via images.pictopia.com.edgesuite.net (Joel Kowsky, MUTigers.com)
Overflow thread for immediate reaction. Analysis to come in the form of the postgame podcast some time in the next 24 hours.
**SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE, by rptgwb: Good, Bad, and Indifferent now added after the jump. And I promise it doesn't just say "Good: Mizzou, Bad: SEMO."
GOOD
- Football's back in CoMo: The clouds loomed, rain threatened a bit, and the opponent wasn't exactly a top draw, but it was football time in Columbia, damn it.
- The tribute to AO: Arguably the coolest thing we saw all night was the debut of the tribute to fallen linebacker Aaron O'Neal, who would be in the midst of his senior year if not for his tragic death. The idea to have a senior wear an unnamed No. 25 jersey in his honor at home games this year is a fantastic idea. Brock Christopher shed his name and his No. 34 on his jersey to honor AO last night, and he represented No. 25 well.
- Chase Daniel: He lacked some velocity and he forced a lot of throws that would have been picked by better competition, but 16-of-17 for 240+ in less than two quarters of play gets you in the "Good."
- The RB trio: We all know how much I love Derrick Washington and how effective of a battering ram Jimmy Jackson is. But Gabe DeArmond and Dave Matter told us all offseason about De'Vion Moore and, boy, were they right. Shifty, shifty, shifty.
- Health: Outside of Tru Vaughns and Brock Christopher getting a little banged up, most everyone came out healthy. Jeremy "Cheat Code" Maclin kept all his ankle ligaments intact.
- The backup linebackers: OK, we REALLY need a nickname for the duo of Will Ebner and Andrew Gachkar involving the word "pursuit." Ebner and Gachkar were FLYING to the ball, and SEMO didn't run a play in the second half that these two didn't seem to have a hand in.
- Other freshmen: Jerrell Jackson and Jacquies Smith announced their presence with very solid performances, and Kenji Jackson saw a large amount of playing time.
BAD
- Trick plays... Really? As much as I loved seeing the double pass form Maclin to Daniel to Washington, did we really need it to knock off SEMO?
- Four years of eligibility: So, those snaps against SEMO are going to have Blaine Gabbert ready for Illinois next year? That's what I'm being told?
INDIFFERENT
- Tinkering: Eberflus continued to fiddle with the blitz and the coverage schemes, as we saw more of the bend-and-don't-break D from early in 2007 last night. As The Beef noted in the podcast, that happy medium is still out there waiting to be found.
- The backup QBs: It was hard to judge Patton and Gabbert because no one seemed to want to run up the score. Patton seemed to move the ball fine, but I was a little concerned with Gabbert. His scramble was impressive, but his accuracy was a little off, missing a lot of targets, especially high where he was hanging his receivers out to dry.