What's On
Sophie Cunningham is so good, she can kick the ball into her own face on defense.
Blessing your timeline with my athleticism ... Yes my nose is sore today pic.twitter.com/KsZ6vAGEWs
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) December 8, 2015
No, but seriously, just name it the Sophie Award already
MUtigers.com: Cunningham Earns Third SEC Freshman of the Week Honor
Let's dance!
Post-Dispatch: Missouri still considering offensive coordinator options
Multiple outlets in Utah reported that Utah State offensive coordinator Josh Heupel was joining Barry Odom’s staff at Missouri, but a reliable source refuted those reports, saying Mizzou is still talking to several candidates for the position. [...]
Heupel has not returned messages from the Post-Dispatch. Missouri spokesman Chad Moller could not confirm the hire and didn’t anticipate MU having any staff announcements on Tuesday.
This is a weird week. Because evidently nothing can be done about assistant coach hires until Odom's contract is approved by the curators, everything's remaining silent on the Mizzou end. Meanwhile, Odom and the assistants he does have are out recruiting (we'll have a post about that later today). So this is a week of silence before, in theory, lots of assistant and recruit news coming in the week that follows. Regardless, Utah sources say Heupel's coming to Columbia, Mizzou sources are saying "not just yet," and we continue to wait another couple of days for actual, verifiable news.
Award season is upon us
All-SEC
MUtigers.com: @MizzouFootball’s Brothers Named First-Team All-SEC, Harris Tabbed Second-Team
PowerMizzou: Brothers, Harris earn SEC honors
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's Brothers named All-SEC
All-American
The Trib (David Morrison): Kentrell Brothers makes USA Today All-America 2nd Team
Sigh.
Jaylon Smith (ND) wins Butkus Award: 113 tkl, 9 TFL, 1 sack, 5 PBU. Kentrell Brothers not a finalist: 152 tkl, 12 TFL, 2.5 sack, 3 blk kicks
— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) December 8, 2015
So apparently when an award committee completely screws over a Mizzou player, it's a Notre Dame player that benefits. Golden Tate won the Biletnikoff when Danario Alexander somehow wasn't named a finalist, and Jaylon Smith wins when Kentrell Brothers is even more inexplicably not named a semifinalist (and a couple of LSU linebackers who didn't even make all-conference do).
This one's going to stick in my craw for a while. I'm the first one to say that awards like this are dumb, but Kentrell deserved recognition for the incredible job he did this year. Grr. Moving on before I rant about this (again) further.
More football:
NERRRRRRDS
MUtigers.com: @MizzouFootball Recognized by AFCA for Academic Achievement
Defense: good
The Trib (David Morrison): 2015 In Review: MU Defense vs. the Norm
Opponents ran 0.3 more plays per game against Missouri than its other opponents. A negligible difference, sure, especially when you consider they held the ball for 8 percent longer than they did against other FBS opponents (but also ran about 7 percent fewer plays per minute).
Missouri's opponents averaged 21 percent fewer yards per game and yards per play than they did against their other FBS opponents. The only one to buck the trend was Kentucky, which went for 0.6 percent fewer yards but 2.95 percent more yards per play.
7:00 tonight:
MUtigers.com: Wednesday Night Matchup with Omaha Up Next for @MizzouHoops
The Trib: Gant hopes to build on first solid effort
Post-Dispatch: Foul play forces Mizzou to adjust