ºüÀêÊÓƵ

Something stunning happened on national TV this week.

Viewers of a morning sports show were spared from look-at-me hot takes and overcooked, unrealistic shouting matches and instead saw something increasingly rare in the space — actual authentic analysis.

There was Chase Daniel, Mizzou quarterback legend and recently retired NFL veteran, using his decades of experience and impressive knowledge of the game to illustrate a play from Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s playbook.

The response was fast and full-throated. More of this kind of stuff. Please.

“We don’t want to be ‘First Take,’� Daniel said by phone this week. “We want to be a beautiful alternative to it. We want to teach some football. We want you to get some knowledge, to have some in-depth conversations.�

It’s no surprise here that Daniel’s combination of football IQ and charisma has helped him successfully launch a new chapter as a must-know face in football media, most prominently on FS1’s new football-focused show, “The Facility.�

Daniel didn’t last 14 years in the league and rake in more than $40 million in career earnings because of good luck — contrary to what some on social media like to crack wise about regarding his roughly $8 million earned per start. The former Heisman Trophy finalist turned undrafted NFL free agent carved out a marathon career by earning the trust of some of the league’s best teams, who counted on him to help push the quarterback room and know every play in case he was called upon. He’s also likable, meaning some of the top coaches and quarterbacks, like Reid and Drew Brees, continued to want him involved.

Daniel’s playing past, which includes six teams and a Super Bowl with the Saints, now puts him in a unique position to offer modern insight on the league and its faces. Unlike some ex-players in his role, he’s not overly worried about offering his informed opinions, even if it ruffles some feathers.

“I never want to put NFL players in a bad light,� Daniel said. “What we do is important in the scheme of football, but it’s not life and death. I’m pretty positive, because there’s enough negativity. But I’ve learned this. If you throw three interceptions, you’ve got to talk about it. You’ve got to tell the why. I’ll never criticize the player. But I’ll criticize the play.�

Daniel is attacking this new gig. It’s how he goes about all things football. The approach has been successful, turning an undersized and overlooked Lone Star state prospect into Mizzou’s Sports Illustrated cover boy. It created a quickly growing YouTube channel where Daniel digs deep into QB play. Now it has welcomed him into living rooms across the country every morning.

“It’s the closest thing to getting ready for a game,� he said. “You’re never sure if it’s somebody’s first time watching the show. I keep that in mind. If people are channel surfing and they stumble upon FS1, I want every block that we have to be like the Super Bowl.�

What I was most curious about is why. As in, why take on this challenge?

Daniel could be on a beach near his California home, or teeing it up on any of the fine golf courses nearby. He could be coaching. Count me among those who once hoped he would one day find his way back to his alma mater either as a quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator or, who knows, maybe even the head man. That was back before fifth-year Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz had Daniel’s old program flying high again, and ranked as high (No. 9) in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 as any team has been since Daniel quarterbacked one.

“I just really love football,� he answered. “Not just the game, but the relationships. The camaraderie. God put football in my life for me to use my platform. It was one of two ways. Go into coaching, or go into broadcast, so I can continue talking football. It’s given me so much, so I want to give it back to the viewer. I do feel like I’d make a good coach, but I would not have been in the best position with my family to give them the full effort and attention I should. I’ve missed so much time as a player. The next best thing? Broadcast.�

Daniel’s focus is on the NFL but his fan loyalty remains with Mizzou. He’s formed a connection with Drinkwitz and spoke to the team last season. His message to this season’s team could be even more valuable.

Daniel’s 2007 Tigers touched No. 1 and won 12 games thanks to a Cotton Bowl trouncing of Arkansas that followed a painful Orange Bowl snub. Carrying massive expectations into Daniel’s final season, the 2008 Tigers didn’t get their 10th win until beating Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl. Good season, sure. But folks were hoping for an all-time great season.

“You go from being the hunter, to the hunted,� Daniel said. “That’s what we did in 2008. We struggled a little bit down the stretch with that. What you learn is you never have the same team, the same success. You have to forge it, every single day in practice. You have to be out front, leading. Coach Drinkwitz does it well with this group. He never lets them relax.�

Pretty good analysis.

Media views

Tracking developments with Bernie Miklasz, Chase Daniel, Joe Buck, City SC and DirecTV

• Dan Caesar

Online

Boston College beating Florida State should be a good thing for Mizzou

• Ben Frederickson

Ben Frederickson

BenFred: Wait, is Vandy good? And other football first impressions of Mizzou's SEC opponents

• Ben Frederickson

Eye on the Tigers

Dissecting Mizzou's rout of Murray State and college football's first weekend: Eye on the Tigers

• Eli Hoff ,  Ben Frederickson

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kristian Williams doesn’t dress to look cool. And he certainly doesn’t dress to feel cool, temperature-ly speaking.

The Missouri defensive tackle dresses practically, which is to say he dresses for practice — even when he doesn’t need to.

Like wearing shoulder pads to team meetings.

“It’s just a matter of staying ready so you don’t have to get ready,� Williams told the Post-Dispatch, as gearing up to dissect film or schemes is an obvious new fashion trend.

“It saves you time, too,� Williams continued, “Whenever you have your pads on in meetings and right after meetings and stuff of that nature, you can go down to the field and just talk to yourself, listen to yourself — positive self-talk, just to get in that mode before you go into practice.�

That’s the pro. Two cons come with a defensive lineman sitting in meeting rooms that are essentially sleek lecture halls of various sizes.

“My shoulder pads might be in the way,� Williams admitted, “but it’s just the fact that my shoulders are kind of big.�

And: “It feels kind of uncomfortable just because it’s kind of hot.�

So wearing pads to meetings is not completely cool.

But nobody’s questioning Williams, a Mizzou captain and the lone returner from last year’s defensive tackle rotation. Amid quite a bit of turnover across the Tigers’ defense, which exported several players to the NFL, Williams is an important presence for the Tigers, who are riding a season-opening shutout into Saturday’s game against Buffalo.

“It was major to get him back because you don’t want to lose the whole group, right?� defensive line coach Al Davis said. “The kid, he had a decision to make, to be honest with you. I do believe that Kristian got here and he found something at Mizzou that he didn’t have at his previous school. He did make plays. I think the kid’s smart enough to know that he left some plays out there.�

In the offseason, the MU coaching staff made a video reel of clips showing a handful of plays they felt Williams left on the table last season — evidence they thought he still had another leap to take with Missouri.

“He wants to grow,� Davis said.

Growth is precisely why Williams’ collegiate career started rather far from Mizzou.

Recruiting services split over whether Williams was a three- or four-star prospect when he was coming out Southwind High School in the Memphis area. He was an all-state talent during his senior season, when he recorded seven sacks, recovered three fumbles and notched a 75-yard scoop-and-score touchdown.

Mizzou — at that time coached by Barry Odom — offered Williams a scholarship. He opted to head west, playing his first three seasons at Oregon.

The Ducks redshirted Williams as a freshman, then gave him a limited run during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. After appearing in 14 games during the 2021 season, Williams entered the transfer portal.

“I just wanted to try something new, just get away from the city and grow up on my own,� Williams said on a Tiger Talk radio show about picking Oregon. “With that transition, I wouldn’t trade it for the world because I wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t make that decision.�

In the portal and taking his official visit to Mizzou, Williams went for a walk with MU coach Eli Drinkwitz that took them onto Faurot Field, where a hype video played on the video board.

“I just got chills,� Williams said. “The moment after the video, he said, ‘If you want to come up here and sign to ball, come do it.’ �

So he did.

Williams has appeared in every game for the Tigers since transferring in ahead of the 2022 season, making 22 starts. He has 10 tackles for a loss, three passes defended and two forced fumbles in that span.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Williams slimmed down. After playing the 2022 and 2023 seasons at 314 pounds, he’s listed at 295.

“He looks lean and mean,� Davis said.

Talk to Williams, and it’s clear he’s not really mean at all. He laughs a lot, sometimes at his own tendencies.

Mizzou players gravitate toward their teammate with a well-known personality.

“Kristian is one of the guys, he does everything right,� said Chris McClellan, the Florida transfer who starts alongside Williams. “You should always try to emulate that�

MU wants Williams to be expressive. That’s what Drinkwitz encouraged when he picked Williams to be one of the Tigers’ three representatives at Southeastern Conference media days.

“Go out there, be yourself,� Williams told himself at that event. “Take advantage of the opportunity itself. Just be you. Go out, have fun. Keep your head high, be confident about what you’re saying. Just the ordinary tips to be able to get me over the hump on certain things.�

Since then, he was voted into the captaincy — a role that seemed likely from the outside but evidently caught Williams by a little bit of surprise.

“I’d never seen myself being a captain or anything like that,� he said. “I never even thought of it as me being a captain, but more so like a big brother to everybody — just to be able to get people out of those hard times.�

Williams has warmed to the idea of coaching once his playing career is over, perhaps with that “big brother to everybody� attitude in mind. Going into coaching would require him to set aside a separate career ambition that makes the tackle stand out in the Mizzou locker room: storm chasing.

“It’s still in motion,� Williams said. “I have a couple of different avenues I want to go into. But if that opportunity arises, I’m taking it.�

To make sure this is going into the record correctly, in case any storm-chaser hiring managers are reading: Kristian Williams isn’t interested in the kind of meteorology work that involves news studios and greenscreens but being exposed on rural highways driving after the real, terrifying things?

“Yes, most definitely,� he said.

Why on earth would someone want to do that?

“You see something so supernatural to the point where you want to know exactly what’s going on,� Williams said. “You want to know how it’s causing all this destruction. It’s just fascinating to look at — who doesn’t want to see an F5 tornado?�

Touché? Point taken? If nothing else, perhaps proximity to tornadoes is why Williams transferred from Oregon to Missouri.

He enjoyed watching the new Twisters film — “Great movie. Got me sitting on the edge of my seat,� he said — which fits his affinity for the meteorological and destructive.

Finding that kind of enjoyment is a priority for Williams as he enters his final season of college football. He’s aware that 2024 is the last ride. What that knowledge prompts him to do embodies Williams’ approach to being a teammate and captain.

“I was telling myself, it’s the last first day,� he said after the Tigers’ first day of spring practices. “I started to feel like I wasn’t really present. Today, I was just trying to have fun with my brothers.�

Mizzou Sports News

‘He’s just Luther’: Mizzou wideout Burden in dual roles as elite player, NIL star

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

Why Mizzou uses unusual defensive formation in 3rd-and-long situations

• Eli Hoff

Eye on the Tigers

Prep for Buffalo and is Mizzou's schedule getting stronger? Eye on the Tigers

• Eli Hoff ,  Ben Frederickson

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Is another landslide win coming?

No. 9 Missouri is once again heavily favored in its second game of the season, a Saturday duel against Buffalo.

The Bulls of the Mid-American Conference have played the Tigers just once before — a 2008 Mizzou victory — and are a lower-end Football Bowl Subdivision program working through a rebuild.

MU, for its part, handled business tidily in the season opener against Murray State, though the Tigers’ coaches weren’t handing out any laurels to rest upon in practice.

If Saturday’s matchup gets out of hand, depth players could once again see some action, but there will be eyes on Mizzou’s starters as well. From how the first-team offense cleans up last week’s missed opportunities to another packed stadium, here are three things to watch for in Missouri-Buffalo at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Deep throws and third downs

Any rosiness granted by the season-opening 51-0 scoreline faded once the Tigers returned to practice over Labor Day weekend. While MU coaches were generally pleased with how the team handled themselves against inferior competition, the early season goal of “eliminating bad football� meant there was work to be done.

“We do need to be more consistent in the throw game,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “The third downs that we missed were concerning for me.�

It may be a bit nitpicky of Drinkwitz, but he evidently has noticed something in the numbers when it comes to third downs. Missouri faced 13 third downs against Murray State and converted on eight of them — a 61.5% rate. The average distance to go on those third downs was 4.8 yards. Seven of the third downs counted as third and short.

The Tigers ran the ball on six third downs and moved the chains on five of those attempts. When taking to the air, they converted four of seven tries.

That seems to be connected to a bumpy start to Mizzou’s passing attack — and the other point of emphasis in this week’s practices. Quarterback Brady Cook was 3 for 10 on throws to targets 10 or more yards downfield and 0 for 4 on deep passes.

So, in practice, Cook and MU’s wideouts worked on the timing of deep routes without any defenders present, getting back to the basics of throw placement and route running.

“It starts with fundamentals: route depth, timing, the quarterback setting his feet when he makes throws, not drifting after he throws the ball, ready to go do a celebration,� Drinkwitz said.

Another sellout on the way

Memorial Stadium won’t be emptying out anytime soon.

Mizzou’s streak of consecutive sold-out home games is set to reach eight, with Saturday’s tangle with Buffalo extending the run.

Exhausting the ticket supply was among Drinkwitz’s priorities for the week, given his prior challenge to the Missouri fanbase and praise following an early-arriving crowd at the home opener.

"We’re working toward, and hopefully extending, the streak of sellouts,� he said.

The Tigers got there, with the Buffalo game officially declared a sellout by the athletics department Thursday morning. It will be the seventh in a row, while MU’s Sept. 14 home game against Boston College has already sold out, guaranteeing that the streak reaches eight.

Because Mizzou’s Oct. 19 homecoming game against Auburn and Nov. 9 game against Oklahoma are also sold out, a sellout of its Sept. 21 Southeastern Conference opener against Vanderbilt would push the streak to 11 games.

Buffalo reunion for Stephens

Missouri has seen Buffalo’s head coach and starting quarterback before through games against their past schools, but there’s another bit of familiarity that will unfold Saturday night: a reunion between MU tight end Tyler Stephens and his former team.

He started his career at Buffalo in 2021, catching 15 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown in that season. Stephens transferred to Mizzou ahead of the 2022 campaign but is excited to see some of his former teammates on the field.

“I got so many guys on that team still,� he said during preseason camp. “We still talk every day, so it’s crazy. I was just on the (college football video) game with them last night and we talk our crap every single day. Just going out there on that field, when we run out there or even in warm-ups and I see those guys again, man it’s going to be such a humble feeling, such a blessing that God has put me in this position to meet all these people.�

Stephens could be in line for a bigger role than his usual second-string duties if starter Brett Norfleet — who left the opener with an injury and was not at practice Tuesday — is scratched.

Mizzou Sports News

Against Buffalo, No. 9 Mizzou to face familiar coach and QB — but in new setting

• Eli Hoff

Eye on the Tigers

Prep for Buffalo and is Mizzou's schedule getting stronger? Eye on the Tigers

• Eli Hoff ,  Ben Frederickson

Mizzou Sports News

Why Mizzou uses unusual defensive formation in 3rd-and-long situations

• Eli Hoff

Ben Frederickson

BenFred: While NFL media career skyrockets, Chase Daniel offers great advice to No. 9 Mizzou

• Ben Frederickson

Mizzou Sports News

Storm-chasing defensive tackle Kristian Williams is 'big brother to everybody' for Mizzou

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

Read the full transcript of Mizzou beat writer Eli Hoff's sports chat

• Eli Hoff

Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Transcript

Eli ±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýGood morning, folks! I hope everyone enjoyed the first weekend of the college football season. I'll be around here for the next couple of hours to answer any questions you've got after seeing the 2024 Missouri Football Tigers make their debut.

°Õ³Ü²Ô»å°ù²¹:ÌýWith so many kids transferring these days, do coaches even give all players a playbook anymore?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýYes. I've seen playbooks sitting around the team facility. I don't know if they're all that secretive — like, anyone who wants to watch a Mizzou game to spot schemes is going to see that the Tigers run a lot of zone and like layered or flood pass concepts. Play calls now come in through the helmets, so there's less emphasis on signs from the sideline. Trick plays might be a little bit more closely guarded, but the majority of what's in the playbook winds up out there on tape anyway. It's the vocabulary of audibles and instructions from the sideline that's more guarded.

¶Ù¶Ù¶Ù:ÌýNorfleet update? Just playing it safe by keeping him out or is it more serious?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýNothing official yet. He was not at the portion of Tuesday's practice that was open to the media. Eli Drinkwitz was pretty adamant in the aftermath of last week's game that it wasn't anything serious. Looking back at the hit he took, it strikes me as the type of play that may have just been a stinger. Drinkwitz told us on Tuesday that the team would be releasing injury reports Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and gameday this week like they will be required to by the SEC for conference games, but the lack of update yesterday suggests that won't actually be what happens. I'm certainly inclined to think this team will opt for the cautious track, especially this early in the season. If the Tigers can't beat Buffalo without their starting tight end, there are bigger issues. In my eyes, Norfleet's status is generically questionable, but only because he didn't practice and I don't have more recent information.

bigron:ÌýAnything new on the mens Bball team?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýNot particularly, but they'll start ramping up to the new season soon. It's almost exactly 2 months away. But there are some, shall we say, about Mizzou men's hoops' first opponent of the year: Memphis.

Kurtc:ÌýWhy doesn't Mizzou sell naming rights to the stadium. Memorial Stadium is pretty generic. According to the dictionary, memorial means "something, especially a structure, established to remind people of a person or event". There is no person or event attached to Memorial so I'm not sure what it is memorializing. It seems like selling the naming rights would be a great way to raise money for the athletic program.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI want to be clear that this is not reporting but speculation on how things are trending at large in college sports: That could be a necessity at some point in the not-too-distant future. Again, I haven't heard that Mizzou is putting the naming rights on the market or anything, but athletic departments around the country are going to continue to need more and more revenue coming in. That's why you see sponsors on the field now — which I think were quite subtle and not distracting in the slightest during the first game. Jersey patches are probably a matter of time.

I don't know off the top of my head how much a deal to make it "Faurot Field at (Insert Company) Stadium" would net for the athletics department, but it would probably be a decent chunk of change. With revenue sharing coming and the cost to remain competitive steadily rising, the time to cash in could be soon. Now, will fans grumble about it? That's a separate question but I'm sure something that will come into play.

(Post-chat note: I've confirmed that Memorial Stadium, as another reader mentions below, is like MU's Memorial Union in that it memorializes the 112 Mizzou students who were killed in World War I.)

MG:ÌýHow concerned should Mizzou be for next week against BC after they beat FSU last week?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThat's a good question. I'd said during the preseason that with Bill O'Brien and a good, mobile QB, the Eagles would not be a cupcake game. I predicted on the podcast here that Boston College would have a lead sometime in the second half of its game in Columbia, and that wasn't me spitting out a take for the heck of it — I fully believe that.

Still, it's tough to know exactly how much of a threat they are. Beating Florida State in Tallahassee is obviously a big win. But was that more about the Eagles being really good or FSU being really bad? My assumption is it's a bit of both. Maybe BC is an 8-win team and FSU is barely going to be bowl-eligible. BC plays Duquesne this weekend, so there won't be much more room to learn about the Eagles.

But look: Even if they are the type of team that can go 8-4 this year, one of those four should absolutely be to Missouri. The Tigers should still be able to beat them, and the final score probably shouldn't be all that close. It might be a little tougher or a little more nervy, but the expected result has not and will not change.

Palmetto State Fan:ÌýI am "all in" in regards to the Athletic Department marketing naming rights to Memorial Stadium with one caveat. All revenue from a naming rights deal is designated for improvements to the stadium and the game experience. Ditto in regards to Mizzou Arena. Patches on the game jerseys and on the coaches and staff game wear. Absolutely. (Tough with Coach Gates and his three assistant coaches as they always are, to borrow ZZ Top, sharp dressed men). Times have changed. Let's stay ahead of the revenue sourcing curve.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThat's an interesting thought. I could see the value in that, particularly with the north concourse project being a $250 million undertaking. I'm sure if or when stadium naming rights become a talking point with Mizzou, what designations that revenue will come with will be a worthwhile consideration.

Palmetto State Fan:ÌýEli, how is Coach Nutt's health? Also, has Laird Veatch's name been mentioned in any way regarding the University of Memphis apparent MBB mess?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýCoach Nutt was doing well the last I heard. He's still around the program as much as he can be, which is great for everyone involved. Hopefully he'll be around the arena as the preseason ramps up and games start being played, since I know he was not a fan of having to watch them from afar on TV.

I have not seen Veatch named in any of the stories about the Memphis hoops kerfuffle. I haven't read everything out on it yet, but it doesn't seem there's an immediate connection.

DCG:ÌýEli: What can you tell me about the other TEs behind Norfleet? Obviously, I'm hoping his shoulder injury was a stinger and not structural, especially as I see the TE position being crucial this year. I know the WRs are the stars, but I think Mizzou will see a lot of what they saw last year after their fast start, which is more umbrella coverage to take away the deep ball. In that scenario, the TE spot would have a lot of space in the middle of the field. Norfleet, with his size and hands, would be pretty hard to stop. I don't think Mizzou did a good job countering that counter last year, and the running game bailed them out. I'm hoping they're more prepared to play intermediate ball this year if necessary.

Hoff:ÌýYour assessment of the tight end spot in a lot of Mizzou's passing schemes is right on — Kirby Moore told me as much when I asked him about what Brady needs to be doing this year for the offense to work. A big part of that is knowing when to check down to a tight end or running back and knowing where they'll be, Moore said. So it's definitely a factor.

Tyler Stephens is the 2nd-stringer there. He's experienced at this point, but has actually caught more passes at Buffalo (15 in 2021) than he has at Mizzou (12 from 2022 through last week). Jordon Harris is also in his second season. He has size just like Norfleet does but hasn't gotten quite as many reps. Harris is a real asset as a blocker, though.

Jude James and Whit Hafer both took more reps than many thought they would in camp, but that was also due to Norfleet and Harris being limited or absent for a good chunk of camp due to injuries. The freshmen maximized the opportunity, though, and showed promise as contributors in the passing game. Probably not for this year though.Ìý

-

-

-

-

-

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Now for a team with a little more kick.

With mild Murray State dispatched in Week 1, No. 9 Missouri’s attention has turned to a program that offers more zing than the opener: Buffalo.

As a team that plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Bulls are an inherent degree better than the Football Championship Subdivision Racers. The visitors from the Mid-American Conference will still be heavy underdogs against the Tigers — the midweek spread is sitting around five touchdowns — but will bring some intriguing elements to Saturday’s 6 p.m. game.

Among those storylines, and in one indicative of the current college football landscape, Mizzou will be facing a quarterback it has seen before despite having not faced Buffalo since a 2008 victory. CJ Ogbonna, the Bulls’ starting quarterback, was SEMO’s signal-caller during a 2021 game against MU.

“There is some familiarity there,� Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

Mizzou beat SEMO 59-28 in that game, which raised some defensive questions about the Tigers as the Redhawks scored rather easily on the ground. Ogbonna didn’t make an impact as a passer against MU in that game, completing just seven of 14 passes for 53 yards, no passing touchdowns and an interception.

On the ground, though, he finished the game as SEMO’s leading rusher, covering 96 yards on 12 attempts.

Since transferring to Buffalo, Ogbonna seems to have become more comfortable as a passer. During the Bulls’ season-opening win over FCS school Lafayette, the quarterback was 14 for 24 with 195 passing yards and two touchdowns. He ran the ball only five times for 20 yards.

“That’s going to be the challenge this week,� Drinkwitz said. “Obviously, we’ve got to do a good job in the read game. They try to get on your edges through zone reads, plus-one run schemes and option. We’re going to have to be disciplined and multiple in the way we’re challenging those read schemes.�

To translate: Zone reads involve offenses leaving an edge rusher unblocked and forcing that player to either commit to containing the edge, in which case the quarterback will usually hand off to a running back heading up the gut, or crashing inside, in which case the quarterback can dart around them outside. A plus-one scheme looks to give the offense one more blocker than the defense has players in the area of the field where the ball will go. Option plays give the quarterback the choice of whether to distribute the ball or keep it himself. All generally rely on Ogbonna making reads.

Elsewhere on the offense, running back Jacqez Barksdale led Buffalo in rushing during Week 1, taking 14 carries for 99 yards and a score. Wideout Nik McMillan showed some physicality while securing five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, linebacker Shaun Dolac is the Bulls’ centerpiece. After starting at Buffalo as a walk-on, he finished second in the nation in tackles during the 2022 season, bringing down 147 ball carriers. He looked likely to build on that in 2023, posting nine tackles, a tackle for a loss and an interception at Wisconsin but missed most of the season with an injury.

Dolac is healthy this season and made 11 tackles with an interception in the Bulls’ season opener.

“You can tell he studies tape,� Drinkwitz said. “You can tell he’s a very smart, physical player at the point of contact. They utilize him in the box, out of the box, they pressure with him. He’s a really good player. It’s going to be a real challenge for us. He’s consistent with what you see in our league. He’s a guy that, as we work off combo blocks, we’re going to have to make sure we can get to him, otherwise he’ll make the tackle.�

More broadly, Buffalo is looking for a turnaround season after going 3-9 last season, including four consecutive defeats to close out the 2023 campaign. The Bulls hired coach Pete Lembo in the offseason, whom Drinkwitz called “one of the great program rebuilders and builders.�

Lembo got a late start after being hired in late January, so he likely faces an uphill battle this season. He’s coached in Missouri’s Memorial Stadium before, having spent the past three seasons as South Carolina’s special teams coordinator. Because Murray State coach Jody Wright was the Gamecocks’ tight ends coach for the past two years, this week marks the second in a row that the Tigers are facing a team now led by a former South Carolina assistant.

During Lembo was complimentary of Drinkwitz and Mizzou’s recent rise in stature.

“I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve gotten better over the time that he’s been there, how all three phases play such complementary football,� Lembo said. “He’s really got a great beat of the pulse of their whole program. He does a great job of managing the program, managing the team, coaching the coaches, and he gets a lot out of his guys in every level of the program.�

Mizzou Sports News

Why Mizzou uses unusual defensive formation in 3rd-and-long situations

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

‘He’s just Luther’: Mizzou wideout Burden in dual roles as elite player, NIL star

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

Mizzou football snapshots: PFF grades, snap counts from Tigers' win over Murray State

• Eli Hoff

On this week's episode of the Eye on the Tigers Podcast, Eli Hoff and Ben Frederickson enjoy having real college football games to talk about and all their implications — including Missouri moving up to 9^thÌýin the AP Top 25. A couple of the Tigers' upcoming opponents look a few degrees tougher, which Eli and Ben dive into. They also talk about why Buffalo is helpful preparation for the games that lie ahead and Eli gets a surprising curveball about Ben's football hobbies — or lack thereof.

Boston College beating Florida State should be a good thing for Mizzou

Welcome to BenFred's 5, a weekly recap of the this week's biggest STL sports topics

Why Mizzou uses unusual defensive formation in 3rd-and-long situations

“It’s a way to utilize the most speed and also versatility that we can get on the field — also with our pass rush,� Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

A look at the ºüÀêÊÓƵ natives on NFL rosters as the 2024 season begins

The Detroit Lions continue to best represent ºüÀêÊÓƵ, with six players who hail from the area.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Watching No. 9 Missouri’s seasoning-opening demolition of Murray State provided plenty of opportunities for observing the game’s minutiae.

For all intents and purposes, the result was secured in roughly five minutes of game time. The Tigers’ first touchdown was the game winner, after all.

Among the details that were present from the very start of the game: On some third downs, Mizzou’s defense was subbing a lot of defensive backs onto the field.

Normally, MU plays a 4-2-5 defense. There are four down linemen — two defensive tackles, a field end and a joker, or boundary end. There are two linebackers, one in the middle, one on the outside. There are two cornerbacks. There are three safeties — one on the field side, one on the boundary side, one hybrid safety, called the STAR, tucked closer to the box.

But on these third downs, which came in situations where the Racers had quite a ways to go for a first down, the defense was much tougher to define. A positional count would call it a 3-1-7.

A Murray State third-and-9 with 6:34 on the clock in the first quarter is a clear example. Missouri only had one down defensive lineman — a tackle lined up either head-on with the center or in the left A gap. The joker stood in a two-point stance on the edge closest to the sideline. The field end crouched in a two-point stance on the opposite edge.

Khalil Jacobs, who isn’t a starter but has the skill set that defensive coordinator Corey Batoon wants for this package, was the lone linebacker, pressed up close to the line of scrimmage between the tackle and the joker. Safety Sidney Williams Sr., playing a role similar to the STAR, was positioned like Jacobs but on the other side.

Daylan Carnell, the usual STAR, fell back into a boundary safety position. A typical field safety, Joseph Charleston, stood on the opposite hash marks. Tre’Vez Johnson occupied the empty space between the line and the high safeties on the boundary side.

Interestingly, Mizzou deployed three cornerbacks: Dreyden Norwood and Nicholas Deloach Jr. split out to either side, but Deloach followed a receiver in motion across the formation, suggesting he was in man coverage. Toriano Pride Jr. lined up across from an interior receiver.

Three linemen, one linebacker, four safeties, three cornerbacks. That’s something interesting — but not entirely unique.

“It’s a carryover from the package we’ve had in the past,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Obviously, we’ve got some new fingerprints to it, but it’s something that our guys are familiar with. It was the base third-down package that we carried the past two years, and then Corey (Batoon) and the rest of the defensive staff have added their fingerprints to it.�

There’s a tactical purpose to swapping one linebacker and one defensive lineman for a bonus safety and extra cornerback.

“It’s a way to utilize the most speed and also versatility that we can get on the field — also with our pass rush,� Drinkwitz said.

Mizzou leveraged a similar look last year at times under defensive coordinator Blake Baker, also on third-and-long plays — those where an opponent is likely to pass, adding to the benefit of extra defensive backs in the game.

Manny Diaz repped it at Penn State, crediting the NFL’s Detroit Lions for the moniker “prowler package� to refer to the seven-defensive-back personnel grouping. Trying to stop Joe Burrow and a juggernaut 2019 Louisiana State offense, Auburn used the 3-1-7 as a curveball that slowed that unit.

One of the more compelling elements of Mizzou’s 3-1-7 is the strength of the Tigers’ three cornerbacks. While replacing two starters makes that position a question mark this early in the 2024 season, MU feels confident enough in its top three corners to use all of them in the seven-DB package.

“It allows you to play man to man and put somebody on the slot, which typically when your (opponent lines someone up in the) slot, the position they match up on is a safety who’s not used to playing man to man quite as well,� Drinkwitz said. “So for us, we slide Daylan back to the boundary safety and move Toriano into the slot.�

Pride, a Clemson transfer who enjoys a physical style of play, practiced both out wide and in the slot with the orange-and-purple Tigers, so he’s comfortable sliding inside at times for his new team.

“Slot’s different than corner,� Pride said. “You got to have a lot different technique for it.�

Having versatile enough cornerbacks to make the prowler package work is now a routine point of emphasis for Missouri’s defensive assistants.

“Coach (Al) Pogue has done a really good job of training up those corners in order for us to have confidence in it,� Drinkwitz said.

Tigers move into AP Poll top 10

A 1-0 start to the 2024 season proven quite lucrative for Missouri, which moved up to No. 9 in the first AP Poll released after games have been played.

With the Tigers’ 51-0 victory over Murray State, they jumped up two spots in the poll from their preseason position of 11th.

Mizzou moved past Florida State, which went from No. 10 to not receiving a single vote in the wake of back-to-back losses to start the season, and defending national champion Michigan, which beat Fresno State by just 20 points in its opener.

Further down MU’s schedule, Texas A&M dropped out of the Top 25 after losing at home to No. 5 Notre Dame but remained the first team out of the poll. Boston College, which beat Florida State and visits Columbia on Sept. 14, is the second team out.

Vanderbilt, one of the surprises of Week 1 with an upset win over Virginia Tech, received a smattering of votes alongside Auburn and Arkansas, two other teams Missouri will host this season.

Alabama, at No. 5, and Oklahoma, at No. 15, remain Mizzou’s highest-ranked opponents on the schedule.

Mizzou Sports News

New Mizzou defensive coordinator Corey Batoon settling in with new vibe, similar scheme

• Eli Hoff

A week after steamrolling an overmatched foe, No. 9 Mizzou's degree of difficulty ratchets up a notch when the Tigers host Buffalo on Saturday night in Columbia, Missouri.

Mizzou, up 35-0 at halftime, eventually won 51-0 in its opener, as the second half provided opportunities for the Tigers to showcase their depth.

Like Mizzou, Buffalo began its season vs. a football championship subdivision foe on Thursday, Aug. 29.

The Bulls, in their first game under new head coach Pete Lembo, faced a much tougher FCS foe in Lafayette, which is ranked in the top 25 in that division.

Buffalo led 16-0 at halftime and prevailed 30-13 in that game.

The Bulls were in the 12-team Mid-American Conference.

Here's how to watch Mizzou vs. Buffalo football:

Mizzou Tigers vs. Buffalo Bulls TV, live stream and radio

Game time: 6 p.m. CDT Saturday, Sept. 7

Location: Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri

TV channel: No traditional television broadcast. Game airs only on SEC Network Plus and ESPN+, both of which are available via streaming.

Live stream:Ìý and

Radio: KTRS (550 AM and 106.1 FM) in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, across Missouri and online through the

Storylines

Why Mizzou uses unusual defensive formation in 3rd-and-long situations

Luther Burden is Mizzou’s first national superstar in the name, image and likeness age of college sports.

BenFred: What we learned in Week 1 about Mizzou's opponents.

Mizzou football snapshots: PFF grades, snap counts from Tigers' win over Murray State

Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz doesn't need a "celebrity quarterback." What do the Tigers need from Brady Cook this season?

For safety Marvin Burks Jr., becoming a starter means becoming more vocal — and that requires him to become a little louder.

Season ticket sales for Missouri football have crossed the 40,000 threshold for the first time in nearly a decade.

An examination of whether Mizzou could make College Football Playoff with 2 losses in 2024.

One eye-catching overtime win. One dangerously close call. One ripple-creating defeat. And a bunch of blowouts, with one that said more than the others.

Mizzou’s upcoming SEC opponents posted a range of results in their respective season openers. If a College Football Playoff appearance is going to become a reality for the Tigers, keeping tabs on the opposition matters more than ever before. First impressions aren’t everything, but they’re not nothing.

Let’s review what we learned:

Vanderbilt: In a surprising twist, the Commodores made the loudest opening SEC statement. Their 34-27 overtime home win against Virginia Tech suggested Mizzou’s SEC opener could be tougher than expected.

Vandy coach Clark Lea overhauled his roster this offseason, adding more than 50 new players and bringing in respected offensive mind Jerry Kill as an analyst. Initial feedback was encouraging. After coughing up a 17-point lead and missing what could have been a game-winning field goal, Vanderbilt rallied to win in OT in front of a home crowd populated heavily by Virginia Tech fans.

New Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia, a transfer from New Mexico State, where he started under Kill as head coach, was just named SEC offensive player of the week. He completed 75% of his passes for 190 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 100-plus yards, including the game-winning TD in OT. He’s got some play-making swagger, and his new team feeds off it.

Vandy’s defense, which Lea now coordinates, posted four sacks and a pick. Virginia Tech was favored by nearly 14 points. Impressive debut, Dores.

Texas A&M: The Mike Elko era began with a gritty but unsuccessful showing at home, where a crazed Kyle Field crowd watched their No. 20 (but not for long?) Aggies score just one touchdown and fizzle late in A&M’s 23-13 loss to No. 7 Notre Dame. The Aggies looked vulnerable against the run as Notre Dame chewed up nearly 200 rushing yards.

Bigger problem: A&M QB Connor Weigman disappointed. He completed 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards against Notre Dame’s strong secondary and also threw two interceptions on a night his defense created none. It will not help Mizzou’s strength-of-schedule concern if the Aggies are unranked when they host Mizzou for its first road trip of the season.

For now, A&M’s home-game atmosphere remains better than its team.

Auburn: What stood out most from Auburn’s 73-3 thrashing of FCS opponent Alabama A&M was returning starting quarterback Payton Thorne’s ability to show off an improved receiving group that added seven new faces this offseason. Big, explosive gains in the passing game were the result. Five different Auburn receivers had receptions of 40-plus yards, including freshmen Malcom Simmons and Perry Thompson, plus Penn State transfer Keandre Lambert-Smith.

Auburn’s 451 passing yards in the easy win marked a program high since 2014. Defenses beware. You don’t have to be in the Hugh Freeze fan club to know he’s going to come up with ways to score.

Alabama: Kalen DeBoer’s new-hire honeymoon continued despite some glitches in college football’s new helmet communications gear and a pregame shoulder injury to starting offensive lineman Kaydn Proctor. No. 5 Alabama mauled Western Kentucky 63-0.

Returning starting QB Jalen Milroe, who was the lead catalyst in 600 yards of total offense, is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Bama’s defense, which allowed only 145 yards of offense, looked fast and mean as it created two turnovers and secured the team’ first shutout since 2022. Bama’s starters sat most of the second half.

From his new spot on the TV set, Nick Saban probably nodded in approval.

Oklahoma: Former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold has gone from Sooners backup to starter, and it appears he has a new favorite target. He threw three of his four touchdown passes to Purdue transfer receiver Deion Burks in No. 16 Oklahoma’s 51-3 thrashing of Temple.

More impressive? The Sooners defense had six sacks and forced six turnovers, four on fumbles OU recovered. Pretty good debut for new OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

SEC newcomer Texas has made the most noise. What if Oklahoma is just as good, if not better?

South Carolina: College football guru Phil Steele’s ranking of overlooked teams had me convinced the Gamecocks could be ripe for a breakthrough in Year 4 of Shane Beamer ball. Maybe that’s still true, but a 23-19 close-call home win against Old Dominion stirred serious concerns.

Old Dominion tied the game in the first and third quarters and even took a fourth-quarter lead before South Carolina scored the game-winning touchdown with fewer than seven minutes left.

It gets worse. The only two touchdowns South Carolina scored came after the Gamecocks recovered fumbles less than 10 yards from the end zone.

Freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers looked, well, like a freshman. He completed 10 of 23 passes, took four sacks and overthrew multiple passes. Beamer bemoaned his team’s blocking, dropped passes, penalties and mental breakdowns.

Perhaps most concerning was the tame performance of the offensive line. Old Dominion had 10 — 10! — tackles for loss. No other SEC team allowed more in Game 1.

Beamer looked stressed in his post-game TV interview. For good reason.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs turned 35 unanswered points to start the game into a cruise-control 56-7 blitz of FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky in new coach Jeff Lebby’s debut. Lebby promised high-octane offense and fast tempo. Against an overmatched opponent that had one of the FCS’ worst defenses last season, his Bulldogs delivered.

Making his first MSU start, Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. MSU scored on a blocked punt and a pick-six. An all-around impressive showing before a more telling trip to Arizona State.

Arkansas: Of all the season-opening SEC blowouts, this one was the most legitimately encouraging for that team and its fans. Sam Pittman’s seat seems to be the hottest in the SEC, so any sign of struggle against Arkansas-Pine Bluff would have caused message-board meltdowns, like the ones Florida fans are having after their Gators got embarrassed by Miami at home.

Instead, the Razorbacks poured it on to the point of overkill in a 70-0 win that marked Bobby Petrino’s first game back as offensive coordinator. Petrino’s offense scored on every single possession.

Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green and Utah transfer running back Ja’Quinden Jackson can play. Green threw for 229 yards and ran for 88 more while accounting for four touchdowns. Jackson turned eight carries into 101 yards and two scores. And neither played in the second half.

Anyone else wondering if Petrino is the Arkansas head coach by the time Mizzou faces the Hogs?

Mizzou Sports News

‘He’s just Luther’: Mizzou wideout Burden in dual roles as elite player, NIL star

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

Mizzou football snapshots: PFF grades, snap counts from Tigers' win over Murray State

• Eli Hoff

Mizzou Sports News

Running back tandem debuts effectively for No. 11 Mizzou in season opener

• Eli Hoff