SB Nation - DeVion Moore

Mizzou Links, 11-23-09

Bill C. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:41:49 -0000

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

25 days ago: Missouri's J.T. Tiller laughs on the bench in street clothes during the first half of the South Padre Island Invitational NCAA college basketball game against Texas-Pan American, on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. Tiller sat out the game due to an ankle injury. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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BASKETBALL!!

MUtigers.com: English's 25 Keys Tigers Over Bronchos
MUtigers.com: MU-UTPA Box Score
The Trib: Tigers pummel Texas-Pan American
The Missourian: English comes up big in Missouri men's basketball team's victory
The Missourian: Missouri puts together highlight reel in easy win
KC Star: MU sophomores lead way in blowout of Texas-Pan American
PowerMizzou: New-look lineup leads the Tigers
Post-Dispatch: Tigers win with no fuss, no muss
For what may be the understatement of the early college basketball season, we turn to Texas-Pan American coach Ryan Marks after his team's game at Mizzou on Sunday.

"It was looking good when we were up 8-4 ...," he said, "but after that it got a little shaky."

As in MU's 44-2 binge on the way to a 100-44 victory, their most lopsided since moving to Mizzou Arena.

MU-KU Links

Post-Dispatch: Football Tigers set their sights quickly on KU
KC Star: Mangino plans to stick to routine going into MU game
The Missourian: Mangino heads into what could be last week with KU
ESPN.com: Kansas still within reach of bowl game
CBS Sports: Mangino, Jayhawks say team is united amid controversy
Topeka Capital-Journal: Mangino: 'It hasn't played out'
KC Star (Campus Corner): MU to Unveil Combat Uniforms Monday

Mizzou Links, 8-31-09

Bill C. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:53:34 -0000

Mizzou Football Links!

The Trib: It's right around the corner
Post-Dispatch: Tigers still have questions
KC Star: Tigers believe losing Chase Daniel doesn't mean losing on the field
Campus Corner (KC Star): As Paul Harvey used to say...

"Everybody’s got to make their own identity," receiver Wes Kemp said. "We’ve got a quarterback who can throw it downtown and make all the other throws."

De'Vion Moore takes that confidence a leap further.

"Brad Smith, Chase Daniel are both great players," said the sophomore tailback. "Players of their time. We have Blaine Gabbert and he’s going to be a captain of this team.

"He’s going to keep this team running. We’re going to look to him to make the plays and I see him doing it.

"He’s going to come in and make a name for himself. He’s going to be a Blaine Gabbert."
The Missourian: Woodland puts waiting behind, takes to the field for Missouri football team
The Trib: Blaine Dalton's arrest ends short and tumultuous MU career
Dave Matter: Emptying the Notebook on last week's scrimmage (and Dalton's dismissal)

When visiting a St. Louis Rams practice a few years ago, Yost noticed one crucial difference between Rams quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger, a difference that also is obvious between Gabbert and Daniel.

"Warner threw it way earlier than Bulger, but the ball got there at the same time because Bulger could make up for it with arm strength," Yost said. "Bulger isn’t considered to have super arm strength, but compared to Warner it was considerably stronger. But it’s more of a timing, anticipation deal. You can make up for it."

That, Yost said, is how Daniel made up for his lack of Gabbertish arm strength. He could anticipate where receivers would be before they got there, a way to compensate for putting less velocity on the ball as stronger quarterbacks do.

On the other hand, the drawback to that passing style is that the ball has to come out of the QB's hand quickly, almost immediately after receiving the snap. That makes it difficult to call for a lot of deep vertical routes in the course of a game.
PowerMizzou: Newcomer Q&A: Jasper Simmons
The Trib: MU chancellor asks Anheuser-Busch to stop 'Team Pride' program
The Trib: No one to blame (Trey Millard commits to Oklahoma)
I guess everybody thought I should be for Mizzou, but it wasn’t that way," Millard said. "Plus, I didn’t want to stay in town.

Sometimes, it’s just that simple. A teenager actually wants to step out into the world and see what else is out there.
Post-Dispatch: Missouri looks to improve its weak pass defense

Okay, Post-Dispatch...I tend to ignore some of the "The P-D hates Mizzou!!!!!" talk, but come on. You finally write two more articles on Mizzou (the first in, what, a week?), and not only are they both negative, but one references the most ridiculous stat of last season? That's right, they went nails-on-a-chalkboard with me by referencing Mizzou's total pass defense figure repeatedly. Again, unless you're willing to tell me that Oklahoma had the 99th-best pass defense because they ranked 99th in passing yards allowed, while Tulane had the 14th-best because they were 14th, then you need to just stop referencing stats you apparently don't understand.

Also, for PowerMizzou subscribers, Gabe threw together a bunch of links for Tiger commits and targets in their first H.S. games of the season...

Illinois Links!

Post-Dispatch: In years ahead, MU, Illini face schedule issues

Big 12 Links!

Omaha World-Herald: Several decommits turn into Husker foes

Before signing day in February 2008, 15 players who told NU they were coming eventually decided against it. The majority skipped out on their verbal commitments during the stretch in which the Huskers slipped from 4-1 to 5-7, fired head coach Bill Callahan, replaced him with Bo Pelini and went into damage control.

It happens.

But the reality nearly two years later is that class was full of players. And it could even come back to haunt the Huskers.

Of the eight who chose other Big 12 schools, seven are on North Division rosters. As many as five of those seven could begin the 2009 season as starters, with the other two projected as No. 2s on their respective depth charts.
Omaha World-Herald: Carl Pelini says defense is improving with youth movement
Denver Post: Honeymoon over for Hawk, brother
Daily Oklahoman: Feat puts Big 12 in league of its own
Daily Oklahoman: SEC! SEC! SEC! ... and don't forget it
KC Star: Snyder hopes to write a perfect ending
SoonerScoop.com: Ratterree on the verge of being a walk-on success

Why the link on Ratterree? Because that's my boy! He's the little brother of my high school best friend...I dunked him in a pool when he was 2. Now, he could lift me in the air with one hand. It really does sound like he's moved ahead of at least three scholarship tight ends on OU's depth chart and will play quite a bit while they're massacring BYU on Saturday.

Mizzou Soccer Links!

Mutigers.com: Missouri falls to DePaul 2-0
The Missourian: Missouri women's soccer loses to DePaul
The Trib: A dazzling debut for new fan favorite (Michelle Makasini)

Tough loss for Mizzou, but not a crushing one by any means. Looks like DePaul was VERY physical with Mizzou (19 fouls for DePaul to 13 for Mizzou) and managed to keep Mizzou from getting many good shots on goal despite giving up more shots overall, plus more corners.

Mizzou Volleyball Links!

The Trib: Tigers back in attack mode
Mutigers.com: Mizzou's stats after three matches

Look at how quickly Rosa Medrano has become Mizzou's go-to player. She has taken 104 of Mizzou's 345 attacks, while Julianna Klein has taken 77. Catie Wilson (39), Amanda Hantouli (29), Paola Ampudia (26), Brittney Brimmage (26), and Wendy Wang (23) round out a pretty balanced second tier, but it appears we're all about Medrano and Klein for now.

Spring Football Post-Mortem: The Offense

Bill C. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:00:13 -0000

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert scrambles for yardage during the spring Black and Gold college football scrimmage on Saturday, April 18, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. Gabbert is the probable replacement for the graduating Chase Daniel. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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Because this is the last time I get to review an actual Mizzou "game" (relatively speaking) for almost five months, I'm going to take advantage and write far too many words about Saturday's B&G Game. All typical disclaimers aside--this was only one scrimmage, it was just a scrimmage, it's only spring football, you can't glean much from "Mizzou vs Mizzou" situations, etc.--there was still a lot to watch and a lot of impressions to be made on Saturday, and today we'll take a look at what the offense did.

Quarterback

If I were grading QB performances from the Black & Gold game, I'd be tempted to give an Incomplete all the way around due to the injuries in the receiving corps. Because of injuries, the 1st-string WRs were really more like 2nd-string, 2nd more like 3rd, etc. Regardless, though, the performances were a bit shaky on Saturday. Dave Matter was quick to remind us that it couldn't have been any different the previous Saturday, when Blaine Gabbert owned the proceedings, using Jerrell Jackson and Wes Kemp to pick the D apart.

In all, what I saw in Gabbert on Saturday was a QB whose receivers dropped a couple of balls, who looked good on about 80% of his passes...and who could have had as many as three of his 17 tosses picked off. He trusted his arm to make a throw it couldn't make in telegraphing a pick to Kip Edwards, and on the next throw he got flustered and threw into double coverage, getting a ball tipped and almost picked by Del Howard. Later on, he threw a ball right into the chest of Dominique "Don't Throw It to Stone Hands" Hamilton, who had dropped back in coverage. It was an uneven performance in which we saw Gabbert make all the confused mistakes you'd expect a young, new starter to make.

That said, there's plenty to like, of course. First of all, the dude really does have a freaking cannon. Nevermind the "rolling left, fling it 55 yards" toss he uncorked in the first half--he really did seem pretty accurate on his short and medium-range throws, which was good to see. And he's got some wheels. He scrambled left for a long gain in the first half, and on the play he not only showed off legs but brains. He could have taken off a second earlier, but he waited for the D-linemen to commit to going for the sack for another beat, and it opened up the left side of the field big-time. Instead of having to run horizontally for a while to get out of the reach of the D-linemen, by waiting and relying on his agility to evade the rushers, he was able to move upfield pretty much immediately. He understands the pocket extremely well for his experience level, and that's a very good thing. Now he just needs to learn which throws to make and not make.

And of course, if not for the silly touch rules (seriously, can we at least make it 2-below or something?), he'd have had a pretty easy rushing TD in the redzone.

In all, I wasn't pleased to see him make the mistakes on the three passes, but I'm going to give him a lot of benefit of doubt considering a) his running skills will be even more pronounced when it doesn't take a fingertip to blow the play dead, b) he actually has his full arsenal of receiving targets available to him, and c) Derrick Washington is on the field for more than a handful of plays.

As far as the other QBs go, as Ross mentioned Saturday evening, Jimmy Costello didn't look good at all (of course, you try going up against the #1 defense with basically the 3rd-string WRs), and Blaine Dalton and Ashton Glaser both showed that their decision-making has a ways to go. That's why they came for the spring--they'll have a leg up on where they otherwise would have been come August. They both have some decent wheels, and I guess it wouldn't totally surprise me to see Dalton having his redshirt torn off to run a more Wildcat-formation style of package, just for a change of pace. But then again, Gabbert is probably as good a runner as Dalton, so maybe not.

Running Back

Derrick Washington barely saw the field, but I saw everything I needed from him. He's still as impressive to watch as he was early last year. He always falls forward, and he takes advantage of holes that just don't really seem to exist. He's going to make a great 1-2 punch with De'Vion Moore, who showed nice speed in getting to the outside. At the very least, Moore has developed into a strong Marcus Woods-style, change-of-pace back.

In our section of the stands, we were laughing about how we still run the same slow-developing handoffs as we always have, and it's easy to get annoyed or complain about that, but, well, D-Wash rushed for 1036 yards and 17 TDs on 5.9 yards per carry last year. If you execute correctly, it doesn't really matter that the plays are slow-developing.

As rptgwb put it during the game, Gilbert Moye running the ball looked exactly like what you'd expect a QB-turned-DB-turned-RB to look like running the ball. He doesn't look entirely comfortable out there yet, but to his credit, he made some things happen and showed the D-Wash-like ability of falling forward and creating space to run when you don't see any available. He's nowhere close to Washington and Moore just yet, but if one of them gets hurt (and Kendial Lawrence isn't immediately ready), he could do at least a competent job.

Also, Shawn Scott continued solidifying his place in the Black & Gold Game Hall of Fame with another couple of good runs. Barring injuries, he'll never see the field outside of garbage time, but he's always looked good in scrimmages.

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

There's a lot to like about Jerrell Jackson, I'll say that much. In terms of style of play, think of him as Jeremy Maclin, but with only four gears. He looked wonderful on a reverse early in the scrimmage, but Hurricane Ebner was able to just barely get a grab of his shoelaces, and it slowed him down enough that he was eventually taken down. He also showed strong ability running routes and catching balls. Assuming Jared Perry and Danario Alexander are two starters, I have to figure that Jackson is the leader for the third starting spot.

That said, Wes Kemp is still going to have a chance to overtake either Jackson or maybe Perry when all is said and done. In terms of size and skillset, he is a unique target. He could be a favorite of Gabbert's on the dig route, which accounted for at least two of his three receptions. He is a Justin Gage-style receiver (which makes sense, considering the two may have been separated at birth), and I like what I saw out of him.

I was actually pretty disappointed in what I saw out of Rolandis Woodland. He dropped an out route on the first possession of the game, and really just didn't do much with the opportunities presented to him (i.e. getting reps with the 1st and 2nd string with so many guys out). People were very wishfully hoping that he could threaten for a starting job and maybe even overtake Danario Alexander as the team's best deep threat. Well, I didn't see or read anything this spring that made me think he'll be ranked any higher than the #6 WR when everybody is healthy.

Beyond that, there wasn't much to see. Brandon Gerau actually dropped a pass, which means it's a while before he gets another chance to earn Tommy Saunders-level "LOVE that kid!" status. Andrew Jones didn't do much, but I think I know what to expect out of him at this point. I really was disappointed in not getting to see Gahn McGaffie or Michael Egnew.

Oh yeah, and kudos to Jonnie Fields, this year's official Shawn Scott Award winner for most impressive performance by a walk-on. The sophomore from Gateway Tech led all receivers with 53 yards on four receptions. He won't see the field, but he seized his moment in the spotlight, and he deserves credit for that.

Offensive Line

All I can really say for the O-line is this: there weren't many sacks, and D-Wash and De'Vion had decent room to run. I spent a lot of time watching the DEs, and while they looked really quick and strong, they still didn't do much, which says something about the OL's performance, especially that of the tackles, Elvis Fisher and Dan Hoch. I still think this unit is the best OL in the Big 12 North, and if Mizzou makes a run at its third straight North title, the OL will be the main reason why.

Summary

With guys like Gabbert, Washington, D. Moore, Gregory/Barnes/Fisher/Hoch, J. Jackson, and Kemp, not to mention Jones/Egnew, and out-of-sight-and-mind guys like Alexander and Perry, this offense still has the talent to win the North. A lot of pressure, though, is going to lie on Washington, Moore, and the O-line. I still don't see a #1 WR on the team, and it's evident that Blaine Gabbert is going to make newbie mistakes, so David Yost is going to have to know he can lean on the running games at times to settle things down. With what we saw out of Washington and Moore, both on Saturday and in 2008, that's definitely a plausible option. But the B&G Game did confirm some concerns, and we'll see what happens when this unit faces a non-Mizzou unit for the first time. Color me neither scared nor insanely optimistic. Which, really, is a pretty good place to be.

Spring Football Update: Quarterbacks and Running Backs

Bill C. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:00:12 -0000

The switch has been flipped from basketball to football, and I figure the best way to dip our toes back in the water is to revisit my 2009 Walkthrough series from January and see what has or hasn't changed since then. We start with QBs and RBs.

Quarterbacks

Photo from The Trib's Nick King

There's not much debate to this one. One nice thing Chase Daniel did for Mizzou fans at the tail end of his career was remind everybody that he is indeed human. Whoever wins the Gabbert/Costello/Dalton/Glaser race only has to replace a great quarterback, not a superhuman one, but the bar is still set extraordinarily high. This will make for fantastic intrigue this spring, as all four candidates seem to bring different strengths to the table, and needless to say, the upside involved here dwarfs the vaunted Dougherty/Farmer/Douglass/Propst* race of 1999.

(* This might not have been a race at all had Propst not broken his leg in 117 different places the spring before 1999. The coaches seemed to absolutely love that kid before the injury.)

What's Changed? Yeah, that whole thing about intrigue? Not so much. It's not that much of a surprise (71% of RMN readers figured he would win the job back in January), but it does appear that Blaine Gabbert has seized the reins for the '09 starting job and won't let go. While the true freshmen are predictably going through growing pains, Gabbert has simply been the best player in the green (or orange) jersey on just about every day.

In all, it seems that everything is playing according to stereotype. Gabbert is the 5-star recruit with the cannon arm who is still learning when and when not to trust his arm to make every throw in the book. Jimmy Costello is the scrappy walk-on with a decent arm and strong work ethic, scrapping for respect. Blaine Dalton and Ashton Glaser are the newbies, alternating between great plays and shaky ones. In that scenario, the 5-star stud wins the job just about every time.

The main question now becomes, does Jimmy Costello look good enough at #2 that the Mizzou staff considers redshirting both freshmen? Clearly that plan would be scrapped if Gabbert were to get injured, but it may be worth a try if Costello really is performing well enough to earn himself a scholarship.

UPDATE, 2:20pm: It appears that the new consensus emerging from Saturday's scrimmage is that Dalton is now #2 by a pretty healthy margin, so uhh...scratch that last paragraph, I guess.

Expected Spring Finish
1. Blaine Gabbert (So)
2. Jimmy Costello (So)
3. Blaine Dalton (Fr)
4. Ashton Glaser (Fr)

Running Backs

Photo from PowerMizzou's Dan Turner

The only departure from the Mizzou backfield is Jimmy Jackson, and while I loved #1 to death, it's not out of the realm of possibility that De'Vion Moore can match JJ's production. If that's the case, and if Derrick Washington is healthy and makes the typical improvement from his first year starting to his second, the Mizzou RB corps could be as strong as it's been under Gary Pinkel. And nothing settles down a young starting QB faster than a solid running game.

What's Changed? Well, first of all, we've had ourselves some personnel shuffling. Drew Temple is no longer with the team, apparently quitting for more playing time elsewhere. Meanwhile, failed defensive back and former 4-star recruit Gilbert Moye has moved from safety to running back and apparently feels liberated. He hasn't shown a ton in scrimmages just yet, but a) he's only been an RB for a month, and b) he still has more of an opportunity to contribute here than in the fourth-string defensive backfield.

What else has changed? Well, if you believe reports, De'Vion Moore has turned himself into quite the badass. Or at least badass in terms of a second-stringer. All the main beat writers have said that Moore is one of, if not the most improved player of the spring. He is the perfect complement for Derrick Washington if he can use his quickness and speed in a smart, patient way.

Meanwhile, that's about all we've learned thus far, as Washington's out for the spring after minor surgery and everybody has spent at least a little time in the red jerseys. That's led to walk-on Shawn Scott getting a few reps with the first string, and while that's always a fun story to follow, it doesn't mean Scott's going to be getting carries in the fall.

Expected Spring Finish
1. Derrick Washington (Jr)
2. De'Vion Moore (So)
3. Shawn Scott (Sr)
4. Gilbert Moye (So)

(You know what's fun? That only one of the eight players I just listed at QB and RB are seniors--and he's a walk-on. That's going to be an ongoing trend moving forward.)

A 2009 Walkthrough: Special Teams

Bill C. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:30:07 -0000

Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Offensive Line
Defensive Ends
Defensive Tackles
Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Safeties

After a long weekend, it's time to wrap up this 2009 walkthrough with the special teams unit. Rarely has a special teams unit lost as much as Mizzou will lose in 2009: they have to replace quite possibly their best ever kicker, punt returner, and kick returner. Yikes. All that considered, maybe I'm not nearly pessimistic enough about this unit. There is at least some potential in the handful of replacements.

Kicker

Tanner Mills (6'2, 195, Senior)

From rptgwb during the Alamo Bowl pregame: “This just in: Tanner Mills has Josh Hamilton’s bat for a leg. Kid is CRUSHING practice FGs. Maybe life after Wolfert will be OK.”

Like most former goalies, Tanner Mills, a Rock Bridge product and former Columbia College keeper, has a cannon for a leg. He should easily handle kickoffs and PATs and give Mizzou some realistic hope of making any FG under 50 yards or so...but he is replacing the most accurate kicker in Mizzou history. The first time he misses a PAT or a chip-shot field goal will be the first time Mizzou has missed one of those since 2005. Yikes. No pressure.

That said, there is one area on which Mills can improve from Wolfert's standards: pressure kicks. In Mizzou's four losses in 2008, Wolfert was 3-for-8 on FGs. In their ten wins, 17-for-20. He missed two (one blocked) against Oklahoma State in a six-point loss. He missed one at the buzzer (blocked) against Kansas. He missed the potential game-winner against Northwestern. Now...don't mistake this for some sort of "I'm glad he's gone" sentiment--if Wolfert discovered some secret NCAA bylaw that allowed him another twelve years of eligibility because he was a diver or something, I'd do backflips in my living room. (Okay, I can't do backflips. But I'd pump my first.) Just saying that there's one area where Mills can make his presence felt in a good way.

Either way, considering what Mizzou is replacing, Mills seems like a pretty solid candidate. This isn't a "replacing Scotty Knickman with Brian Long and Alexander St. Peter in 1998" situation.

Trey Barrow (6'3, 175, RSFr)

If Mills somehow isn't the starting place-kicker in 2009, chances are Trey Barrow is. A redshirt freshman from Moberly, Barrow's got himself a pretty strong leg and at the very least seems like the likely starting PK in 2010.

Punter

Jake Harry (6'1, 190, Senior)

If you asked a Missouri fan in August what their biggest concern was for 2008, a large portion of them would have said punting. Harry was an unproven quantity, and it was cause for concern. Well...worry not. With Harry and a little help from Jeff Wolfert's righty rugby kicks, Mizzou's net punting improved from 31.5 yards in 2007 (#113 in the country) to 37.7 in 2008 (#16). Harry booted his way to a 40.7-yard average with an outstanding 10 of his 26 punts downed inside the opponent's 20. Just an outstanding, consistent effort from Harry in 2008. With an offense that probably punts more in 2009, Harry will be counted on even more.

Grant Ressel (6'1, 180, Sophomore)

Ressel got to punt once in 2008--in the SEMO blowout--and uncorked a lovely 43-yarder. With the rugby punt catching on (seriously, it became a solid weapon for quite a few teams in '08), it is quite possible that the righty (I think) Ressel takes over for Wolfert in the righty-lefty platoon when that sort of kick is deemed necessary.

And I love that punting is a platoon like right field now.

Kick Returner

De'Vion Moore (5'9, 195, Sophomore)
Gahn McGaffie (5'11, 190, RSFr)
Robert Steeples (6'1, 190, RSFr)
Kip Edwards (6'1, 185, RSFr)
Munir Prince (5'10, 185, Junior)
Drew Temple (5'10, 190, RSFr)
La'Roderick Thomas (6'0, 195, Junior)

It's always possible that a true freshman like Kendial Lawrence or TJ Moe (or, you know, Sheldon Richardson, ahem) could enter the equation at one of the return positions here, but we'll just focus on the returnees and redshirts.

One thing Mizzou's got in the return game: options. There's simply no way anybody can replace a guy like Jeremy Maclin, not only for the threat that he represented, but also for the number of times opponents decided a chip-shot kick to an up man at the 35 was a better option. Opponents will not be handing Mizzou field position like that again, so whoever wins this job will be given plenty of opportunities to prove himself. And while I won't expect any KR TD's in 2009, I do expect competence among such a big group of candidates.

My early favorites: Moore and McGaffie. For all intents and purposes, Moore is basically a slightly faster Marcus Woods, while McGaffie is a bit of an unknown. I'm not sure how fast McGaffie is, but he is reportedly quite quick, which at the very least makes him a favorite of mine at punt returner.

Moore and McGaffie aside, look out for any one of the handful of super-fast defensive back redshirts--Steeples, Edwards, Prince. I don't know enough about any one of them to project who'd be best at this job, but again...it's nice to have options.

This may also be a case where it's nice having a new Temple in the backfield.

And I would pay money to see Sheldon Richardson as at least an up man.

Punt Returner

De'Vion Moore (5'9, 195, Sophomoe)
Gahn McGaffie (5'11, 190, RSFr)
Jared Perry (6'1, 180, Senior)

While I don't see Perry winning the KR job, he could be a reliable candidate at PR.

2008 vs 2009

I almost don't want to compare 2008 to 2009. Wolfert may not have been tremendously clutch, but he was still as good as a Mizzou kicker has ever been. Maclin may have been neutralized for most of 2008 by not getting any opportunities to return kicks, but he was still the most dangerous return man Mizzou has ever had. It's not fair to hold Tanner Mills and guys like Moore and McGaffie to the standard of their predecessors--instead, we should see what skills they do have and how they can be used to help this team. Mills has a cannon, though it's unclear how accurate that cannon is. Meanwhile, there are a lot of speedy, quick candidates at the KR/PR positions, and they could give Mizzou solid field position (as long as they hold onto the ball). Oh yeah, and Jake Harry rules. So we've got THAT going for us.

Poll

Who will be returning kickoffs for Mizzou in 2009?

De'Vion Moore

21 votes

Gahn McGaffie

24 votes

Robert Steeples

3 votes

Kip Edwards

0 votes

Munir Prince

9 votes

Drew Temple

8 votes

La'Roderick Thomas

2 votes

other

7 votes

74 votes | Poll has closed

A 2009 Walkthrough: Running Backs

Bill C. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:00:07 -0000

It's going to be inevitable to talk about Missouri in 2009 without talking about losses--Daniel, Coffman, Maclin (probably), etc. However, there is a potentially strong identity for Missouri to carve out of what is returning...namely, threats in the running game.

Returnees

Derrick Washington (5'11, 215, junior)

Derrick Washington was, to say the least, feast-or-famine in 2008.

First five games: 67 carries, 500 rushing yards, 10 TDs (plus 9 catches, 92 yards, another 2 TDs) (7.8 yards per touch)
Next two: 15 carries, 28 rushing yards, 2 TDs (plus 8 catches, 70 yards) (4.3 yards per touch)
Next four games: 59 carries, 381 rushing yards, 4 TDs (plus 7 catches, 66 yards) (6.77 yards per touch)
Final three games: 36 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD (plus 5 catches, 49 yards) (4.3 yards per touch)

Thanks to his outstanding receiving ability, his per-touch averages were never really too terrible, but three things were clear regarding Washington: 1) his success took the Missouri offense to a stratospheric level, 2) he struggled mightily against the better rush defenses on the schedule (OU, Texas, Northwestern, OSU), and 3) he didn't look nearly as explosive at the end of the season. Now, (1) needs no explanation--matching the Daniel-Maclin-Coffman trifecta with an unstoppable running game is just about unfair. Really, (2) doesn't need an explanation either--better defenses stop good players better. That's, like, science or something. However, (3) needed a bit of an explanation...and it possibly just got one:

Why the drop-off in the second half of the season? Was Washington injured? Gary Pinkel never mentioned his tailback in his weekly injury reports, but, for what it’s worth, a relative of Washington’s recently posted on a MU message board that the tailback injured his knee in MU’s second game, which eventually required his knee to be drained to relieve swelling.

Now, this obviously wasn't a tremendously significant injury, as Washington's most productive stretch--Nevada, Buffalo and Nebraska--came after the second game. Plus, he went for 151 total yards and 2 TDs in frigid temps up in Ames late in the season. Regardless, it's as good an explanation as anything else to explain why Washington was struggling. When #24 is on, he exploits even tiny holes and runs through arm tackles. Against OU and Northwestern in particular, even when there were holes to be exploited, he was only getting 4-6 yards instead of 8-12.

Mizzou's chances for a surprise North title in 2009 rely on Washington being both healthy and productive, and while I'm 90% optimistic he will be both, his late-season struggles prevent me from being 100% optimistic.

De'Vion Moore (5'9, 195, sophomore)

Obviously after one season of mostly junk-time work, it's hard to get a read on De'Vion Moore's potential, but it's tempting to go in one of two extreme directions:

Barring one big carry against Colorado, here were his stats during conference play (junk time or no): 19 carries, 69 yards (3.6 per carry), 0 TDs. Not amazing stuff. It seems clear early on that he has the ceiling of Marcus Woods and the floor of Earl Goldsmith. He's shifty but not all that productive.
Did you see that one big carry against Colorado (4:03 of this video)? Holy crap! He got a whole and just exploded away from every defender! Kid's got some serious jets and could make a nice inside-outside combo with D-Wash in '09.

As always, reality probably lies halfway between the two extremes, but with three years of eligibility remaining, there's still plenty of potential in De'Vion to be exploited. And he certainly makes for an interesting change of pace with Washington running mostly between the tackles.

Redshirts

Drew Temple (5'10, 190ish, RSFr)

We obviously don't know a ton about Drew Temple at this point, but his Rivals video tells us that he runs a lot like his older brother Tony--stringing runs outside until a hole develops, then trying to explode through it--only, it appears, he maybe seeks out contact a bit more. How that translates to success at Mizzou, who the heck knows, but for as disappointing as Tony Temple was at times, I think we would all be pretty happy to have a TT proxy in the backfield for another few years, huh?

Incoming

Missouri has not yet gotten commitments from any running backs in this class.

Potential Incoming

Here's where the 2009 Mizzou running back stable becomes a huge wildcard. With a month to go before Signing Day, it is completely unknown what kind of impact freshmen might or might not be donning black and gold this summer.

Bryce Brown (6'0, 215, Wichita, KS)

Honestly, I probably shouldn't put him on this list. He visited Columbia a while back and said all sorts of complimentary things about the team and his desire to be a Jeremy Maclin-type of back...but a few weeks later he also said he was still a solid Miami commit. Mizzou's opportunity to nail this guy down likely came and went (if it truly came at all), but rumors are still flying around as to how solid he is in his Miami commitment, so I'll naively keep him on the list right up until Signing Day.

Ronnie Wingo (6'3, 210, St. Louis)

Ronnie Wingo's recruitment has been extremely interesting for two main reasons:

Nobody seems to have a freaking clue as to what position he should play. He was a RB in high school, but honestly with his size and speed he could turn into a pretty interesting RB, WR, TE, LB, or DB. I think I see him most naturally turning into a 6'3, 225-pound Sean Weatherspoon clone at LB, but since he still seems to hold a slight preference for playing offense (and returning kickoffs), I'm putting him on this list.
He still hasn't committed to Mizzou yet, and nobody has a good idea why. At first, it was thought that his parents might be influencing him to go elsewhere, but recently it seems they've given him the Mizzou go-ahead. Arkansas fans are all sorts of optimistic about his upcoming official visit to Fayetteville, and Gabe at PM has been saying for a while that Arkansas is a huge wildcard in the race. If he's not committed to Arkansas by next Monday morning, the odds of him becoming a Tiger are quite high. What Mizzou does with him if they get him in black and gold, nobody knows.

Stepfan Taylor (5'11, 205, Mansfield, TX)

A personal favorite of mine for quite a while now, Kenji Jackson's best bud from high school has been committed to Stanford since late summer. However, there's a buzz that he may still visit Mizzou if it looks like he may not qualify at Palo Alto. I don't want to root for the kid to not get great grades or a high test score, but I would be thrilled to see him in a Mizzou jersey next August. It's easy to be impressed with a kid's high school highlight film (see link above), but his has been more impressive than most. He's an oustanding combination of size, speed, and quickness. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up too much here.

Kendial Lawrence (5'9, 180, Rockwall, TX)

Lawrence really came into his own his senior year at Rockwall-Heath, winning Texas District 10-4A Player of the Year honors and finding a ton of late offers coming his way. A lot of folks thought he was a strong Mizzou lean a few weeks ago, but he's played things so close to the vest that nobody knows for sure. Of the names on this list, I'd say he's the second most likely Tiger behind Wingo, but who knows? Lawrence fits the mold of a De'Vion Moore/Marcus Woods/Tony Temple/Jimmy Jackson type--short with strong legs and nice quickness. He was something of a late bloomer, but he would be a great pickup for Mizzou.

2008 vs 2009

The only departure from the Mizzou backfield is Jimmy Jackson, and while I loved #1 to death, it's not out of the realm of possibility that De'Vion Moore can match JJ's production. If that's the case, and if Derrick Washington is healthy and makes the typical improvement from his first year starting to his second, the Mizzou RB corps could be as strong as it's been under Gary Pinkel. And nothing settles down a young starting QB faster than a solid running game.

2009 Mizzou RBs on the YouTubes

Derrick Washington

De'Vion Moore

Drew Temple

Nothing on YouTube, but here's a Rivals highlight video if you're a subscriber.

Poll

What is De'Vion Moore's ceiling?

Darren Sproles

14 votes

Quentin Griffin

10 votes

Tony Temple

30 votes

Marcus Woods

15 votes

Earl Goldsmith

1 votes

70 votes | Poll has closed

The Fog of '09 - North Offenses

Bill C. — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:00:06 -0000

Two years ago, it was pretty easy to see what was in store for the Big 12 in football. Colt McCoy was having a monster RSFr season. Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell were having monster sophomore seasons. Stephen McGee and Bobby Reid were young and looked like gamers. Josh Freeman was a true freshman starter, and while he looked it from time to time, his upside was huge. Even Bret Meyer and Blake "Blizzle Szyzzle" Szymanski had their moments.

Beyond that, the offensive lines (especially Oklahoma's) were young, as were the RBs and WRs. Oh yeah, and just about every proven defensive end had run out of eligibility. While there was still defensive talent throughout the conference, it was clear that the next couple of years were going to see some unprecedented offensive continuity and success in the Big 12.

Sure enough, that's what happened. And it was an even bigger surge than anybody expected. Todd Reesing and Zac Robinson outshone their promising counterparts (Dylan Meier and Reid) and thrived. Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree were All-Americans as redshirt freshmen. Add to that the fact that half the league's starters are of the "3-year" variety, and this run of offense has just been ridiculous. Josh Freeman is still talked about as a potential first rounder in the 2009 (or 2010) draft, and he's at best the #8 QB in the conference.

But it all changes in 2009. Daniel and Harrell? Gone. Crabtree and Maclin? Almost certainly gone. McCoy, Bradford, Freeman? Possibly gone. Chase Coffman, Joe Ganz, Marlon Lucky, Nate Swift, Chris Ogbonnaya, Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley, Shannon Woods and Eric Morris? Gone. Even the J-Train, Jorvorskie Lane, has finally exhausted his eligibility. So many guys who have become household names in the midwest are leaving.

And that says nothing about William Moore, Brian Orakpo, all of KU's linebackers, Nic Harris, and the potential defensive exodus. Or even Dave Christensen, Matt Eberflus, Brent Venables, Kevin Wilson, and the potential assistant coaching exodus.

The watchword for '08 was "offensive explosion." For '09? "New" Through the clarity of 2007 and 2008 lies the fog of 2009. We don't yet know all who will return and who will not, but one thing's for certain: everything changes in 2009.

It's still pretty hard to grasp this yet, as we don't know who will be leaving for the draft, but let's take a super-duper early look at who might be good (or not so good) in 2009. We'll start with the North Division. To do this, I'm not going to jump into BTBS numbers. There will certainly be a time and place for that. Today, we'll simply go unit-by-unit and make some early rankings. And I'm not even going to think about redshirts or incoming recruits. Making predictions about how newcomers are going to fit in and/or thrive can drive you crazy. Plus, you'll probably be wrong. Remember how Darrell Scott and Jocques Crawford were supposed to be total studs the moment they walked in the door at CU and KU?

In other words, the projections after the jump are strictly from this year's depth chart.

Quarterbacks

Kansas (Todd Reesing)
Kansas State (Josh Freeman--for now)
Iowa State (Austen Arnaud)
Missouri (Blaine Gabbert)
Nebraska (Patrick Witt/Zac Lee)
Colorado (Cody Hawkins/Tyler Hansen)

I probably shouldn't stick CU's duo below two relative newcomers at MU and NU, but I just can't help it. And if Josh Freeman is gone and Carson Coffman is next year's starter at KSU, pencil KSU into the #4 or #5 spot. And while either Gabbert or Witt/Lee (Pac Litt?) can or will overtake Arnaud by the end of the season, I couldn't rank two returning starters below QBs who've never taken a meaningful snap.

Running Backs

Missouri (Derrick Washington, De'Vion Moore)
Nebraska (Roy Helu Jr., Quentin Castille)
Kansas (Jake Sharp, Jocques Crawford)
Colorado (Rodney Stewart, Darrell Scott)
Iowa State (Alexander Robinson)
Kansas State (Lamark Brown, Logan Dold)

Of all the departures for '09, the running back position actually looks not only solid, but strong. Washington, Helu and Sharp are all relatively proven at this point, and at any moment Stewart and Scott could emerge in a big way. Even Alexander Robinson and Lamark Brown have had their moments this year. This is something to watch for '09--while offenses may not be as high-flying, they still might be pretty darn effective thanks to the ground games.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Kansas (Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier, Johnathan Wilson)
Missouri (Jared Perry, Danario Alexander, Andrew Jones)
Kansas State (Brandon Banks, Deon Murphy, Aubrey Quarles)
Nebraska (Niles Paul, Menelik Holt, Mike McNeill)
Colorado (Josh Smith, Scotty McKnight, Riar Geer)
Iowa State (Houston Jones, Sedrick Johnson, Derrick Catlett)

Kansas is clearly #1 here, but after that, #2-#5 is something of a crapshoot. I feel like a homer for putting Mizzou at #2, but while they won't have the speed of KSU's unit, they'll still have the speed-size mix that few other teams do. And naturally, I'm assuming Jeremy Maclin is gone. Mizzou is clearly #1 if Maclin returns, but I very much do not see that happening. Paul and Holt could make NU's unit pretty effective, but they haven't gone all the way in proving that just yet.

Offensive Lines

Missouri (OG Kurtis Gregory, C Tim Barnes, OT Elvis Fisher)
Nebraska (C Jacob Hickman, OG Keith Williams, OT Jaivorio Burkes)
Colorado (OT Nate Solder, OT Ryan Miller, OG Devin Head)
Kansas State (OG Brock Unruh, OT Edward Prince, OT Nick Stringer)
Kansas (OT Jeremiah Hatch, OT Jeff Spikes)
Iowa State (OG Reggie Stephens, OT Ben Lamaak, C Alex Alvarez)

Missouri will have by far the highest-upside offensive line in the North next year. That can only help when a) protecting a young QB and b) clearing the way for the North's #1 RB. If Mizzou is to win the North despite having to replace Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin, it's Washington and the nice O-line who will get it done.

After Mizzou, NU's probably got the most upside in this unit. Colorado's fought through youth and injuries this year and could emerge next year with a solid O-line because of the struggles. After that...no idea. KSU returns quite a bit from an iffy-at-best O-line, and KU loses both starting guards and center. Not good. And while I like Reggie Stephens at ISU, he's about all ISU has.

So, keeping this as unscientific as possible, if we assign 6 points for every #1 ranking, 5 for every #2, et cetera, how do the North offenses add up?

North Offenses, 2009

Missouri (20 points)
Kansas (18 points)
Nebraska (15 points)
Kansas State (13 points)
Colorado (10 points)
Iowa State (8 points)

If Josh Freeman goes pro

Missouri (21)
Kansas (18)
Nebraska (16)
Kansas State (10)
Colorado (10)
Iowa State (9)

If Jeremy Maclin DOESN'T go pro

Missouri (21)
Kansas (17)
Nebraska (15)
Kansas State (13)
Colorado (10)
Iowa State (8)

I'm obviously not going to take this rather arbitrary ranking system too seriously and say "See? This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Missouri will have the best offense in the North next year!" or anything like that. This does show, though, that each team will have defined strengths and weaknesses (Mizzou = good running, iffy passing; Kansas = good passing, iffy blocking, KSU = good passing, no running, CU = possibly good running, no passing), which means unit-to-unit matchups and home-road scheduling will matter more next year than it has in the last couple of years.

And speaking of those matchups, tomorrow we'll look at North defenses.

Mizzou-Nevada: Beyond the Box Score

Bill C. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:00:06 -0000

I have this done already, so I may as well post the BTBS a day early.

Another week, another set of mind-blowing BTBS numbers for the Mizzou offense. But notice this too: against Texas Tech, Nevada put up a 0.779 S&P and 26.88 EqPts. Against Mizzou, those numbers were 0.666 S&P and 19.97 EqPts. So while Mizzou and Tech gave up roughly the same number of actual points, Mizzou's defense performed better as a whole. And it's performing incrementally better each week.

To the numbers we go! And for The Beef, I'm once again bolding the key points. You're welcome.

Missouri		Nevada
	% Close = 29.5%
	TOTAL
65	Plays	84
48.55	EqPts	19.97
55.4%	Success Rate	42.9%
0.75	Points Per Play (PPP)	0.24
1.301	S&P (Success + PPP)	0.666

	CLOSE GAME ONLY
26	Plays	18
22.60	EqPts	6.15
57.7%	Success Rate	55.6%
0.87	PPP	0.34
1.446	S&P	0.897

	RUSHING
12.13	EqPts	9.66
31.0%	Success Rate	48.8%
0.42	PPP	0.22
0.729	S&P	0.713

	PASSING
36.42	EqPts	10.31
75.0%	Success Rate	36.6%
1.01	PPP	0.25
1.762	S&P	0.617

	NON-PASSING DOWNS
56.0%	Success Rate	50.9%
0.75	PPP	0.30
1.309	S&P	0.811

	PASSING DOWNS
53.3%	Success Rate	25.9%
0.74	PPP	0.10
1.273	S&P	0.360

	TURNOVERS
0	Number	1
0.00	Points Lost **	1.18
0.00	Points Given ***	7.00
0.00	Total T/O Pts	8.18
+8.18	Turnover Pts Margin	-8.18

Notice how quickly Mizzou put this out of reach. Less than 30% of the game was played in "close" circumstances--that's almost as low as it was against SEMO last week. Against Mizzou, you're under such pressure to score and score early that one mistake can feel like having your serve broken by Pete Sampras--you just don't know how you're going to make up the distance you've just given up on the scoreboard.

Mizzou Passing (in order by points)

Chase Daniel: 28.20 EqPts, 82.1% success rate (GOOD GOD), 1.01 PPP, 1.829 S&P
Chase Patton: 4.08 EqPts, 50.0%, 1.02 PPP, 1.520 S&P
Blaine Gabbert: 0.37 EqPts, 33.3%, 0.12 PPP, 0.455 S&P

82.1% success rate for Chase Daniel. EIGHTY-TWO POINT ONE PERCENT SUCCESS RATE. GOOD GOD. And for the second straight week, Mizzou averaged over 1 point per pass. Every time the ball leaves Chase Daniel's arm, that's another point on the scoreboard.
Patton occasionally unleashes a pretty bad ball, but you can't complain with a 1.520 S&P from the second-string guy.
I do wish we would run the full playbook when Gabbert's in the game. I want to see what his touch is on the downfield passes. We're getting so unbelievably spoiled with Daniel's touch on the 20-yard passes.

Mizzou Rushing (in order by points)

Derrick Washington: 7.63 EqPts, 1.58 S&P
Chase Patton: 1.61 EqPts (on 1 carry)
De'Vion Moore: 1.39 EqPts, 0.339 S&P
Chase Daniel: 0.47 EqPts (on 1 carry)
Blaine Gabbert: 0.34 EqPts (on 1 carry)
Jeremy Maclin: 0.28 EqPts, 0.139 S&P
Jimmy Jackson: 0.20 EqPts, 0.065 S&P
Danario Alexander: 0.10 EqPts (on 1 carry)
Tyron Reece: 0.12 EqPts (on 1 carry)
Shaun Scott: -0.01 EqPts (on 1 carry)

Derrick Washington was once again outstanding, putting up a 62.5% success rate and 1.58 S&P.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Tigers put up only a 19.0% success rate and 0.404 S&P. A lot of this was due to the high percentage of junk time carries, but still...aside from Washington's big run, the running game really never took off. One carry skews the numbers, but it's still something I'd like to see improve against Buffalo.
De'Vion Moore had a forgettable game but still looked pretty hard to bring down.

The passing game, on the other hand, was near perfect.

Mizzou Receiving (in order by points)

Jeremy Maclin: 14.42 EqPts, 3.40 S&P
Chase Coffman: 9.56 EqPts, 2.59 S&P
Jared Perry: 7.84 EqPts, 2.31 S&P
Tommy Saunders: 3.72 EqPts, 1.62 S&P
Derrick Washington: 0.38 EqPts (on 1 catch)
Jon Gissinger: 0.37 EqPts (on 1 catch)
Danario Alexander: 0.15 EqPts (on 1 catch)

Every single reception resulted in a "successful" play. That's crazy. The combination of efficiency and aggressiveness being shown by the Mizzou passing game right now is damn near unprecedented.
14.42 EqPts from one guy? Really? That's four more EqPts than all Nevada receivers managed combined.
When your "possession" receivers (Perry, Saunders) are putting up 1.62 and 2.31 S&P's and going for close to 100 yards each, you know you can do no wrong.
I re-watched most of the game yesterday, and I actually think Danario Alexander is 100% healthy, or damn close. He's never been the most agile of runners, but on the reverse--his first touch of '08--he was running like the rigid-but-powerful colt I remembered from '07. Plus, he didn't look gimpy on his one catch or the other two plays in which he was the target (the pass interference call in the endzone, and the inside screen he dropped). He needs to get some more game action to get back his feel for the game, but I'm not too concerned about his health.
I'd like to have seen the freshmen get involved again, but oh well I guess.

Mizzou Defense - Successful Tackles

Sean Weatherspoon - 6.5
William Moore - 3.0
Will Ebner - 2.5
Stryker Sulak - 2.5
Luke Lambert - 2.0
Jaron Baston - 1.5
Tommy Chavis - 1.5
Brock Christopher - 1.5

Mizzou Defense - % of plays made by...

Defensive Line: 12.0 total tackles, 75.0% success rate (19.0% of total tackles)
Linebackers: 21.5 total tackles, 62.8% success rate (34.1% of total tackles)
Defensive Backs: 29.5 total tackles, 22.0% success rate (46.8% of total tackles)

Weatherspoon was all over the freaking field, especially considering he missed a couple tackles. But what, he couldn't come up with another Pick Six? What the hell, Sean?
Will Ebner continues to make big plays in limited playing time. Hell, I'm starting to wonder if he's our third-best LB at this point.
The lack of sacks in the last two games is almost starting to concern me, but the D-line is still making plays, so I'm not worried yet. And it's a lot of people making plays--Sulak, Baston, Chavis, Hood, Jacquies Smith, Chris Earnhardt, and Terrell Resonno all had a hand in a successful tackle.
A word about unit success rates: as a whole, anything over 75% is good for the DL, anything over 60% is good for the LBs, and anything over about 25% is good for the DBs. So by that, the front seven played quite well and made quite a few plays. If we were to take pass breakups into account, I'm pretty sure the DBs would grade out pretty well too.
A word about the % of tackles by unit: I like to see the DL making 25% or so of the defense's tackles, but it's hard to quantify being that, if they're occupying blockers and the LBs are making quality tackles, then the D-line still did its job. So instead we'll say this: as a whole, you'd like to see your front seven making at least 55-60% of the overall tackles. Mizzou's front seven only accounted for about 53% of the overall tackles, but considering how close William Moore's been playing to the line, you could almost throw him into the "front seven" mix. Bottom line is, Nevada put up 488 yards against Texas Tech and only 362 against Mizzou. Take away the inexcuseable TD on the last play of the first half, and that number drops to 320 yards, which would be pretty outstanding against Nevada and Colin Kaepernick.
Another thing that's almost starting to concern me: we're not forcing as many turnovers as I expected to see. It's probably not an actual problem by any means. I mean, 1) our #1 turnover maker (William Moore) has been hobbled, 2) we're making the turnovers we do force count (3 defensive TDs in 3 weeks), 3) we're not turning the ball over at all (KNOCK ON WOOD), and 4) five takeaways in three games certainly isn't bad. My own high goals expected a little more, is all.

Summary

Only 4 times in 2007 did somebody produce as high a Passing S&P as Mizzou did on Saturday: Toledo (against Northern Illinois), Clemson (against Central Michigan), Florida (against Western Kentucky) and Oklahoma (against North Texas). Nevada doesn't have a great defense, but it's needless to say their defensive unit is more capable and talented than the 2007 versions of those teams above, especially after what they did to Texas Tech last week.

The rushing game left a bit to be desired after Washington's first carry, but the passing game is simply unconscious right now. My mom actually asked me on the phone yesterday if they're peaking too early. I said it's a smidgen of a concern, but overall nobody really seems to be playing over their heads. It's just "read, react, rack up the yards" right now, and I have no reason to believe they won't continue playing above their 2007 level the rest of the season. Which is an unbelievably scary thought.

As for the defense, things are beginning to look up. If not for the mini-Hail Mary at the end of Q2, there really wouldn't be anything to complain about; but honestly, that play may have been a good thing because the defense played pissed off in the second half and completely shut down a pretty solid offense. Buffalo has a decent offense with a decent QB (the awesomely-named Drew Willy), but they don't have the big-play capability that Nevada has. If Mizzou plays at its current level, the Bulls will be lucky to score the 17 that Nevada did. And if the defense continues to improve incrementally, then I'll be surprised to see Buffalo cross into double digits.

As we've been saying the last couple of days, soak this in, Mizzou fans. On Football Outsiders the other day, a Tennessee fan told me that he doesn't feel like he soaked in and enjoyed UT's 1996-99 run enough. We all expect Mizzou to win at a pretty strong level after this year, but we may never see another offense that can do what this offense is doing right now. Appreciate Chase Daniel, appreciate Jeremy Maclin, appreciate Chase Coffman, and take in every minute of this. Don't start looking ahead to Nebraska or Texas or Kansas or (cross your fingers) OU at Arrowhead just yet--there's too much to enjoy in the meantime.

Poll

Who was the statistical MVP of Mizzou-Nevada?

Chase Daniel (28.20 EqPts Passing, 82% success rate)

106 votes

Derrick Washington (8.01 Total EqPts, 1.58 rushing S&P)

3 votes

Jeremy Maclin (14.70 Total EqPts, 3.40 receiving S&P)

13 votes

Sean Weatherspoon (6.5 successful tackles)

4 votes

126 votes | Poll has closed

Mizzou-SEMO: Beyond the Box Score

Bill C. — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:00:04 -0000

So...does anybody really feel a great desire to dive into the intricacies of the BTBS stats for a 52-3 win that could have been 100-3 with the starters in? I thought not. But there are a few things I have to point out.

Almost Perfect

After the jump, you can check out my BTBS "box score" table for the SEMO game. In it, be sure to check out the 'close-game' stats.

Mizzou ran 17 plays while the game was 'close' (i.e. within two possessions).
Of those 17, 15 were successful.
Those 17 plays resulted in 17.25 EqPts.
Anything over a 45% success rate is solid. Mizzou's close-game success rate was 88.2%.
Anything over a 0.50 PPP is solid. Mizzou's close-game PPP was 1.01.
Adding those together, anything over about a 0.950 S&P is solid. Mizzou's close-game S&P was 1.897.
Looking back at my 2007 stats, only one offensive performance can top Mizzou's near-perfection here: Florida put up a 92.3% close-game success rate, 1.40 close-game PPP, and 2.321 close-game S&P versus Western Kentucky last year. F---ing Tim Tebow...always getting in Chase Daniel's way on the greatness scale...

QBs

For the game, Mizzou QBs put up the following numbers...

Chase Daniel

Passing: 88.2% / 1.07 PPP / 1.949 S&P
TOTAL: 80.6% / 0.90 PPP / 1.706 S&P

Chase Patton

Passing: 75.0% / 0.37 PPP / 1.121 S&P
TOTAL: 75.0% / 0.57 PPP / 1.321 S&P

Blaine Gabbert

Passing: 22.2% / 0.06 PPP / 0.280 S&P
TOTAL: 40.9% / 0.18 PPP / 0.589 S&P

Now...anybody who watched the game knows that Gabbert struggled more than Daniel and Patton. But slack should be cut toward him due simply to the personnel on the field...especially on the last drive, when he was handing to Shaun Scott (who actually looked decent) and Tyrone Reece (who didn't). In all, though, I do think it was good for Gabbert to get out the butterflies against SEMO. Hopefully he'll get some snaps against Nevada, Buffalo, and one or two conference opponents as well. Redshirt's off--might as well take advantage of it.

RBs

Derrick Washington: 7.57 EqPts (75.0% / 0.95 PPP / 1.696 S&P)
Jimmy Jackson: 4.93 EqPts (60.0% / 0.49 PPP / 1.093 S&P)
De'vion Moore: 4.09 EqPts (66.7% / 0.45 PPP / 1.121 S&P)
Shaun Scott: 0.61 EqPts (100.0% on 2 carries / 0.31 PPP / 1.305 S&P)
Tyrone Reece: -0.25 EqPts (0.0% on 2 carries / -0.13 PPP / -0.125 S&P)

Yes, it was SEMO, but it's still fun looking at unbelievable stats.

Receivers

Small sample sizes make it not really worth looking at S&P stats for the receivers, but here's a list of the receivers and how many EqPts they accounted for...

Jared Perry: 5.19 EqPts
Derrick Washington: 4.50 EqPts
Jeremy Maclin: 2.76 EqPts
Jerrell Jackson: 2.73 EqPts
Chase Coffman: 2.11 EqPts
Tommy Saunders: 2.10 EqPts
Wes Kemp: 1.09 EqPts
Jimmy Jackson: 0.58 EqPts
Michael Egnew: 0.56 EqPts
Andrew Jones: 0.35 EqPts

Tackles

Defensive Line: 85.7% success rate, 7.0 total tackles, 20.0% of overall tackles
Linebackers: 58.3% success rate, 12.0 total tackles, 34.3% of overall tackles
Defensive Backs: 18.8% success rate, 16.0 total tackles, 45.7% of overall tackles

Not to read too much into this, as it's impossible to stay focused when you're up 42-0 after 22 minutes, but there are a couple negative figures here.
The DB success rate is never going to be great, but it should probably be in the 25% range, not 19%.
The DL should be making 25%-30% of the team's overall tackles, not 20%. And on the flipside, the DBs shouldn't be making 46% of the tackles.
The LBs were just about where they should be.

Top Successful Tacklers

Andrew Gachkar, 2.0
Sean Weatherspoon, 2.0
Chris Earnhardt, 1.5
Will Ebner, 1.5 (seemed like about 12)
Kenji Jackson, 1.0

The tackles were spread across so many players that there really wasn't much to go on here.

Final BTBS Stats

Missouri		SEMO
	% Close = 19.79%
	TOTAL
69	Plays	81
40.99	EqPts	14.46
66.7%	Success Rate	35.8%
0.59	Points Per Play (PPP)	0.18
1.261	S&P (Success + PPP)	0.537

	CLOSE GAME ONLY
17	Plays	20
17.25	EqPts	3.57
88.2%	Success Rate	40.0%
1.01	PPP	0.18
1.897	S&P	0.579

	RUSHING
19.36	EqPts	3.50
65.7%	Success Rate	29.6%
0.59	PPP	0.13
1.251	S&P	0.426

	PASSING
21.62	EqPts	10.96
67.6%	Success Rate	38.9%
0.64	PPP	0.20
1.312	S&P	0.592

	NON-PASSING DOWNS
76.8%	Success Rate	39.2%
0.61	PPP	0.17
1.312	S&P	0.559

	PASSING DOWNS
23.1%	Success Rate	30.0%
0.55	PPP	0.20
0.778	S&P	0.499

	TURNOVERS
0	Number	2
0.00	Points Lost **	5.29
0.00	Points Given ***	8.57
0.00	Total T/O Pts	13.86
+13.86	Turnover Pts Margin	-13.86

Poll

Who was the statistical MVP of Mizzou-SEMO?

Chase Daniel

45 votes

Derrick Washington

9 votes

Jared Perry

2 votes

Sean Weatherspoon

10 votes

Andrew Gachkar

3 votes

69 votes | Poll has closed

Rock M Nation: Postgame Podcast #2

Bill C. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:00:51 -0000

We're back with Week Two of the Postgame Podcast. This time with twice the content! Listen to rptgwb, The Beef, Uribe Auction, and me talk about Mizzou's take-the-foot-off-the-gas-25-minutes-in 52-3 win over SEMO!