running back Tyler Badie carried the ball 25 times and finished with more than 240 all-purpose yards. Against Kentucky, Badie carried the ball for just 61 yards, but contributed 88 yards through the air on 10 receptions.
“He’s a hell of a football player,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “He’s playing his butt off and doesn’t get very many breaks. He’s a factor in both the run and pass game and has to run a lot of routes and pick up a lot of yardage. We need [Badie] to continue to [play like he has] for our offense to have any chance at success.”
Unfortunately for Missouri, Kentucky junior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. surpassed the output the Tigers received from Badie. Rodriguez Jr. finished with 207 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns, making up for the quiet night from his quarterback, junior Penn State transfer Will Levis. Both running backs are off to a strong start in 2021, but on Saturday night it was Rodriguez Jr. who created the separation, at least on the scoreboard.
On Saturday night, the Tigers’ 60-minute performance wasn’t good enough to pick up a road win in a difficult SEC venue. And while the Tigers fought back and even had a chance to tie the game in the waning minutes, they never fully recovered from their early deficit.
“I don’t like the word victory when you just lost a game,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak said. “But I’m proud of this team and how we fought, competed and took the punches [Kentucky] was throwing.”
Drinkwitz has a message that he relays to his team, but also delivers to local media members: Before you can win the SEC, you have to compete to win the SEC East. There are steps to the process, and the Tigers are still admittedly in the early stages.
But games such as Saturday night’s serve as stepping stones. Before Missouri can even look toward a marquee matchup against Florida or Georgia, it has to be able to consistently beat Kentucky or even Tennessee. While the Tigers have taken strides under Drinkwitz, they aren’t ready to completely separate themselves in the SEC East pecking order,which showed in Lexington.
“We had an opportunity and we didn’t get it done,” Drinkwitz said. “But there’s a lot of season left and a lot of fight in this football team. We have to get a lot of things fixed, and we have to do it in a hurry, but we’re fighting.”
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com