Studs and Duds For Win Over Kentucky
The Missouri Tigers continued their impressive play Saturday with a 20-10 victory over Kentucky. This is the Tiger’s second consecutive win, moving them to 2-2 on the season.
STUDS
Larry Rountree III
Stats:
37 rushes, 126 yards (2 touchdowns)
Avg. yards per carry 3.4
Larry Rountree carried the Tiger’s offense on his back all afternoon. The Tigers established the run game early and stayed committed to it the entire game.
Rountree proved that he is a true bell-cow running back by carrying the ball 37 times. Rountree turned his 37 carries into 126 yards and two touchdowns.
This the second straight game where Rountree has eclipsed over 100 yards rushing. As the game wore on, Rountree punished Kentucky’s defense with his physicality and his refusal to go down after the first initial contact.
The studs list should be renamed the “Rountree list”. Rountree has been on the studs list every week of the season and is putting together an All-Americans level season as he moves into third all-time at Mizzou in career rushing yards.
Mizzou’s Secondary
Stats:
Passing Yards Allowed: 47
Mizzou’s defense had their best performance of the season against Kentucky. However, when an opposing team’s offense can’t throw for more than 50 yards, then the secondary has to get a bulk of the credit.
This is by far the best performance that the secondary has had this season. The Wildcats’ receivers struggled to get separation and were never was able to get in sync with either of their quarterbacks.
The only big play that was made through the air was a 26-yard touchdown pass from Terry Wilson to Josh Ali in the fourth quarter. Ennis Rakestraw, the talented true freshman, was the defensive back that was beaten for the touchdown.
The Tiger’s secondary has been struggling all season, but this could be a stepping stone in the right direction for the rest of the season.
Nick Bolton
Stats:
Total Tackles: 7 (7 Solo)
Sacks: 1
The numbers for Bolton aren’t eye-popping this week, but a lot of that has to be contributed to Mizzou’s offense dominating the time of possession. With fewer opportunities to make plays compared to other weeks, Bolton still found a way to make an impact.
Bolton led the entire defense in tackles with 7. What is impressive about the 7 tackles, was that they were all solo tackles made by Bolton.
Bolton was great in the run game and made it impossible for Terry Wilson to make many plays with his feet. Nick Bolton registered the only sack for Mizzou’s defense in the second quarter when he took down Joey Gatewood.
Bolton pops out on the screen week in and week out and is the main reason why Mizzou’s defense is staying afloat. Like Rountree, Bolton’s excellent play will make him an option for All-American recognition.
DUDS
MIZZOU’S D-LINE
Stats:
Sacks: 0
QB Hurries: 1
TFL: 1
Mizzou’s defensive line didn’t have a bad game, but it could have played a lot better. The defensive line is still struggling to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks and struggling to make big plays.
The defensive line had 0 sacks against Kentucky, with only one quarterback hurry. Mizzou’s defense wasn’t on the field a lot on Saturday because of how well the offense was dominating time of possession, but there were still opportunities for plays to be made.
The defensive line has a strong-veteran presence and has to play better if Mizzou wants to knock off top tier teams like Florida and Georgia.
Big plays and sacks from the defensive line will be crucial for the Tigers if they expect to beat #10 Florida next week.
Tauskie Dove
Stats:
1 reception, 7 yards
Tauskie Dove had a monster game in a program-changing win against LSU. Dove showed flashes against LSU that he could be a big-reliable target for Bazelak.
It appeared after the LSU game that Dove could be the solution for the struggling play of Keke Chism. However, Dove struggled to make an impact against Kentucky on Saturday.
The redshirt sophomore hauled in only one catch for 7 yards. Dove was non-existent the entire afternoon and seemed to come back to Earth from the LSU game.
This is only one game against one of the best defenses in the SEC, but it was underwhelming to see Dove not make an impact at all.