Pourover: 2025 themes dominate the Taxslayer Bowl

I was looking guardant to nan Taxslayer Gator Bowl, if you tin judge it. Maybe it was a period of watching Missouri hoops that sewage maine excited astir switching up nan viewing to thing else. After all, it’s been a unsmooth month (really, two) of Mizzou Basketball, and nan past clip we saw nan Tigers return nan gridiron they easily dispatched of nan Arkansas Razorbacks.

All play agelong Missouri has been successful imperfect team. But nan defense was good, and nan violative moving crippled was quality. Ahmad Hardy is simply a typical runner, he’s complimented by Jamal Roberts explosiveness.

With nan now-portaled Beau Pribula nary longer taking snaps for nan Tigers, Eli Drinkwitz turned again to freshman Matt Zollers. We’ve seen capable from some Zollers, and Pribula this play to cognize neither is going to lick Mizzou’s passing woes. At slightest Zollers offers immoderate magnitude of thief for nan future, pinch a large limb and tantalizing talent. But it wasn’t going to matter who was calling nan plays, it mattered who was blocking and throwing, and catching. And from each those angles, Missouri conscionable wasn’t bully capable this season.

Zollers is talented, but he still had completed conscionable 35 passes for 402 yards for a measly 6.1 yards per attempt. So you knew nan moving crippled would person to transportation nan time against Virginia.

And Virginia, while not being world beaters, are a value shot team. Something Missouri has struggled pinch this year.

We for illustration SP+ astir here, wherever going into nan crippled nan Tigers were classed 20th successful nan country. Their champion triumph this play was complete #27 Auburn, and if you retrieve really that crippled went, you should’ve guessed that a crippled against #30 Virginia wasn’t going to beryllium a locomotion successful nan park. The remainder of nan wins were against #48 South Carolina, #52 Arkansas, #54 Mississippi State, #57 Kansas… you get nan idea. When it came to playing bully teams, Mizzou struggled. And it was mostly because of nan offense.

They averaged astir 14 points per crippled successful losses, and some Pribula and Zollers had their manus successful those losses.

So it really didn’t matter whether it was Pribula aliases Zollers, what mattered is nan discourtesy Drinkwitz designed and whether nan passing concepts were bully capable to springiness Hardy and Roberts nan equilibrium to unfastened moving lanes.

You had to consciousness heartened erstwhile nan Tigers went 74 yards successful 7 plays to people a touchdown correct disconnected nan bat. Things looked okay aft they managed 40 yards connected their adjacent drive, moreover if it took 8 plays. Then different 8 play thrust of conscionable 32 yards was a small concerning, but thing crazy. The problem is they did thing aft that. There were zero 1st downs until Ahmad Hardy gained 12 yards connected his first transportation of nan 4th 4th pinch 4 and a half minutes to spell successful nan game. It didn’t thief that nan defense was struggling to get disconnected nan section connected 3rd down, allowing Virginia to complete fundamentally each 3rd down. They were 7-11 connected 3rd successful nan 1st half, and cleanable connected a touchdown thrust successful nan 3rd 4th connected 4th downs.

Virginia converted 3rd and 12, 4th and 2, 4th and 3, 3rd and 2, and different 3rd and 2 connected 1 drive. In nan 1st 4th they converted a 3rd and 8, and a 3rd and 13, positive different 3rd and 6. In nan 2nd 4th location was a 3rd & 10 and a 3rd and 7. Maybe if Missouri’s defense was capable to get disconnected nan section quicker it would person group nan discourtesy up for amended success? But past Virginia muffed a punt, talented nan Tigers nan shot connected nan 24 gait statement and Mizzou promptly gained 1 gait connected 3 plays and missed a section goal. So it’s difficult to kick overmuch astir nan defense erstwhile they held an 11 triumph squad to 13 points and conscionable 3.9 yards per play.

This twelvemonth has been a batch of things.

There’s been a adjacent magnitude of disappointment acknowledgment to injuries astatine Quarterback and, let’s not forget, Blake Craig nan kicker.

Maybe nan Tigers are capable to compression retired different triumph aliases 2 if their kicking crippled was much reliable.

But nan ceiling connected nan programme will beryllium location arsenic agelong arsenic Drinkwitz struggles to lick nan passing game.

In nan end, this is an accumulation game. You want to triumph conscionable for nan propaganda, but nan wide effect of a triumph is lessened erstwhile location are opt outs, transfers, and injuries to cardinal players (on some sides!). I don’t deliberation we’re going to extract immoderate expansive research solutions watching nan Taxslayer Gator Bowl connected a random Saturday nighttime successful precocious December.

But what we saw was a spot of a microcosm of nan play arsenic a whole. An almost, not quite, conscionable short, of a play hampered by a squad pinch an All American Running Back, saddled pinch a passing crippled truthful mediocre they near that All American connected nan sideline for a 4th and 2 pinch nan crippled connected nan line. Maybe it makes consciousness to you, but it doesn’t to me. But past truthful overmuch of this play has been weird from nan jump.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone and let’s person a Happy New Year!