How ‘bout we finally beat Kentucky this weekend, eh?

To get us prepared for this weekend’s matchup, let’s check in on some football news!

To get us started, in Dave Matter’s weekly chat, he got a bunch of good football questions that I found interesting, many focused on Kentucky’s defense.

When asked what to expect of Kentucky’s D-Line, Matter said:

Kentucky is missing its nose tackle, Quinton Bohanna, one of its best defensive players... The concern Saturday is UK’s pass coverage. The Wildcats rarely blitz - but they confuse quarterbacks by sitting back in disguised coverages. That’s the challenge for Bazelak on Saturday.

Do you think Kentucky’s pass defense will make our passing difficult considering what they did to Tenn?

Yes. It’s probably the major reason I’m leaning toward picking Kentucky to win the game. Bazelak will see coverages he’s never seen at this level at full speed. That’s not to say he can’t execute the passing game against new coverages, but he’ll more than likely have some mistakes in this game that we didn’t see the last two weeks. Turnovers will be crucial. Mizzou can’t afford to be on the wrong end of the ratio this week just by nature of UK’s style on offense. Offensive possessions will be at a premium for Mizzou.

And finally, someone asked if Matter thought this would be low-scoring game. His response:

I look for a low scoring game regardless. I don’t think this will be a game either team gets many possessions. Kentucky doesn’t throw the ball very much and Mizzou hasn’t created takeaways. The first 10 minutes are huge. Mizzou can’t get behind early because UK will salt the game away with its offensive approach. And if Mizzou does get up early, UK probably isn’t equipped to play catch-up with its offense.

Anyway, I encourage you to check out his chat. There were some good questions in there ... aside from the constant ones asking if Cuonzo is going to have a job. (insert dramatic eye roll)

Moving on!

We’ve got a hype video, y’all! These are so well done.

On to the links!

Happy Homecoming Game, boys and girls. Man, I miss seeing this campus every day.... (stupid Covid)

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Sammy conducted a Q&A with A Sea of Blue’s James Streble.
• Aaron continued his Three and Out series, taking a look at the matchups he’ll be watching during Saturday’s game.

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More Links:

Football

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave held his weekly chat and also wrote about our opponent this weekend and how their old-school approach mirrors that of their coach, Bob Stoops
• As well as this piece about how college football’s best punter learned from Mizzou’s McKinnis.
• KC Star: Souichi wrote about how Mizzou plans to thwart a Kentucky offense that will run, run, run.
• The Maneater: Kyle Pinnell wrote about how the Kentucky matchup is a true “measuring stick” for Missouri. Jack Soble scouted Kentucky, looking closer at their offensive line and secondary.
• Columbia Tribune: In Eric Blum’s newest Blum’s Banter, he wrote about how Mizzou is hoping to buck the trend in Kentucky games.
• PowerMizzou (free): Gabe & Mitchell were back with new hot football taeks in their Blowing Smoke Presented by Weston Tobacco series. Mitchell Forde wrote about how the reserve receivers earned more time after coming through vs. LSU.
• Rivals.com/PowerMizzou ($$): Sean Williams posted a video of QB commit Tyler Macon’s high school highlights.
• I’m not entirely sure what QB pressure means, but this is good. (I’m asking Nate for clarification)

• Focused.

Other Mizzou Sports News

• The Maneater: Mizzou volleyball defeated Alabama in their first match in 319 days. WOW.
• Great debut for freshman volleyballer, Anna Dixon.

• Another win for Mizzou Volleyball— this time a SWEEP!

• I love these “Team Lingo” posts put out by Mizzou Hoops twitter (aka RJ Layton). This is hilarious and awesome. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

• Grind time for Robin Pingeton’s squad

Mizzou in the Pros News

• Nick Kosmider of The Athletic detailed the bigger picture behind the Drew Lock’s second showdown with Kansas City.
• Jake Rill of Saturday Down South wrote about the newest Mizzou guy to join the Broncos (practice squad)— Damarea Crockett!

• Adam Spencer of Saturday Down South covered Drew Lock’s excitement involving the game against his hometown Chiefs this weekend.

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