Post title with a little help from Johnny Drama
It's a beautiful morning in CoMo, isn't it? Doesn't everything seem like a lovely shade of old gold?
When all was said and done Saturday night/Sunday morning, the headline at MUTigers.com gave us this golden proclamation:
"Missouri dominates Nebraska, 41-6."
Photo courtesy Associated Press
While the headlines for this post and for the game capture everything I'm about to say, I figured we'll go ahead and break it down into "Good, Bad, and Indifferent" after the jump. Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section, or contribute your own breakdown in the diaries on the right.
Click "Full Story" for Good, Bad, and Indifferent
GOOD:
-- Home Field Advantage: I have been disappointed, almost depressed, by the Missouri crowd this season. That all changed tonight. The more than 11th but less than 13th Man completely blew me away and forced several Nebraska false starts. The 70,000 strong in gold were impressive and the players, notably the defense, fed off that energy. This was the drunkest loudest I've ever seen/heard Tiger Nation, including, shockingly, the alumni side of the stadium.
-- Chase Daniel: Yeah, he's pretty good. Maybe the rest of America will notice now. Daniel went 33 of 47 for 401 yards, 2 TD and no INT. Mizzou's fearless leader was exponentially better than the version that looked semi-confused in Lincoln last year, and his control over the game carried over to Mizzou's defense and special teams. And did I forget to mention his 11 carries for 72 yards and another 2 touchdowns? Yeah, he's decent.
-- Ball security: No turnovers. 3-minute edge in time of possession, including 10-plus minutes of possession the fourth quarter. 195 yards on the ground. 32 first downs. This was Missouri dominance at it's finest.
-- Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman: The nation's best tight end duo finished with 15 receptions, 184 yards, and 2 touchdowns - not including the one the folks in black and white took away. Message to America: fear the MotherRucker.
-- Blackshirt defense: Literally, the defense in the black shirts. Mizzou's defense was inspired, swarming, and hard-hitting. Sure enough, Nebraska was able to exploit holes in the Mizzou D-line on the ground and able to pick up some yards in holes in the soft zone through the air, but Mizzou did exactly what they were supposed to do: bend but not break. And like it's been said about this defense compared to Nebraska's, the Mizzou defense continues to come up with stops when they need it.
-- Killer instinct: Consider it classless (and I do), but the fake field goal showed the killer instinct Mizzou fans have been clamoring for all year.
-- Adam Crossett: He wasn't called upon much, but he was outstanding the few times the Tigers needed No. 90.
-- The list: Chase Daniel's huevos, Will Franklin's field awareness, Chase Coffman's hands, William Moore's pursuit, Sean Weatherspoon's tackling, Pig Brown's nose for the ball
-- The salute: Seeing the players salute the crowd and celebrate with Tiger's Lair was a beautiful sight. The crowd immediately starting chanting "Beat OU," and the players looked crazy enough to do it.
BAD:
-- Blitz effectiveness: Other than Van Alexander drilling Keller early in the game on a LB Blitz, the Missouri blitz was extremely ineffective. Luckily, the Huskers were unable to turn the outstanding blitz pickup into points.
-- The wave: Seriously, Missouri fans? The wave? I mean, really?
INDIFFERENT:
-- Kickoff coverage: The unit seemed to have some trouble early, but the adjustment to directional kicking seemed to pay dividends. Andrew Gachkar made impressive plays on several returns.
-- ESPN: I nearly cried when I returned home to my TiVo to find the Clemson-Virginia Tech game for 30-35 minutes. However, I can't put national TV in prime time in the "Bad" category, especially when the great Ron Franklin called the game.
RMN MVP: Chase Daniel
RMN UNSUNG HERO: Leaving it in the hands of the people. Vote below.