3 storylines, keys to watch as Missouri football takes on Mississippi State in home finale
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Can Mizzou quiet the clanga?Missouri football is set to play its home final for the 2025 season this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 15, when a plucky and increasingly competitive Mississippi State squad will visit Faurot Field in Columbia.
The less cowbell from the visitors, the better for Mizzou.
The Tigers (6-3, 2-3) are looking to stop a slide that has seen them lose three of their past four games. Mizzou’s most recent game was a 38-17 blowout loss to undefeated Texas A&M, which officially eliminated the Tigers from College Football Playoff contention.
Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5) picked up its first SEC win of the Jeff Lebby coaching tenure a couple games ago by beating Arkansas. The Bulldogs from Starkville lost 41-21 to Georgia this past Saturday, but have held the likes of Texas, Tennessee and Florida to one-score games this season.
Saturday’s game is scheduled to kick off a 6:45 p.m. and will air on SEC Network.
Here are the matchups and storylines that we think will help decide Missouri versus Mississippi State.
Can Mizzou make the game easier for QB Matt Zollers?
This is a coaching test for Eli Drinkwitz and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore.
How comfortable can they make freshman quarterback Matt Zollers with their playcalling?
Now, regular QB1 Beau Pribula made a surprising appearance on the SEC-mandated availability report Wednesday as ‘doubtful,’ which means he hasn’t officially been ruled out of Saturday’s game yet. Until told otherwise, we’ll run with the expectation that Zollers is starting.
The Tigers need to have better protection, sure. The skill position players can do more to get open and execute, absolutely. Zollers, even in just his second start of his true freshman year, can show better decision-making skills, definitely.
But this game is the right time for the coaching staff to navigate an adverse situation with a balanced and varied playbook. They did not accomplish that against Texas A&M, and Zollers struggled.
“It’s unfair to expect Matt to carry the load,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “You know, I’ve got to do my job of carrying the load for Matt. Our staff’s got to do their job, and then our whole team’s got to continue to do their job.”
Does that mean just running the rock? Not quite
Ahmad Hardy, a Mississippi native, and Jamal Roberts absolutely should be a bulk of the gameplan. The Tigers ran the ball 56 times versus Mississippi State last season and dominated the clock and scoreboard as a result. Leaning on those two tailbacks as guard rails is a good way to get the freshman QB comfortable.
But we saw what an over-reliance on running the ball on first down (15 of MU’s opening 20 first downs were run plays) did versus Texas A&M. It was predictable and led to Zollers taking perhaps too many deep shots.
So, Mizzou would do well to get the likes of slot receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. open on shorter passing routes and tight end Brett Norfleet, if he’s able to return this week, involved with on chip blocks. Those shorter passing plays were absent from MU’s play-calling last week and it hurt. Don’t make the same mistake twice.
It’s OK for Mizzou to lean on its outside zone run scheme. It works more often than it doesn’t. Zollers, if he’s comfortable (and all indications suggest he is), should continue to take shots downfield. But, let’s see some middle ground.
Can defense limit explosive plays?
An emerging trend: Mizzou, while mostly excelling this year, has been prone to allowing some explosive plays in the second half of games.
Now, the unit isn’t entirely to blame. The offense’s recent struggles to sustain drives has put extra stress on the other side of the ball.
But the Tigers are breaking too often instead of bending.
Texas A&M had two chunk play touchdowns in the second half, including a 48-yard screen and a 57-yard run. Vanderbilt took control with an 80-yard TD run a game earlier. Alabama connected on a 29-yard pass on fourth down on the fourth-quarter drive that gave the Crimson Tide a late 10-point lead.
All in the second half, all extremely consequential.
Mizzou has been excellent up front. The Tigers have been one of the better defenses at stopping mobile quarterbacks anywhere in the country. The secondary has improved since the opening few weeks.
We’re not reinventing the wheel by saying this, but the explosive plays have to be limited. Mississippi State has very good playmakers, including a backfield that has combined for 1,000 rushing yards this year and the SEC’s leading receiver, Brenan Thompson.
“We just had too many mental mistakes,” Mizzou defensive tackle Chris McClellan said. “Nothing crazy that they did, it’s just stuff that we normally don’t do that we did put on film. … We’ve got to work past it. On to the next, and let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: These are main storylines as Missouri football faces Mississippi State
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