Missouri football will look to remain undefeated this Saturday when the team takes on the 3-0 Memphis Tigers in St. Louis. While the team has plenty of reasons to be confident after last week’s last-second win over Kansas State, their sights are set forward. 

“As a team, it’s time for us to move […] we’re really done with last week, and we’re focused on this week and this opponent,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Tuesday.

Graduate running back Cody Schrader also emphasized the importance of using last week’s win as a stepping stone instead of spending too much time celebrating.

“I think the biggest thing for this team right now is not living in that moment,” Schrader said. “[We can’t] let [Kansas State] be the highlight of our season […] Now it’s just time to move on to Memphis.” 

Here are the keys to Missouri being the superior Tigers on Saturday by returning to Columbia with a win.

Forcing turnovers

The Missouri defense only has one turnover so far in 2023, the lowest amount in the SEC. Through three games in 2022, the unit already had six takeaways. 

“One [turnover] out of three games isn’t exactly breaking the ice,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s something that we have to continue to do. It was the difference in the [Kansas State] game […] but we got to be even better.”

Meanwhile, Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan has been intercepted three times this season. Though Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield has complimented his quarterback’s intelligence, Henigan has been prone to make some ill-advised throws. Expect Missouri’s defense to attempt to rattle the third year starter early and often in hopes of creating opportunities for takeaways.

Converting third downs

Missouri had its second best offensive performance of the season last Saturday by both yards (430) and points (30), but the team still struggled to convert on third downs. The team only moved the sticks three times out of the 13 third downs they faced. The conversion rate of 23.08% was the fifteenth worst out of all 133 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools in week three. Memphis’ defense has only allowed opponents to convert on 13 of 40 (32.5%) third downs.

Whether it’s through smarter play-calling or stronger execution on first and second down, Missouri has to be more efficient on third downs. Falling behind the sticks was an issue for the Tigers’ offense last season, and failing to do so this Saturday may lead to the offense struggling to build momentum against Memphis.

Starting fast

Out of Memphis’ 217 offensive plays in 2023, 115 of them have been rushing attempts. The team’s offense has mostly been centered around the playmaking ability of senior running back Blake Watson. Last week against Navy, Watson had a 69-yard run in the third quarter that led to Memphis’ game-winning touchdown. 

The best way to combat a run-heavy offense like Memphis’ is to control the pace of the game by taking an early lead, forcing the opponent to rely on the passing game. Since the game clock continues to run after every single rushing attempt whether the runner is brought down inbounds or not, it becomes  less optimal to run the ball as often as Memphis does when trying to come back from a deficit with limited time. 

However, Memphis still does have a solid passing-attack. Junior wide receiver Roc Taylor’s six-foot-three-inch, 215-pound frame allows him to be a contested catch threat for the Memphis offense. The wide-receiving core also features former Missouri Tiger Tauskie Dove. 

The problem that Memphis’ offense could run into is if its passing offense has to create explosive plays to come back from a significant deficit. So far this season, only 10 of Henigan’s 102 passing attempts have traveled over 20 yards and only three of those were completed according to Pro Football Focus. Furthermore, Memphis has not had to come back from a deficit at any point this season. If Missouri can take an early lead early on, the team’s path to 4-0 becomes a lot easier.

Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com

Copy Edited by Emma Short and Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com 

Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com