Disproving the indestructible Mizzou defense theory

[TTU/UK fan]

Missouri will have nowhere near the amount of pressure on PattyIce as Florida did, mark it down.

Missouri's beast of a defense has played #71, #120, and a D-1AA instate team.

MIssouri held Arkansas State to 20 points, and hung on to a 27-20 win
The same Arkansas State team who was held to 6 points by the USC, yes the same USC who allowed Stanford to score 41 points last week.

Lets move on to the game this past week, where the titanium Mizzou defense held UConn, the 120th best team in the United States of America to 6 points. And won by an impressive 3 points.
Yes the same UConn who beat D-1 AA VIllanova by 5 points. Who Nova was able to hold to 20 points.

GIve me a break, MISSOURI WILL HAVE NOWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE ON OUR OLINE AS FLORIDA DID.


Let me throw some stats at you(stats may be off a few points but you get it)
Missouri lost 35.5 of 41.5 Sacks from lastyear.

Missouri lost all 4 of their 4 Defensive line starters.

Missouri lost their best defensive player in Shane Ray (2014:14 sacks)

Missouri lost 3 players who accounted for the 3 most hurries


Missouri has played noone. Missouri is being judged off of last year's success and their early success this year. Aside from the LB position, Missouri is mediocre.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Missouri is a strange team. Last year they lost to Indiana at home early in the season. The following week they took out USC and two weeks after that they destroyed Florida on their way to represent the SEC East in the conference championship. They've struggled early this year and really haven't looked all that great against 3 nobodies. Still, that doesn't mean that they are to be taken lightly. The past two years they were taken rather lightly and they won the East.

That being said, I agree with you that they shouldn't be able to get as much pressure on UK as Florida. Still, UK has to do a better job of protecting Towles no matter what. In the ULL game we were tackled for loss 8 times and sacked twice. Against Florida we were tackled for loss 10 times with 6 sacks. Those are pretty atrocious numbers. Only the USC game was excusable and even that had a lot of poor blocking, but USC didn't end up getting the sacks. The problem UK faces is that Mizzou might not have to be Florida good to continue to disrupt and get to Towles. Even ULL was able to be relatively disruptive and get into the backfield. So, we must find a way to put an end to that. Whether it be with more creative playcalling or with extra blocking, I do not know, but as it is our blocking has been an Achilles heal. The problem is further exacerbated by a quarterback who is very rattled by pressure and sometimes struggles with accuracy, as well as having a couple receivers who drop some key passes. Mizzou is going to pose another challenge for our offense and our coaches must come up with a proper way to make our offense tick with some semblance of consistency.

The best thing(s) going in this game is that UK faces a terrible Missouri offense with what looks to be a defense that can at least hold its own. The key will be getting some plays from that defense to help our offense out. Florida got a key play or two from their defense in terms of getting turnovers (especially the first one) and it helped to lead them to the win. UK needs to do the same thing this weekend if they want to be the ones celebrating at the end of the game.

 

[TTU/UK fan]

I agree very much with your points. Mizzou is a very weird team. But I think beating UConn by 3 is ALOT worse than losing to last year's IU. My point was mainly that Florida is better, rush wise, than Missouri. Missouri cant replace what they had on the Dline lastyear. Missouri isnt as good defensively as lastyear IMO. But yes I agree they will still have an affect on Patrick. I think at this point Patrick knows he is in danger. If he cant do anything against Missouri, the heat will be all over him. I havent called out Patrick as of yet, but theres a point where something needs to be done. I expect more TDs this weekend.

 

[Blueisbest]

All valid points. The key to this game is our O-Line giving Towles time to make plays. If that happens, we should be able to pick apart Mizzou's secondary and get some big yardage.

We also need to be able to open up some holes for Boom, JoJo, and Mikel to run through. If we can do that, UK should be able to get the win.

 

[Dedicated Tiger]

Our d is better than last year.

Charles Harris, beckner, Augusta, Brady, Howard and Moore know the names because your online. Our back 7 is far better than last year.

 

[Dakota25]

I think UK will be competitive but they aren't going to win without some breaks.

 

[ARC Dog]

Our d is better than last year.

Charles Harris, beckner, Augusta, Brady, Howard and Moore know the names because your online. Our back 7 is far better than last year.

The problem is that your offense is simply putrid. Just woeful. If the two teams had different names in the jerseys then UK would be about a 5-6 point favorite at home against this team.

 

[UplandObsession]

For some odd reason Missouri has always beaten us after they've put up clunkers in the previous games. Last year I had a ton of hope in beating them. But, after one of uglier games I've seen, they beat us by 10. Felt like we had a chance the entire game but we couldn't pull through. In fact we haven't played them when it didn't feel like we were in the game for quite a while and Saturday should be more nerve wracking than last week.
Our defense will probably need to score Saturday in order for us to seal the deal. I just don't know if our offense is on the right track to exploit their defense this week. If this game and EKU were flipped on the schedule maybe our "O" could find a new life but I'm just very skeptical at this point.
With all of that being said, we have "potential" on offense to surprise everyone and I'll be in my seat once again waiting to see the UK football team I've dreamt of since my youth.
In my mind, this is the biggest game so far this season. We balance out talent wise but this will be a great measuring stick for our coaching staff as I think Gary P. is the most underrated in SEC. Go Cats!!

 

[STUCKNBIG10]

QBs like Mauk have always killed UK...let's see if we can change that trend this weekend.

 

[anon_7tbtqcx308nxh]

I'm not as confident as the OP. Mizzou's defense is currently number one in the SEC, and has gotten better every week. I don't think they'll stay that high as the season progresses, but in all likelihood they'll finish in the top five. What's scary is the defense returns just about everybody next season.

 

[JSDC]

I think UK will be competitive but they aren't going to win without some breaks.

It looks like you guys are stout in the middle but haven't really been tested on the edges. What is your take or am I way off base?

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

***** Do NOT call out posters. *****

 

[Comebakatz3]

I'm not as confident as the OP. Mizzou's defense is currently number one in the SEC, and has gotten better every week. I don't think they'll stay that high as the season progresses, but in all likelihood they'll finish in the top five. What's scary is the defense returns just about everybody next season.

Are you really going to use the stat that Mizzou is number 1 in defense in the SEC as your proof that they have a good defense? You do realize that they have played 3 games against 3 teams that are not in a power 5 conference. They are the only team in the SEC not to have played at least 1 SEC opponent or at least 1 top 25 team in their first 3 games. So, considering who they have played, I imagine it would be quite simple to put together three good games and end up being number 1 in defense in the SEC.

You might be right that Missouri has a great defense. That may very well be the case. They may finish in the top 5 in the SEC, but using the stats they currently have is not a great measuring stick. Also, they are going to have to find a way to overcome the offense they have. If that offense can't learn to move the ball and they continue to go three and out then your defense is going to get abused simply due to fatigue. Luckily for Mizzou, they don't have to face Ole Miss or Alabama this year.

 

[LordEgg]

UKs best asset going in is having played 2 sec games.

 

[Zakk Wyldcat]

It would seem Missouri plays to the level of its competition and/or it takes a few games for Pinkel to whip his team into shape.

 

[Tskware]

I cannot see Missouri being as good this year as they have been last two. Having said that, two things are for certain, we have not scored many points in the last six quarters, and second, we have scored very little on Missouri in the three games since they joined the league. Those two have to change or we will be very disappointed Saturday night.

 

[anon_7tbtqcx308nxh]

Are you really going to use the stat that Mizzou is number 1 in defense in the SEC as your proof that they have a good defense? You do realize that they have played 3 games against 3 teams that are not in a power 5 conference. They are the only team in the SEC not to have played at least 1 SEC opponent or at least 1 top 25 team in their first 3 games. So, considering who they have played, I imagine it would be quite simple to put together three good games and end up being number 1 in defense in the SEC.

You might be right that Missouri has a great defense. That may very well be the case. They may finish in the top 5 in the SEC, but using the stats they currently have is not a great measuring stick. Also, they are going to have to find a way to overcome the offense they have. If that offense can't learn to move the ball and they continue to go three and out then your defense is going to get abused simply due to fatigue. Luckily for Mizzou, they don't have to face Ole Miss or Alabama this year.

I sure am. I even measured the comment by saying they won't stay first all year. If you watched those games, I've watched two (college football degenerate here), you'd see that it's a very good defense regardless of their competition.

Very good defensive line that remarkably features freshmen who are getting better every week, a LB leading the SEC in tackles and is probably going pro early, and a promising secondary that are long. Lots to worry about from a UK perspective.

 

[gjcollins79]

I can only speak from what I saw on Saturday out of Mizzou and that was some awful football. Stop the WR screen to the far side of the field, which our secondary and LBs are more than capable of doing, and UK will be fine.
UCON was in position to win and called a fake FG that a middle school team could've snuffed out.
Taking nothing away from the Tigers, they are coming to Commonwealth, where the Cats can't remember what putting points on the board looks like, we should see a good game on Saturday night. How long has Mauk been at Mizzou anyway?
Cats figure it all out and win 22-16

 

[KingsportKat]

Special teams could well end up being the difference. They beat UConn 9-6, 5 field goals right? Wrong, not a single field goal. MIzzou blocked a punt for a safety, then got a TD + PAT for their 9. UConn scored a TD but Mizzou blocked the PAT. Mizzou has a true freshman punter with a 45 yard average.

 

[Devils58]

Guys, think about what UK's defense would be ranked if we played Southeast Missouri State, Arkansas State, and UConn. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think UK will find success offensively. Patrick has to make easy throws and receivers have to catch the ball. The difference this week is, I think UK finds success running the football.

 

[RenderMan]

Your ASU point is meaningless. USC gave up over 400 yards to ASU. Mizzou just a little over 200.

The Mizzou DL is not weak. The LBs are better than last year, and the secondary returned everyone with an additional year of experience.

You are in for a disappointment if you think Kentucky will be able to score much on Mizzou. Your best hope is for a short field due to turnovers by the Mizzou offense.

 

[RenderMan]

Mizzou special teams are weak on the return game. Haven't found a replacement for Marcus Murphy. Kicking is good though. UCONN has had issues all year on getting kicks blocked, so don't take away too much from that.

 

[RenderMan]

QBs like Mauk are killing the Mizzou offense. Lol

 

[WildCard]

I have not seen Mizzou play but Saturday will be their first test. It will be the first real indication of whether or not they are the Top 25 team the pollsters think they are. Meanwhile UK has played 2 "peer teams", more than held their own and gone 1-1. Too many teams have basically gone untested this early in the season. Yes, I know USCjr and FL are not what they once were but they are still credible opponents.

We can make early judgements of individual teams as looking "better or worse" than last year but it's going to take 3 or 4 more games (i.e., conference games) to actually determine how good (or bad) anyone really is. JMO.

Peace

 

[brianpoe]

Lots of talk about Mizzou's dline, however the coaches have said this may be their best back 7 they have had.

I'm not afraid of the new guys upfront.

Run and run some more to slow them down, bring that back 7 in the box and take some shots.

UK by 10

 

[RenderMan]

Lol, that isn't going to work out well for you guys. The best UK offense will be the one in black and gold with Mauk at QB.

I don't think Mizzou will win because of the putrid offense. But UK will not have more than one drive down the field. Any other scoring will be because of a short field provided by Mauk.

 

[brianpoe]

Lol, that isn't going to work out well for you guys. The best UK offense will be the one in black and gold with Mauk at QB.

I don't think Mizzou will win because of the putrid offense. But UK will not have more than one drive down the field. Any other scoring will be because of a short field provided by Mauk.

One drive? You taking bets on that statement?

 

[RenderMan]

One drive? You taking bets on that statement?

It would be like stealing candy from a baby.

 

[brianpoe]

It would be like stealing candy from a baby.

Call me Huey, so... multiple drives inside your 25 from our side of the field?

 

[hmt5000]

Ark st couldn't get anything going on O other than a few big plays after to's. I'm done predicting our O will take off until I see 30+ points put up against an sec D.

I think we win in a really ugly game... 16 to 12. Missouri won't have the speed but will be better coached and game planned. We are going to have to do something different to score more than a garbage td and fg's.

 

[Rhavicc]

This doesn't disprove their defense as much as questions it, which is legitimate. That said, Mizzou's d-line is strong. Is it as deep as Florida's? Not even close, which means it's less like that their d-line is as effective as Florida's throughout the entire game, but it should be just as effective at times. Goes both ways though, UK will probably get just as many opportunities to make plays in the Mizzou backfield.

Lol, that isn't going to work out well for you guys. The best UK offense will be the one in black and gold with Mauk at QB.

I don't think Mizzou will win because of the putrid offense. But UK will not have more than one drive down the field. Any other scoring will be because of a short field provided by Mauk.

This is just silly though. Fact of the matter is that Mizzou's DB corps is not near the talent level of Florida's. UK will have better success at hitting receivers, how much more success will hinge on how many opportunities the line allows, but even Florida's d-line allowed enough opportunities to move the ball downfield. The difference maker was their DB corps, which Missouri lacks to that capacity.

 

[Soupbean]

Call me Huey, so... multiple drives inside your 25 from our side of the field?

Render gone!

 

[Rockford]

UK OL cannot give up 10 TOL with 6 of them being sacks.
If Mizz DL is as good as UF, we are in big trouble.
I bet they are not.
I'm looking for another close game and hope the FB Gods smile on UK this time around.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Lol, that isn't going to work out well for you guys. The best UK offense will be the one in black and gold with Mauk at QB.

I don't think Mizzou will win because of the putrid offense. But UK will not have more than one drive down the field. Any other scoring will be because of a short field provided by Mauk.

Even if we assume that the Tigers defense is very good, it probably isn't that much better than Florida's defense. Against Florida UK was able to march deep into FL territory with drives of 75 yards, 64 yards, and 41 yards. UK did this on a historically bad day where they had several open drops and several overthrown passes despite little pressure from the defense (one of which led to a UF interception and TD). Yet, despite these facts you think that Missouri is going to do even better than Florida did on defense?

Even SEMO had a 76 yard drive against Mizzou. Arky State had at least one big time drive and UConn had 2. Yet you're going to compare our offense to the level of these teams and say that we're actually a worse offense than UConn? I know we had a terrible outing against Florida, but let's be realistic. There is no way UK will only have 1 drive down the field. We have too many explosive players that can bust huge plays to not have at least more than one. Whether that be Boom Williams, Mikel Horton, Dorian Baker, Garrett Johnson, Jeff Badet, or Ryan Timmons. Any of those guys, at any time, can break a very big play. It is unlikely that you keep UK to just one big play, and probably less likely that you keep us from maintaining more than 1 decent drive.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

If Mizzou struggles offensively, which seems plausible, then UK will have plenty of opportunities to march down the
field. It will happen more than once for sure.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

This doesn't disprove their defense as much as questions it, which is legitimate. That said, Mizzou's d-line is strong. Is it as deep as Florida's? Not even close, which means it's less like that their d-line is as effective as Florida's throughout the entire game, but it should be just as effective at times. Goes both ways though, UK will probably get just as many opportunities to make plays in the Mizzou backfield.




This is just silly though. Fact of the matter is that Mizzou's DB corps is not near the talent level of Florida's. UK will have better success at hitting receivers, how much more success will hinge on how many opportunities the line allows, but even Florida's d-line allowed enough opportunities to move the ball downfield. The difference maker was their DB corps, which Missouri lacks to that capacity.

Who are you to say the Mizzou DBs are not as good? The Mizzou defense is BETTER than last year overall and they took care of business against us as usual last year.

It's amazing how cocky and arrogant some of our fans are while underestimating Mizzou.

You also forgot to mention that Mizzou has the best d-line coach in America(many coaches have said this) and Pinkel is way better a coach than Dawson ever will be.

You are fooling yourself if you think Towles and company are going to run all over Mizzou. It's not going to happen.

Our defense will be depended on to win the game. Towles and company will be mostly shut down by a stout defense.

 

[brianpoe]

Who are you to say the Mizzou DBs are not as good? The Mizzou defense is BETTER than last year overall and they took care of business against us as usual last year.

It's amazing how cocky and arrogant some of our fans are while underestimating Mizzou.

You also forgot to mention that Mizzou has the best d-line coach in America(many coaches have said this) and Pinkel is way better a coach than Dawson ever will be.

You are fooling yourself if you think Towles and company are going to run all over Mizzou. It's not going to happen.

Our defense will be depended on to win the game. Towles and company will be mostly shut down by a stout defense.

Mizzou defense is good. Good coaches. Best back 7 they have had.

Still not as good in the 4 DB spots as UF.


We faced 2 straight SEC defenses. Our boys and coaches will rebound.

How about you tell us what you think we should do against this defense other than give up 4 days before we play the game?

Try to at least be a little constructive in your posts, if you are indeed a UK fan.

Lots of folks are not happy but you ONLY bring doom and gloom every post.

 

[Rhavicc]

Who are you to say the Mizzou DBs are not as good? The Mizzou defense is BETTER than last year overall and they took care of business against us as usual last year.

It's amazing how cocky and arrogant some of our fans are while underestimating Mizzou.

You also forgot to mention that Mizzou has the best d-line coach in America(many coaches have said this) and Pinkel is way better a coach than Dawson ever will be.

You are fooling yourself if you think Towles and company are going to run all over Mizzou. It's not going to happen.

Our defense will be depended on to win the game. Towles and company will be mostly shut down by a stout defense.

You seem to have a way of twisting words, tool.

First and foremost, I never said that Dawson was better than Pinkel, so let's knock that out in a hurry. You might as well get your panties out of a wad over that right now, because you are the first one in this thread to even suggest that being mentioned in any fashion in this thread. In typical UKWinsAgainYep fashion, you have your head half a mile up your a**

Secondly, who does Mizzou bring back of note in their secondary? Can't hurt Florida that they bring back the best CB in the country, I can tell you that much. Mizzou also didn't bring any new players that could usurp anybody in their secondary out of the gate. That is not Mizzou's strength. They do d-line, not defensive backfield.

Once again, not sure where anybody suggests that Towles will "run all over" Mizzou, but they're not going to get nailed to the wall either. You have, yet again, failed to produce anything of value to any thread on this forum. No surprise.

 

[jnewc2]

If I've learned anything from watching Mizzou play since they've joined the league it's that you can't judge them based on how much (or little) they won by. They might be the hardest team to predict in the entire country. They constantly play up (or down) to their competition and almost always seem to get better as the season goes on.

Taking them lightly wouldn't be smart and I can promise you our coaches aren't taking them lightly (and if they are they might need to start looking for a new job). Winning the East one year could be a fluke, but winning it two years in a row and consistently winning close games and getting better and better as the year goes on is the sign of a good coaching staff and a good team.

We shouldn't be doubting Mizzou, because if the last couple years have taught us anything it's that Mizzou can look like the worst team in the country at the begging of the season and still find a way to beat really good teams and win the SEC East.

 

[NavyCat88]

Missouri will have nowhere near the amount of pressure on PattyIce as Florida did, mark it down.

Missouri's beast of a defense has played #71, #120, and a D-1AA instate team.

MIssouri held Arkansas State to 20 points, and hung on to a 27-20 win
The same Arkansas State team who was held to 6 points by the USC, yes the same USC who allowed Stanford to score 41 points last week.

Lets move on to the game this past week, where the titanium Mizzou defense held UConn, the 120th best team in the United States of America to 6 points. And won by an impressive 3 points.
Yes the same UConn who beat D-1 AA VIllanova by 5 points. Who Nova was able to hold to 20 points.

GIve me a break, MISSOURI WILL HAVE NOWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE ON OUR OLINE AS FLORIDA DID.


Let me throw some stats at you(stats may be off a few points but you get it)
Missouri lost 35.5 of 41.5 Sacks from lastyear.

Missouri lost all 4 of their 4 Defensive line starters.

Missouri lost their best defensive player in Shane Ray (2014:14 sacks)

Missouri lost 3 players who accounted for the 3 most hurries


Missouri has played noone. Missouri is being judged off of last year's success and their early success this year. Aside from the LB position, Missouri is mediocre.

"Proof" in football comes in the form of wins, and Missouri knows how to win....believes they will win.