Missouri football visits Florida on Saturday in Gainesville. Here are your three keys to a Mizzou victory.
By Matt Zemek
The Missouri Tigers, one could argue, have already surpassed expectations this season in coach Eli Drinkwitz’s first year on the job. The LSU game was supposed to be a loss, but Mizzou turned it into a win with a 45-point explosion and a late goal-line stand. The Kentucky game also figured to be a loss, but Missouri’s defense was able to hold the fort against a below-average Kentucky offense. This looks like a team which can win at least four if not five games. Many people thought Missouri would be a two-win team at best in 2020.
How can Drinkwitz keep the magic going this Saturday against Florida, a team which hasn’t played in three weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak and schedule alterations? Let’s take a look:
1 – The Bazelak Barrage
Connor Bazelak has been a revelation at quarterback, and Drinkwitz deserves ample credit for developing this youngster into a highly capable college signal caller. Against LSU, Bazelak completed 29 of 34 passes for over 400 yards. The easy instinct was to say that LSU’s defense had fallen off a cliff, and while LSU’s defense was certainly terrible in that game, it’s worth pointing out that LSU then allowed only 24 points to South Carolina this past weekend. There is some talent on that LSU defense, and Bazelak simply smoked Ed Orgeron’s crew.
If Bazelak can torch LSU, he can certainly flame Florida.
The Gators have had an atrocious defense under embattled coordinator Todd Grantham. Florida allowed Texas A&M to march up and down the field in a 41-38 loss to the Aggies on Oct. 10. Texas A&M converted a majority of its third downs. The Aggies met absolutely no resistance from the Florida pass rush – the Gators don’t have one. Bazelak doesn’t need to make his task more complicated. He is seeing the game well. He is making the right reads. He is surveying the defense and getting the ball where it needs to go, all while avoiding the kinds of mistakes which can ruin Missouri’s plans.
Just keep the train rolling. That is Bazelak’s job. If he performs well, Mizzou should post big numbers against the Gators’ flailing defense.
2- Third and fourth downs on defense
Missouri could easily get involved in another shootout, akin to what it faced versus LSU. Missouri won that game with a four-down goal-line stand. In this game against the Gators, winning third and fourth downs figures to be significant because that will determine if these high-powered offenses keep the ball or not. Any defensive stop, even if it leads to a field goal, carries immense value in this game. Missouri will gladly concede a large number of field goals if it means the Gators score few touchdowns. If Florida kicks five field goals and scores 29 points, Mizzou will take its chances, rightly believing it can hang at least 30 on the Gators.
3 – Don’t focus on time of possession
It is understandable to think that Missouri needs to keep the ball away from Florida, but when you realize that Mizzou scored 45 versus LSU, the value of scoring is more important than ball control. Also realize that with Florida having had multiple weeks to prepare for Missouri, the Gators are likely to make at least some improvements. It is more urgent for Missouri to hit the big play and score rather than to mount 10-play drives. Florida might be able to adjust to a 10-play drive. The Gators can’t adjust if Missouri hits home runs. Long touchdowns matter more than long drives in this game.
Saturday‘s Missouri football game kicks off at 6:30 PM CT (7:30 PM ET). You can watch on the SEC Alternate Network.
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