The second play of Missouri football’s conference-opening game against Kentucky felt awfully familiar.
With 14 minutes remaining in the opening quarter, junior wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson took the handoff from junior quarterback Will Levis on a jet sweep, hit the corner and saw nothing but a blue end zone and the Kentucky student section waving its white pom-poms.
Robinson’s rush appeared similar to many runs from Central Michigan’s freshman running back Lew Nichols III, who gashed the Tigers’ defense for several big plays and 175 total yards in the season opener Sept. 4. What happened in that game and Saturday’s matchup were quite similar, but the major difference between the showdowns came in the amount of talent Kentucky possessed.
Missouri’s defense eventually caught up to the speedy Robinson at the 8-yard line after a 64-yard gain, but once the Wildcats reached the end zone three plays later, the Tigers never recovered in a 35-28 loss in Lexington, Kentucky.
Defensive issues, especially stopping the run and third downs, carried over from last weekend. While defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ defense has created two turnovers in both contests he’s coached, his 11 guys are also prone to giving up numerous big plays. The Tigers allowed seven plays of more than 20 yards in the contest just a week after they allowed eight such plays.
Missouri did a better job of containing Levis than Louisiana-Monroe last week, holding the Penn State transfer to just 179 yards and a touchdown on the night. But Kentucky’s quarterback still provided the needed production with an average of 17.9 yards per completion. The big plays put the Wildcats in perfect position to punch the ball in on goal-to-go situations.
With great protection from an offensive line that only allowed two sacks, Levis had time to survey Wilks’ zone defense and find holes within the coverage.
“We just didn’t start fast, and we found our rhythm, but we put our offense in a bind and we didn’t step up in the biggest moments that we needed to,” junior defensive back Martez Manuel said. “That’s something that as a captain, I need to go back and see how I can improve on that.”
The more glaring issues came from the Tigers’ inability to stop junior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. and the Wildcats’ relentless ground attack from the get-go.
A week after Nichols III and the Chippewas rushed for 174 yards, Missouri allowed Kentucky to gain 218 rushing yards on the ground in the first half alone. A typically excellent offensive line anchored by senior offensive linemen Darian Kinnard and Luke Fortner opened up an entire canyon for Rodriguez Jr. and junior running back Kavosiey Smoke to run through. As a result, the front seven, which accumulated 5 tackles for loss against the run against Central Michigan, could only muster 3.
Rodriguez Jr. put together a career night against the Tigers, accumulating a career high in carries (27) and rushing yards (207) while matching his career high in touchdowns with 3.
Third down issues on both sides of the ball continued to nag Missouri early in the game. The Tigers struggled to convert third downs on offense while the defense allowed the Wildcats to convert all six of their first-half third downs.
“We didn’t do very much of anything right [on third down],” coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
The Wildcats converted 4 third downs in situations where they had to pick up at least seven yards to move the chains. Missouri allowed Kentucky to slip through on quarterback scrambles or passing plays.
Missouri also made life difficult on itself with 7 penalties, which gifted Kentucky 65 yards. The one that stung the most included a 15-yard facemask call on graduate defensive lineman Akial Byers on a play that would have set up a third down and medium. Later, a third-down pass interference call on sophomore defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine gifted the Wildcats a new set of downs at the goal line.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak played one of his better games in his collegiate career with new career highs in completions (34) and attempts (52). The tight ends also saw several looks their way as senior tight end Daniel Parker Jr. caught 2 touchdown passes, more than he had scored in his entire three-year career going into Saturday. And Missouri started to clamp down on third downs, as the Wildcats went 2-6 on such scenarios.
“There’s a lot of fight left in this football team,” Drinkwitz said. “We gotta get a lot of things fixed and we gotta do it in a hurry, but we’re going to fight.”
Ultimately, Missouri’s issues that carried over to Lexington did them in, and while statistics and career highs are indicators of what could be, the only number that matters is one — the amount of losses the Tigers have to their name.
“I don’t think we’re much into moral victories or whatever,” senior offensive guard Case Cook said. “Our objective every time we step on the field is to win and whether or not we battle or put up a good fight doesn’t really make a difference unless we win the game.”
Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com
