Mo’s Monday Musings - Never Apologize for a Win But...... - Rock M Nation
Tigers had a chance to bury BC but had to settle for tight win
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I worked in college athletics for 30 years, and you’ll never catch me apologizing for a win because in my time behind the wall I learned that the only thing easy in athletics is losing. So I’m really pleased to see the Tigers get past a tough Boston College team on Saturday and move to 3-0 on the promising season.
But my goodness, Mizzou’s 27-21 win could have looked sooooo different if the Tigers hadn’t committed so many silly mistakes. Primarily penalties (including a few senseless ones) and busted coverages on defense. Just think of the impression the team could have made had they closed the game out strong.
Boston College earned only one TD drive in the first 50 minutes of the game, and that score only happened because Mizzou committed a personal foul (hands to the face) on a third and long pass play that fell incomplete. The Eagles would have punted, but the penalty extended the drive which ended with BC taking a quick 7-0 lead.
The second BC score came early in the second quarter on a broken play when the Tiger secondary lost eye discipline and thought a bad snap meant they didn’t need to cover any opposing receivers running free behind them. Hoping that’s the last time we see that mistake made.
As it was, our Tigers trailed 14-3 and the outcome suddenly seemed in doubt. It was so good to see Mizzou respond to adversity, don’t discount how big of a deal that can be for a team. And respond they did, by scoring 24 unanswered points. So kudos to all phases of the game for taking the punches early and finding their way.
However, it was disappointing that the Tiger offense couldn’t apply a kill shot after taking a 24-14 lead. Three times the defense got the ball back but the offense couldn’t sustain drives. If just one of those drives ends in a TD, Mizzou leads 31-14 and the game is effectively over. I submit Boston College wouldn’t have scored any more and perhaps the Tigers tack on a cheap one late to make the final margin even larger.
That would have made a nice impression on the outside world. As it stands, we’ll still gladly claim a win over a ranked opponent. Nothing wrong with it, but let’s hope they get the mistakes cleaned up on both sides of the ball. The Tigers can likely get away with sloppy play for one more week, but why risk it?
2nd Quarter - SEC has a good week in the big games
It was a good weekend overall for the SEC in terms of games against P4 schools. The league went a perfect 3-0 in those contests. Of course our Tigers got the job done against Boston College, and the other winners included Alabama winning at Wisconsin in blowout fashion, and Ole Miss obliterating Wake Forest on the road. By my count that improves the SEC to 8-6 on the season against P4 opponents.
The top of the league remains strong, although the #1 Georgia Bulldogs, previously seeming to be near invincible, looked quite vincible Saturday as they eeked out an ugly 13-12 win at Kentucky. The week before, Kentucky got beat 31-6 on the same field by an average South Carolina team. All of that goes to prove that college football makes pretty much zero sense on a week-to-week basis. Kind of like my golf game.
Mizzou won a game against a ranked opponent yet dropped one spot in the Associated Press Top-25, to seventh after rising to sixth a week ago. Seems harsh but at this point in the season it doesn’t really matter. If the Tigers can use that as motivation for Saturday’s game against Vandy (in which they are three-TD favorites) then so be it.
Here’s the weekly projection by the Associated Press for the College Football Playoff bracket. Mizzou stayed in the 8-9 game, but after being the home team against Tennessee last week, the site flipped and the AP has Mizzou traveling to Knoxville for the 8/9 game.
College Football Playoff Bracket Projection by the Associated Press
Unfortunately, the lower third of the SEC laid some stink bombs this Saturday. Mississippi State lost at home by a 41-17 score to Toledo to fall to 1-2 on the season. Vanderbilt was competitive but lost a late lead on the road at Georgia State to suffer their first loss of the season. Arkansas wasn’t overly impressive at home but they did manage to beat UAB by a 37-27 count. Florida looked lost in a home defeat to Texas A&M, and rumors are swirling that Billy Napier might not be long for the Gator coaching world.
3rd Quarter - My how far the UCLA Bruins have fallen
I guess it’s been awhile since UCLA was a top-notch program, but the Bruins have pretty much always at least been a team that hangs around the top-25 and plays in a bowl game every year. But after two games in the 2024 season, UCLA is in a world of hurt.
The Bruins (1-1 overall), coached by first-time head coach and former star RB Deshaun Foster, opened the year with an incredibly ugly 16-13 win at Hawaii. Are the Rainbow Warriors any good? They lost last week at Sam Houston State by a 31-13 count. So, the answer is no.
UCLA then followed with a bye, and last week hosted Indiana in their first-ever game as a Big Ten Conference member. To put it mildly, it didn’t go well, as the visiting Hoosiers ran away for a dominant 42-13 win.
There’s no rest for the weary either. The next three weeks of games for the Bruins include at #16 LSU this week, home vs. #9 Oregon the following week, and at #10 Penn State to conclude a rough three-week stretch. They’re clearly staring 1-4 in the face.
I’m not saying I’m losing any sleep over these hard times in Westwood, but it’s just so interesting to see how a longtime prominent program goes downhill so impressively.
4th Quarter - Will Quinn Ewers get the Wally Pipp Treatment at Texas?
With Quinn Ewers getting hurt Saturday (oblique strain is the early word), he’s likely out this week for the Longhorns’ home game against Louisiana-Monroe. If Arch Manning plays lights out (which he did in relief Saturday with five total TDs four passing, one rushing), you’d have to think there’d be a high probability that Ewers would also rest for their next game against hapless Mississippi State. Why risk reaggravating something even if he’s cleared, right?
It could get real interesting after that, so follow me here. Let’s say Ewers does not play against MSU, and Manning has another huge day. Texas has a bye the following week, and then returns Oct. 12th for the annual Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma. Do they start the hotshot youngster who by then has likely had three huge games in a row and has the fan base excited beyond measure? That would be pretty harsh for a guy like Ewers who before being hurt was on everyone’s Heisman short list so far this season. But you sure don’t want to throw a rusty QB who potentially hasn’t played in a month into the fire against Oklahoma (even though the Sooners appear to be middling in 2024).
How about this scenario? Ewers rests until the OU game, he’s inserted back into the starting lineup, and he struggles. Let’s say it’s a low-scoring game and the Texas offense just isn’t getting the job done with Ewers. How long do they stick with him? When do they turn it over to Manning? What if Manning came in and led a huge push that saw Texas blow out the Sooners in the second half, what do they do then going forward?
Could have a lot of drama over the next few weeks in Austin. I’m going to grab my popcorn and watch it with pleasure.
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