Join Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter for his live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Dave Matter in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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I wouldn't be surprised to see some running backs enter the portal after the bowl game and would not be surprised to see the staff shop for a transfer at the position. The writing has been on the wall for a while with some of those guys. Butts is primarily a blocker. Cox can't get on the field. Harris and Young can't stay on the field. -
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UCF plays at a very slow pace offensively. They'll want to grind this game out. They do turn the ball over at a high percentage, so this could be a chance for Mizzou to revive its transition game for easy buckets. UCF has some size advantages. We'll see if that impacts rebounding or rim protection.
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I agree that there are far too many bowl games but I think they still have value, it's just that the value has changed. This is a great chance for coaches to see players, "under fire," in real game situations that can then be used as a great teaching tool all spring - something a team likely wouldn't have if the bowl had the meaning it would, 10 or 12 years ago. For example, a full half or so of Sam Horn playing in Tampa could be massive (as we like to say in the soccer world). Thumbs up or down on that?
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I like watching more football games, but the excess of bowls have taken away the incentives for the players and that's why we see marginal NFL draft prospects decide they're too risky to play. I'd agree that this would be a good game for Drinkwitz to play some untested players to see how they handle the game-day action. But I also think he needs to win this game - not to save his job but to create a smidge of offseason momentum. You lose this game and you've gone three seasons without a winning record. That damages your recruiting sales pitch - for both prospective players and ticket-buyers.
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Hello Dave. I would imagine you have some insight on coaching contracts. My question is in response to the tragic Mike Leach passing. How are contracts typically structured if a coach dies before the end of the contract? Is it full payment or partial? I would imagine all contracts can differ in these matters, but what is the standard way of handling these matters? Perhaps the schools carry insurance to help cover it!
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How long do the football players have before they are no longer allowed to transfer for next football season? I saw Mizzou basketball for the first time this year against Kansas, a much better team from a much better program, so comparisons are not quite fair. That said, Mizzou looked like a good pick-up team, not like a well coached or well practiced team. I stress TEAM because they did not look like one. I will say that the coaching staff did look very dapper though.
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Who called him "the second coming"? Reporters who actually talk to the coaches and get to see some practices or fans who just make stuff up? He's a four-star highly touted guy whom the staff recruited to become the franchise quarterback. They never said out loud - or even quietly - that they expected that to take place in 2022. He's a true freshman who didn't get to campus until June. I'd say it's still very early in his development and college career.
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I would expect them to be more competitive, starting Saturday against UCF. That does't mean I expect Mizzou to win any of those games, but UCF, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas have all been beaten this year. Illinois is tough to figure out. Enough talent there to beat UCLA and Texas - but enough youth to lose at home to Penn State.
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Shout out to DRF, I thought the game day experience at the football games were much improved over recent seasons. Not as much, "please direct your attention to the north end zone," stuff.
It seemed a more engaging atmosphere that allowed even fans on periphery to enjoy themselves.
It can still be better, much better, but that largely falls on Drink, can"t be a .500 coach and expect fans to attend games for other reasons than a winning product. -
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The Hamdan move concerns me. Either he was offered the MU FB OC job and didn’t want it, or he wasn’t offered it long after he should have been. Either way, a bad look. Unless HCED has targeted somebody else (Corey . . . ?). If that’s the case, that announcement needs to be forthcoming soon, for recruiting purposes if nothing else.
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Make sure to check out today's story on Mizzou assistant Dickey Nutt. He's got an interesting background, great guy to interview.
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As hard as it is to admit, KU is really good at basketball. There was hope for the game on Saturday because of the rivalry and good start to the year. You said Mizzou is not overly athletic and can get exposed on the defensive end because of it. Are there any teams that would present bad matchups in the SEC outside of "they are more talented then Mizzou"? Any types of teams that would be hard for Mizzou to match up with offensively or defensively?
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I think there's some truth to the Pinkel part. Norm's era was a different time and too much has changed in college hoops to really compare his years and the current era. But Pinkel won 10 games or more five times over an eight-year span. If you think that will ever happen at Mizzou anytime soon ... then you're a very optimistic person or should be drug tested. (I joke. Kind of.)
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Do you think the minor bowls care about fan attendance as long as long as they get their TV money? Going to Tampa might be nice, but some of these other lobations - yeesh. (yes, I went to Shreveport. Once) Especially before Xmas, and if a big chunk of a team’s two-deep is in the portal or leaving for the draft.
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Dave - Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee have all made strides in increasing their win totals - their programs seem to be taking shape. Kentucky of course has had the most success, but Tennessee and South Carolina are making noticeable strides in their football programs too. Why do you think those programs have taken shape more then Mizzou? Do you see any a difference? Thank You
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They hired really good coaches. Beamer has been better than I expected. He went out and landed a transfer QB who got better after a rough start. They've developed some playmakers there on both sides of the ball.Heupel is a great offensive coach. His system works everywhere. He took it to another level this year because UT had elite talent to match with his scheme.
Kentucky has been a long build - and I wouldn't be surprised if that program has hit a ceiling under Mark Stoops. Good enough to win 10 games and play in good bowls every few years but not good enough to unseat Georgia on top of the division. -
Dave - Do you see enough upside in Brady Cook from his performance this season that we would see improvements in him next season as a starter? As you know, "the sky was falling" all during last year's off season because ED was recruiting quarterbacks heavily without success and we were going into the season with the unproven Cook. Thank You
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He played pretty well the last few games of the season. No interceptions in his last five games. He finished the regular season 10th in passer rating among SEC QBs, eighth in completion percentage, 11th in touchdown passes, 11th in yards per game and fifth in QB rushing yards. In his last three games, he threw seven TDs and averaged more than 100 rushing yards.
Was there enough promise at the end of the year to convince Drinkwitz that Cook will develop into a top-six or seven QB in the SEC next year? I'm not sure about that. There was a lot to like. His toughness, his scrambling, his passing development. Drinkwitz has alluded to Cook playing with a shoulder injury most of the year, so maybe with a full offseason he'll continue to develop his arm even better. I'd still keep a close eye on the portal. -
Dave - All three seasons ED has come in with just enough wins to get us in a bowl. But I think that 6-6 mentality is not going to do him well going forward, especially with his hefty pay raise and other teams in the east improving. I'm sure he's well aware of expectations. What needs to be done to get us over that 6 win hump next year. Thank You.
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Great environment at the kU game on Saturday…got there when gates open and students had the place rockin an hour and a half before the game started. Also, you have to like that despite the score the fans stayed into the game until about the last 5 minutes. Hopefully this team learned from it and comes more prepared and ready for that ‘big game’ environment in some of these upcoming games… Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, etc.
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How is mookie cooper doing these days? Is he happy with his role or is he going to potentially transfer (would have have to get a waiver to play immediately)? Do you see his role and impact increasing next year if he stays? He hasn’t seemed to have the impact that was initially thought he would.
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They practice special teams a lot, like every team does. They were pretty strong in kickoff coverage this year but didn't get much out of the kickoff return unit.As for more staff turnover, that's par for the course. I can't say I expect more because this stuff changes by the hour, but more should not be surprising.
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