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Here are five takeaways from Missouri’s 49-24 road win at Toledo.
1. DE Markus Golden is really good. Yes, I know Shane Ray had two sacks to Golden’s one, and his inside swim move on the left tackle was textbook. But after re-watching the game, it’s clear that Golden made the bigger impact.
To wit: 1) Golden reached Phillip Ely unblocked in the first quarter, and a flustered Ely stepped up, but dropped the football before recovering his own fumble. 2) Golden jumped the snap and forced Ely to throw an interception to Aarion Penton. 3) Golden jumped the snap and decked the running back in the backfield as soon as Ely handed him the ball. 4) Golden pressured Ely on one of Ray’s sacks, but Ray got there first. 5) Golden sacked Ely.
Both of these players seemed to have a bead on exactly when Toledo would snap the ball, keying off Ely’s hand claps. Several times, Golden and Ray got two or three steps upfield before the offensive tackle came out of his stance.
2. Missouri tried to get TE Sean Culkin involved. The stat line doesn’t look too impressive: Two games, two catches for the Tigers tight ends. But Maty Mauk targeted Culkin six times, including four in the first quarter, against Toledo. (Jimmie Hunt led the team with 10 targets. Darius White also had six to tie for second.)
Culkin dropped a swing pass, though Mauk threw it 100 mph when he should’ve dialed it back to 75. But he drew a pass interference penalty in the second half. Mauk tried to force it to him once despite double coverage, and another target led to an interception when Mauk threw off his back foot under duress and sailed the ball.
Culkin didn’t have a bad game as a receiving option, and unless Missouri’s coaches disagree, it appears Missouri will utilize the tight ends in the passing game after all.
3. The secondary still needs work. Aarion Penton made his second interception in as many games, but he gave up his share of plays against Toledo. John Gibson, David Johnson and Duron Singleton each allowed receivers to get separation.
Overall, Missouri’s pass defense played better against the Rockets. Some of that included a few well-played pass breakups in 1-on-1 coverage. But the Mizzou pass rush should get most of the credit.
4. Speaking of defense, the SEC schedule may be a problem. Missouri must face running backs like Todd Gurley, Mike Davis and Arkansas’ two-headed monster. Even Kentucky and Vanderbilt have decent backs, assuming Jerron Seymour can get healthy for the Commodores.
Zach Zinner (103 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Kareem Hunt (148 rushing yards, three touchdowns) are decent backs, but the middle of the Tigers defense has gotten pushed around at times.
Granted, Toldeo center Greg Mancz is a good NFL prospect, but Hunt and the Rockets were able to pry open Missouri’s midsection and run through the A gap semi-regularly. The Tigers need to tackle better and ensure they’re sticking with their run fits, but too often the team is getting blocked well at the line of scrimmage.
5. WR Bud Sasser may be the team’s best deep threat. Sure, Darius White has three long first-quarter touchdown catches in two games. But Mauk actually throws short to White more than any other player on the team. Jimmie Hunt is getting more targets than any other player, but he also dropped two passes Saturday.
Sasser, though, got three targets on passes that traveled more than 20 yards in the air, and he caught them all for gains of 24, 24 and 47 yards. The last play, on third-and-7, may have been Mauk’s best throw of the day. Sasser took a screen pass 25 yards for a touchdown on the next throw.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
