After defeating No. 8 Florida in Week 5, Missouri climbed from No. 25 to No. 14 in the AP Poll, garnering more attention. The SEC trend of team's losing their next contest after a big win was not an issue for the Tigers, who followed the Florida victory with a statement 27-6 win against Texas A&M.
Missouri's defensive line shut down the run game, once again and Jamal Roberts earned his highest grade in this week's report card. Here's the grades for every position in the Tigers' dominant Week 6 victory.
Quarterback: B-
Saturday was far from a top-tier Austin Simmons performance, but the quarterback responded well to early difficulties and ultimately led the Tigers to a definitive win. Simmons was 14-for-28 with 147 yards, one touchdown and threw his first interception of the year.
Simmons' interception came on the first drive of the game and was followed by two scoreless drives. The quarterback responded in fashion, closing the half out strong with 10 unanswered points and a 32-yard passing touchdown. In the second half, Simmons was utilized much less due to Roberts' stellar performance, but commanded the offense gracefully.
Simmons' tight window throws, ability to remain allusive in the pocket and prowess in throwing lasers were once again on display for Missouri, he just lacked some accuracy and wasn't needed to throw much in the second half.
Pass catchers: C+
The pass catchers performance goes hand in hand with Simmons, but due to one official drop, a plethora of potential catches that could have been completions and a radio silent game from Donovan Olugbode, the pass catchers grade is slightly worse.
Cayden Lee led the squad with seven receptions and 94 yards, becoming the only receiver with more than one catch. Lee was true to form with sharp routes, steady hands and reliability for Simmons, but the rest of the unit lacked.
Olugbode had zero catches after totaling a team-second 407 yards and team-high six touchdowns prior to the contest. His production is an integral part of the unit, leaving room to be desired from one of Missouri's most talented groups.
Running backs: A+
Jamal Roberts had another masterclass on Saturday, following a 240-yard performance against Florida with 222 rushing yards and two scores on 34 carries. The contest was Roberts' most consistent game from the first to fourth quarter, but still featured a stellar second half.
Roberts ran for 65 yards in the first half and 157 yards in the second half with a long of 54 yards. Outside of that explosive run that sealed the deal in the fourth quarter, Roberts hadn't ran for more than 19 yards. He was consistently popping off for chunks of double-digit yardage to consistently move the chains.
Taking the pressure off of Simmons and the Tigers' passing game was crucial in a contest Missouri used time to its advantage. Relying on first downs and second half dominance from Roberts was an undeniable blessing for the team Saturday.
Offensive line: A
Roberts success could not have been possible without the offensive line, who created many openings for him to navigate through. The offensive line spent 46 of its 75 snaps protecting the run and created even more chances in the second half, which is a daunting task for such a physically demanding position.
Missouri also protected Simmons well, like the line has done all season, leading to zero sacks and just five pressures on the quarterback. While creating opportunities for Simmons and Roberts, the offensive line didn't take many chances away from Missouri either by collecting just two penalties. With Cayden Green playing through an injury, Tristan Wilson and Luke Work shined in pass protection, earning the two highest PFF pass blocking grades.
Defensive line: A
After holding Jadan Baugh to 13 rushing yards last week, Missouri's defensive line held the Aggies to 23 rushes and 29 rushing yards. No double-digit yardage runs were allowed throughout the contest and Missouri contained Rueben Owens II to a season low in rushing attempts and yards.
With Darris Smith playing just five snaps while receovering from an injury, Sterling Webb stepped up as an edge rusher once again for Missouri, while Langden Kitchen was also instrumental in his first game back from injury, playing 34 snaps and earning a third-best PFF run defense grade on the team.
Missouri also had three sacks and 13 pressures in the contest, constantly nagging Marcel Reed in all four quarters. Sophomore Donta Simpson led the team with 1.5 sacks, continuing the trend of standout sophomores on the defensive line.
Linebackers: A+
Missouri's top defensive group on Saturday was the linebackers, led by Nicholas Rodriguez and Robert Woodyard Jr. The duo ranked top two in tackles, PFF defense grades and PFF run defense grades. Rodriguez also had the highest coverage grade on the team and Woodyard had the third highest coverage grade.
It's safe to say the duo was all over the field, with Rodriguez accumulating 13 tackles, a career high eight solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss and Woodyard tallying seven instrumental tackles. The pair was the most complete group for Missouri, contributing to stopping the ball through the air and on the ground.
Secondary: B+
Although the secondary went up against Marcel Reed, who has taken a major dip this season, they still did a great job of containing him and forcing turnovers. Missouri had two interceptions, including one that was tipped by Trajen Greco to Elijah Dotson, signifying the cohesive unit.
On 39 passing attempts, Reed completed 19 of them for 187 yards and didn't throw a touchdown pass. Santana Banner and Kensley-Louidor Faustin displayed strong tackling and Chris Graves Jr. led the cornerbacks. There were still times when receivers were left alone with space, but all-in-all, the performance was arguably the secondary's best of the season.
Special teams: C
Following the game, head coach Eli Drinkwitz provided a message about area's for improvement after the 21-point victory, two of the three mentioned were on special teams.
"I'm sure when we watch the tape I'm not going to like the kickoff coverage, not going to like the shape of punts, not going to like the inefficiency offensively, but I'll get over it because we won," Drinkwitz said.
Missouri struggled in returning and kicking punts, with punter Brunno Reus averaging 41.8 yards per punt and the coverage team allowing a 45-yard return. Blake Craig was a bright spot for the unit outside of a blocked field goal, making two field goals of 50 yards and 51 yards. There were good things to take away, primarily Craig's range, but the group will have multiple areas to clean up ahead of Ole Miss.
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