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Here are five takeaways from Missouri’s 38-10 win against UCF.
- Maty Mauk will get better. Missouri’s entertaining quarterback wasn’t anything close to bad the first two weeks of the season, accounting for nine touchdowns in two hardy wins. But been-through-the-wringer, entered the season with All-SEC aspirations Mauk looked too similar to brash-youngster-turning-heads-off-the-bench-as-an-injury-replacement Mauk. Yes, his 6.0 yards per attempt don’t look so hot, and the 144 passing yards represent a career low as a starter. But Mauk kept his eyes downfield more often when UCF pressured him instead of automatically tucking the ball and scrambling, and he didn’t force many throws into the teeth of a good Knights secondary. Coach Gary Pinkel said after the game, “Wait until he gets good.” Saturday’s performance gave us the strongest indication yet: that day will come. Soon.
- The defensive tackles also are pretty good. Josh Augusta provided the play of the game, and an illustrative highlight, by intercepting his own tipped pass. But UCF could not sustain any success running the ball up the middle. The Knights had more success running at Shane Ray, in spite of Ray’s frequent tackles for loss, than running through the interior of the line. The defensive tackles made 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble in addition to Augusta’s interception, and that’s without injured Matt Hoch.
- Bud Sasser needs more targets. Jimmie Hunt and Sean Culkin combine for two or three drops per game. Mauk hasn’t quite hit safety valve Marcus Murphy as often as he could’ve. Darius White seemed to sulk Saturday after catching just three passes for 27 yards. But Sasser has collected 12 catches on just 13 targets. Even Calvin Johnson can’t sustain a 92.3 percent catch rate. But Sasser is the team’s best route-runner and always seems to make the most of his opportunities.
- Depth at running back is a concern. Marcus Murphy suffered what Pinkel described as a “mild” ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. Russell Hansbrough also left the game after taking a hard shot in the second half. With Morgan Steward (hip) out since early August, Missouri needs its two most electric open-field offensive players to stay healthy. Whatever the duo’s status for Saturday’s game at Indiana, Pinkel also may consider speeding along the development of Tyler Hunt and Ish Witter. The Tigers may need one of them in a major way this season.
- Secondary beyond Aarion Penton no longer incommunicado. For most of the first three games, Braylon Webb and the rest of Missouri’s defensive backs made little impact beyond two Penton interceptions. Then Webb finally broke through, contributing to the four-turnover onslaught in the second half. Duron Singleton also returned a fumble for a touchdown one play after leveling UCF quarterback Justin Holman.
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.
