Mizzou Football 2013

Mizzou Links, 10-23-13: Jadeveon Clowney is still great, it's two days to Hearnes

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Oct 23, 2013, 5:22am CDT

So I didn't really want to write anything about Frank Haith -- just wanted to share links and be done with it. But I finally got a chance to read the Infractions Report last night, and there are certainly some things worth discussing in it. So expect a post about that later today.

For now, on to happier links!

1. Three days to South Carolina

The Missourian: South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney not in Tigers' heads yet

"Everybody has their plan for him, we'll try to have ours," coach Gary Pinkel said. "The problem with that team is they got a lot of good players. Their front guys are really, really good."

Every team that has played against Clowney in 2013 season has attempted to counteract what he does. Knowing that he can get into the backfield and sack the quarterback in a flash, teams have worked the quick passing game, getting the ball out of the quarterback's hands before Clowney has a chance to do any damage.

On running plays, teams generally shy away from the No. 7 garnet and black jersey in an effort to avoid the violent collisions and negative plays he's created throughout his career.

The added scheming and attention has taken a chunk out of Clowney's statistics. After 23 1/2 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in 2012, Clowney has 5 1/2 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in six games this season. Those numbers don't indicate a drop in performance, though.

"He's still an outstanding player," Morse said. "There's no doubt. The way he plays, he demands respect on the field."

Mizzou Network: Message to Mizzou Fans for South Carolina Game

2. Saturday was still awesome

The Trib (Behind the Stripes): SNAP DECISIONS: Pistols at midday and the Blitzkrieg Bop

* The Tigers also did something interesting with its blitzing on those third downs. They showed blitz pretty much every time, but only brought it three times. That netted two sacks and an exploded screen pass.

* It was a curious blitz design, too. Wilson and Brothers showed blitz but then, if the center moved to block Brothers, he retreated into zone pass coverage and White came on a delayed safety blitz, while Wilson was on a full-on blitz. They did it that way twice. The other time, Wilson feigned in, read a center block and retreated into coverage. [...]

* What could possibly make Sam's three-sack performance even more impressive? It came in a season-low 33 snaps. The other three-sack games came in 54 snaps (Arkansas State) and 50 snaps (Vanderbilt). [...]

* Missouri keeps testing Singleton out more and more at the nickel. The past three weeks, he's played 16.2 percent of possible snaps at nickelback, after playing only 5.5 percent of such snaps over the first four games.

EDSBS: BLATANT HOMERISM: MIZZOU

Mizzou became the first team to score over 20 points on Florida since 2011. You can't ask a defense to play all three phases of the game. Okay, you can, but this is what happens: eventually they short out beneath the weight of the burden, and have this game where fatigue and pressure combine to burst otherwise immaculate plumbing. […]

P.P.S. Go win the SEC Championship Game, Mizzou. No, seriously, go do it. Someone besides Alabama has to one of these days.

PowerMizzou: Tuesday's Top Tigers
We Are Mizzou: Offensive Play of the Week