No. 19 Mizzou football gets back into conference action for homecoming
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
After capturing a bounce-back win versus UMass on Saturday, the No. 19 Mizzou football team is set to host a team at Faurot Field for the first time in about a month, as Auburn will be in town for homecoming.
You can watch extended highlights of Mizzou football practice, leading up to Saturday's game against the other Tigers, in the video player below.
Heading into the 113th edition of homecoming, the Tigers are 5-1 in 2024, with that lone loss coming in the form of a trouncing at Texas A&M on Oct. 5.
The win against the Minutemen was a good confidence booster, directly following that 31-point loss to the Aggies. However, there are no more non-conference meetings left on the schedule for 2024. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company will head into the back half of the year with matchups against Auburn, No. 7 Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Arkansas on the docket.
Coach Drinkwitz did begin his weekly press conference with big news on the injury front, though. He said that defensive end Joe Moore and linebacker Khalil Jacobs have both suffered season-ending injuries.
"We're certainly going to miss those guys and their contributions to our football team and our brotherhood. They're still part of who we are, this season, but we will not be able to utilize them on the field," he said.
You can watch the full press conference with Drinkwitz in the video player below.
Coach Eli followed that injury update up with a bit of good news, as he expects linebacker Triston Newson to return to the field this week against Auburn, after he was out of the UMass game with an injury.
He added he's been impressed with how young guys have stepped up in the wake of those injuries. On Saturday, linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez stepped into the game against the Minutemen when Jacobs went down. He ended the day with a team-high nine tackles.
"Nick came in prepared well all week and was named defensive player of the week for for his performance. I thought he did a really nice job," Coach Drink said.
The Auburn Tigers will present a challenge for MU, defensively, as Jarquez Hunter has been one of the top running backs in the country all season. He ranks fifth, nationally, with 528 yards on the year and averages nearly seven yards per play.
Coach Drinkwitz emphasized that run-pass option (RPO's) concepts are a big part of Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze's scheme. That's something that his defense has struggled to defend in 2024.
Defensive lineman Chris McClellan explained the challenge that RPO's present for the guys up front.
"I feel like the ball's coming out quick," he said. "The best thing we can do is get vertical and get your hands up and kind of just disrupt his throwing lanes and disrupt the quarterback's vision."
You can watch the full press conference with McClellan, as well as safety Joseph Charleston in the video players below.
Offensively, No. 19 Mizzou bounced back from the lackluster effort put forward in College Station with a more than 40-point outing against UMass. Once again, the run game stole the show, as the Tigers ran in four touchdowns. Three of those rushing touchdowns came from running back Marcus Carroll and one from star wide receiver Luther Burden.
However, in the second half of Saturday's game, Drinkwitz and company put an emphasis on building chemistry in the passing game. Quarterback Brady Cook went 14/19 for 219 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Joshua Manning and tight end Brett Norfleet. That's a stat line that MU would like to build off of.
"Going into that drive where Josh Manning scored, I got on the headsets and told, the offensive staff that we weren't going to run the ball again. I wanted to see us develop some chemistry and continuity within the pass game," Drinkwitz said. "I didn't anticipate we'd score on the first play, which was great, but also disappointing because we were wanting to really just kind of continue to work out the kinks, you know? So, that next drive was, actually, I think the next drive was a punt, and then the next drive, we were able to get some throws."
Players said that, after Saturday's win in Massachusetts, you could feel confidence and energy in the locker room again.
"I feel like, it's just good seeing yourself make plays, you know?" Manning said. "I feel like that, always helps with the confidence and all that stuff."
You can watch the full press conference with Manning in the video player below.
No. 19 Mizzou and Auburn will kickoff at 11 a.m. at Faurot Field on Saturday, Oct. 19.
