Mizzou Links, 10-3-12

Mizzou Football Links

• This Week
  Mizzou Network: Tigers Prepare for Vanderbilt
  The Trib: Help is on the way for Missouri's line

  Saturday's game was a relapse for Morse, who sailed seven bad shotgun snaps, by Pinkel's count.

  "To set our team back like that, it's really starting to make me angry," Morse said. "It'll be something that changes. And it will get fixed. I promise it'll get fixed."

  Morse and MU's coaches have diagnosed the problem: He's releasing the ball too high on his delivery to the quarterback. Fixing the problem has been more difficult. Morse struggled with high snaps against Georgia but seemed cured in recent weeks.

  "I honestly thought last week that we were over it," Henson said. "He snapped great in practice all week. I think he had two poor snaps all three days in practice last week. We got in the game Saturday, and he started doing it again. … We're going to work at it a whole lot this week."

  One person who won't complain to Morse is the snap's recipient. James Franklin said high snaps don't bother him — as long as they're catchable and don't disrupt the play.

  "Sometimes I tell him if there's a play called that I don't like and he has a bad snap, I'm kind of happy because I don't like the play," Franklin said, "just to kind of lighten the mood a little."

  The Trib: Vandy coach: Had 'honest' talk about tough start
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Notes and quotes from Vandy's media day
  KC Star: Well-rested Vanderbilt wants to get a league win against Missouri

  "They’re trying to get back in the win column like we were last week," said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. "Their coach does a real good job — he was at K-State for a while — and we competed against him a little bit. He’s got a good scheme, good system."

  Franklin was the offensive coordinator at Kansas State for two seasons under former coach Ron Prince. Missouri toppled Franklin both times — 41-21 in 2006 and 49-32 in 2007.

  However, outside of a 58-0 pasting of Presbyterian two weeks ago, Vanderbilt’s offense has struggled this season. The Commodores scored 29 total points in three losses to South Carolina, Northwestern and Georgia, and there’s an ongoing battle for the starting quarterback job between senior Jordan Rodgers and junior Austyn Carta-Samuels.

  "I thought Jordan (Rodgers) practiced well last week. And if we had played Saturday, he would’ve started," Franklin said. "But this week stands alone."

  Whoever starts at quarterback will direct an offense that is currently 11th in the SEC with an average of 384 yards per game.

  Neutralizing Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, who has been productive and disruptive in Missouri’s first five games, will be a priority.

  "He was a very good get for Missouri," Franklin said. "He’s proved his worth. He makes their defense go."

  PowerMizzou: Tuesday's Top Tigers
  PowerMizzou: Tuesday Tiger Notebook

  "I feel pretty good," Fisher said. "I kind of moved around a little bit last week. Didn't tell you guys that, of course. Keep it secret. I'll practice this week and just kind of ease my way back into it. I feel great. I'm expecting to play. I don't know how long, I don't know how much, but I'm expecting to play. Should be fun."

  With Fisher's return, Justin Britt will slide back to right tackle. Jack Meiners, who had played right tackle in the last two games, is listed as questionable this week. Meiners started the season as Mizzou's starting right guard, but Max Copeland is slated to get his sixth straight start at that position.

  "We still will move people around a little bit," Pinkel said. "The disappointing thing is Jack. He limped through half the game last week, you could tell if you watched the TV closely. Saw him limping around, he never complained, never any excuses. But really battling through that. Get one, then you've got another one dinged up."

  Post-Dispatch: A SEC-ond look at Mizzou media day

  Marcus Murphy wasn't the only one whose play stood out on special teams Saturday. Days after MU coach Gary Pinkel announced that punter Trey Barrow's job was being opened back up for competition with Christian Brinser, Barrow re-established himself with eight punts that averaged 42.9 yards, a major reason "the field-position flip (from the week before) was amazing," Pinkel said.

  Barrow, he added, might have benefited from having his job challenged.

  "If a guy's a good competitor like he is, it kind of refocuses him a little bit," Pinkel said, adding, "Now it's all about consistency."

  KBIA Sports: Pinkel, Missouri looking for more consistency on offense
• Last Week
  We Are Mizzou: Offensive Play of the Week We Are Mizzou: Defensive Play of the Week
• Sheldon
  Post-Dispatch: Sheldon Richardson happy to chat it up again
• The Postseason
  Friends of the Program: Avoiding Shreveport
• 2013 Recruiting
  PowerMizzou: Checking in: Joe Burkett

I'll be in Columbia for our bye week to see the Alabama game and speak! Check it out! instagr.am/p/QTFKzPAWsE/

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 2, 2012

Other Football Links

• Football Porn
  Grantland (Chris Brown): Draw It Up: The Latest Wrinkles in West Virginia's Explosive Offense

Mizzou Basketball Links

• The Previews Have Begun
  The Trib (Steve Walentik): Sporting News has high hopes for Tigers
  The Missourian: Sporting News puts Missouri at No. 10 in preseason rankings
  ESPN.com (Andy Katz): Plenty of new faces, but hopes are high for Missouri Tigers

  Outside Kentucky, no national contender from 2011-12 had as much of an offseason makeover as Mizzou. The Tigers are now relying on five transfers, four of whom come directly from four-year colleges and one via junior college after a stint at a four-year school.

  All five are expected to play major roles, complementing star returnees Michael Dixon Jr. and Phil Pressey in the backcourt and the return of forward Laurence Bowers, who missed all of Frank Haith's first season at Missouri with a torn ACL suffered in the preseason.

  Haith had to be creative with a senior-laden roster a season ago. He wanted to be competitive from the moment the Tigers stepped foot in the new league. And they will be.

  An August trip to France was the jumping-off point for a program that should hit the ground running in the SEC, even after one of the toughest nonconference slates for any team in the conference (Stanford, Illinois, at UCLA, sneaky-good Bucknell and a loaded field in the Bahamas that could have all eight of its participants end up in the NCAAs).

  "We had a productive summer," said Haith. "Everything is going well. These guys worked so hard and have been pounding it and putting in the work together."

• Kim English Cameo
  The Dagger: ESPN's 30-for-30 'Broke' makes an impression on today's college hoops stars

Mizzou Diamond Sports Links

• Softball Schedules Are Around The Corner
  Al.com: Defending national champion Alabama softball reveals 2013 schedule
• Baseball Recruiting
  SimmonsField.com: Recruiting Pipeline: Missouri Preps
• National College Baseball
  SimmonsField.com: College Baseball: Another One Bites the Dust?

Other Mizzou Links

• Mizzou Cross Country
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Break into National Rankings for First Time Since 2000
  MUtigers.com: Tyler Schneider Recognized as SEC Cross Country Freshman of the Week
• Mizzou Women's Golf
  MUtigers.com: Golf Takes Second at Johnie Imes
  Mizzou Network: HIGHLIGHTS: Tigers take 2nd at Imes

Other

• Yay Or Nay?
  Smitten Kitchen: Spaghetti with Broccoli Cream Pesto

I'm thinking yay...