COLUMBIA, Mo. — There’s Missouri, up near the top of the Southeastern Conference with the likes of Alabama and Louisiana State.
It’s not in standings nor poll ranking, though No. 6 Mizzou is up there in that kind of stature too.
It’s in penalties — one of the rare statistics where a spot lower on the table is better.
Through every SEC team’s first two games, the Crimson Tide have the dishonorable distinction of a lead in infractions committed: 20 of them. MU and LSU are level with the second-most penalties so far, with 17 apiece.
In Missouri’s case, those 17 fouls are interesting.
First, there have actually been 18 flags thrown against the Tigers through their comfortable victories against Murray State and Buffalo, though one — a holding penalty — was declined because it occurred moments before an interception.
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And interestingly, all of them have been on Mizzou’s offense. There are two sides to that coin, of course.
It’s a definite positive that the Tigers defense, in its first two games under a new coordinator, is penalty-free — no early jumps across the line of scrimmage, no overly handsy pass coverage, no illegal tackles, no disconcerting signals.
On the other side, 18 offensive reasons for officials to throw flags is less than optimal.
Five of those penalties have been for false starts, eight — including one declined penalty — have been for holding, three were related to illegal formations, one was a facemask infraction and one was a delay of game.
“The frustrating thing for us, offensively, was we weren’t able to sustain drives because of penalties,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said after MU beat Buffalo. “We had two punts and two missed field goals (because of them).”
Even though those fruitless possessions didn’t keep the Tigers from scoring plenty of points against the Bulls, the flags did threaten drives at key moments and key spots on the field.
On three occasions — one ineligible receiver downfield call, a false start and a holding penalty — infractions moved the Mizzou offense from Buffalo’s side of the field back to midfield or MU territory. Two penalties popped up when Missouri was on the goal line, including one that pulled back a touchdown.
Given that the Tigers averaged 6.2 yards per play against Buffalo, making up for yards lost to penalties wasn’t much of a concern. That kind of offensive success likely isn’t sustainable against tougher defenses, though, which means the number of flags could be more costly in conference games.
Asked about penalties in the immediate aftermath of MU’s second win of the season, Drinkwitz didn’t seem overly concerned. His mind was on the calls, not the infractions themselves, given a disparity between flags against Missouri and flags against Buffalo.
“Common denominator was we were the only team holding tonight,” Drinkwitz said. “They didn’t get any penalties called on them. I think it was 10 to two. Got to go back and look at it to see the tape, to see exactly what (the officials’) emphasis was. I don’t know. I couldn’t see them on the field, live, but I’m sure after I go back and watch the tape, I’ll see that we got to do a better job of not holding.”
His count was correct. The only time the Bulls were flagged for holding was a defensive hold — their offense didn’t pick up a single penalty.
The point, especially at this stage of the season, is not to litigate penalties from nonconference blowouts after the fact. The calls are the calls.
New left guard Cayden Green, a transfer from Oklahoma, has the most individual penalties, with three. Right tackle Armand Membou, Green’s high school teammate, has two. Reserve linemen Jayven Richardson and Logan Reichert have a pair apiece as well.
Center Connor Tollison has picked up one, as have Cam’Ron Johnson and Mitchell Walters, who each have started a game at right guard.
The only Mizzou offensive line starter not to be called for a penalty yet is left tackle Marcus Bryant.
Missed kicks
On the missed field goals Drinkwitz mentioned while lamenting the timing of offensive penalties: Kicker Blake Craig is now 4 for 6 on field goal attempts in his career.
Across his first two games as Missouri’s starter, he has converted from 22, 27, 39 and 51 yards away with misses from 49 and 52 yards out. Craig is a perfect 11 for 11 on extra points.
After the Buffalo game, Drinkwitz said both of the missed field goals were a matter of “poor execution.”