Football season is not only a great time for sports fans, it’s also great for sports journalism junkies. The #content wars start afresh every September, and everyone’s busting out their big guns to get those sweet, sweet clicks.

One of my favorite types of post that pops up around this time of year is the weekly report card. The concept is simple: you grade each phase of a team’s play with a small bit of analysis. It’s easy to write, easy to understand and easy to argue about — after all, Drew Lock shouldn’t really be getting an A when he only completed 19 of 25 passes, right?

Regardless, everyone seems to be pretty high on the Tigers’ performance against UT-Martin. Mitchell Forde at Power Mizzou gave the Tigers an overall grade of ‘A’ and was particularly impressed with the coaching.

After Missouri lost to West Virginia two seasons ago and surrendered 43 points to Missouri State last season, Odom’s team finally looked solid in a season-opener. Plus, Odom described the game as “clean” — Missouri had no turnovers and just four penalties. Those are two hallmarks of a well-coached team.

Alex Schiffer at the Kansas City Star also handed out a lot of high grades, though he was slightly critical of the running game.

It was cool to see Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III splitting snaps but they combined for 100 yards rushing. The offensive line, which was great in pass protection, didn’t seem to open up a lot of holes.

The Post Dispatch didn’t run any grading posts, but Dave Matter seemed impressed with how “clean” of a game Missouri played. Meanwhile, Ben Hochman talked to a few players who spoke glowingly of offensive coordinator Derek Dooley after his first game. And Alec Lewis — now covering Mizzou for The Athletic — raved about the Tiger receivers.

Basketball Recruiting Update

Yes, football dominated the headlines this weekend, but a very important piece of basketball information dropped on Sunday: EJ Liddell finished his official visit at Ohio State and is still on the market.

It was never highly likely Liddell would commit right from the jump, but Ohio State is certainly Missouri’s biggest threat to acquiring the blue-chipper’s services at this point. You’d have to imagine the Tiger coaching staff let out at least a minor sigh of relief when this news came down the pipe.

Next up for Liddell: Columbia, Missouri. He’ll be in town next weekend for his official visit. Ohio State has been the rumored leader for a little while, but Cuonzo Martin and staff are about to get their shot to impress the star power forward. Sam and Matt will be watching closely over the next week and bringing you the latest here and at Rock M Radio.

Yesterday at Rock M

• Alex Ofodile Suits Up for Hometown Tigers
• FIELD PASS: Missouri cruises to big win over UT-Martin
• Drew Lock Heisman Watch: Tracking the Missouri QB’s 2018 Season (UT-Martin)

More Links:

• The Athletic tallied up some of the most interesting stats from Week One around college football.
• In case you hadn’t heard, Nick Saban was kind of a jackass to a reporter who asked about the QB controversy. Apparently, he’s apologized to her.
• LSU opened its season on a very high note, beating up on Miami 33-17. However, I can’t stop thinking about their running back situation.

• Things are super fine in Lawrence right now. Don’t know why you’d bother asking.