Injury to Terry Beckner Jr. causes depth chart change for Missouri against Tennessee

First, some game links that didn't make it into the Watercooler:

The Trib (David Morrison): Game Rewind: Missouri 20, BYU 16

Third Downs: Were crucial. The Tigers converted 13 of 20 (65 percent) on the game, which was their best rate since 71.4 percent (10 of 14) against UCF last year. How were they so good on third down against BYU? One, they were good on first and second downs. Missouri faced an average distance of 4.8 yards on their third downs and only faced five that were 7 yards or longer. The Tigers were 2 for 5 on those third downs (not too shabby) and 11 for 20 on all others (still, not too shabby). Especially considering the Tigers converted only 14 percent of all third downs (8 of 57) over the previous four games. Missouri was just also good in general when it got to third down. Lock completed 9 of 11 passes for 107 yards and six first downs and the Tigers ran nine times for 62 yards and five more. The Tigers' two longest runs and their longest pass came on third down. Missouri has won 16 straight games in which it has converted more than half of its 3rd downs, dating back to the 2010 Insight Bowl loss to Iowa.

PowerMizzou: NOTEBOOK: Lock leads the way

Officially, he was ruled out for the rest of the game with a sprained knee. After the game, Pinkel addressed Beckner's injury.

"Last thing I heard, we think it's an MCL," Pinkel said. "We think it is."

As for whether it's a sprain or a more severe tear, Pinkel wouldn't speculate.

"It could be more, so they're going to take a picture of it, take a look at it and see," Pinkel said. "He's had such a great year. J-Mac, a lot of players have overcome that, and we all know the potential of him."

Post-Dispatch: Tigers grind out a win for Pinkel

Their four-game losing streak over, their turbulent week behind them but their future still uncertain, the Tigers will return home to face a different kind of week. How different?

"Well," Pinkel said, "a lot happier players and coaches walking around. Obviously, you gain great confidence. Some of our confidence is back. We’ve hung together as a team, even when these last four weeks have been going on. We’ve battled. This family, I tell our kids sometimes our family gets mad at each other. We reach down and pick each other up and brush each other off. And we say we’re sorry. That’s what families do. Our family’s no different. We did a great job of hanging together, hanging together as a team. I’m very proud of them."

And now, the new depth chart.

Offense

QB
Drew Lock (6'4, 205, Fr.)
Eddie Printz (6'3, 205, So.) *OR*
Marvin Zanders (6'1, 185, RSFr.)

No changes here. Duh.

RB
Russell Hansbrough (5'9, 195, Sr.)
Ish Witter (5'10, 190, So.)
Tyler Hunt (5'11, 210, Sr.)
Chase Abbington (6'2, 215, So.)

What a workload the RBs shouldered against BYU: 49 carries, three receptions. Thanks to Witter's 49-yard reception, the averages ended up decent -- 216 total yards in these 52 touches -- but being just successful enough to keep pressure off of Lock was key.

WR-X
J'Mon Moore (6'3, 190, So.)
Emanuel Hall (6'3, 200, Fr.)
Eric Laurent (6'2, 215, Jr.)

WR-H
Nate Brown (6'3, 205, So.)
Cam Hilton (6'0, 180, Fr.)
Ray Wingo (5'11, 180, RSFr.)

WR-Z
Wesley Leftwich (6'1, 205, Sr.)
Keyon Dilosa (6'3, 200, RSFr.)
DeSean Blair (6'3, 190, RSFr.)

TE
Sean Culkin (6'6, 245, Jr.)
Jason Reese (6'5, 250, So.)
Clayton Echard (6'5, 260, Sr.)
Kendall Blanton (6'6, 250, RSFr.)

No major changes here, though the *OR* designation was dropped at both TE and WR-X. Moore and Culkin are listed as full-time starters now. And given the game Moore had against BYU, that probably isn't a surprise.

LT
Connor McGovern (6'4, 305, Sr.)
Malik Cuellar (6'5, 300, Jr.)

LG
Nate Crawford (6'5, 310, So.)
Alec Abeln (6'3, 290, So.)
Brad McNulty (6'4, 305, Sr.)

C
Evan Boehm (6'3, 310, Sr.)
Sam Bailey (6'5, 280, RSFr.)

RG
Mitch Hall (6'5, 310, Sr.)
Kevin Pendleton (6'4, 315, RSFr.)

RT
Taylor Chappell (6'5, 305, Sr.)
Paul Adams (6'6, 290, RSFr.)

One minor change: Abeln is now ahead of McNulty at LG.

I'm not going to pretend that this line has turned some massive corner or anything, but it got a push when it needed to, and, combined with the higher number of screen passes, kept Drew Lock upright for the most part. By default, that probably makes it the best performance of the season.

Defense

DE
Walter Brady (6'3, 255, RSFr.)
Marcell Frazier (6'5, 265, So.)

DT
Josh Augusta (6'4, 345, Jr.)
Josh Moore (6'5, 280, Fr.)

Terry Beckner Jr. (6'4, 300, Fr.)
Rickey Hatley (6'4, 300, Jr.)
A.J. Logan (6'2, 310, So.)

DE
Charles Harris (6'3, 255, So.)
Nate Howard (6'4, 240, Fr.)
Spencer Williams (6'3, 245, RSFr.)

Only one change here, but it's a hefty one: Terry Beckner Jr. is listed as out with a knee injury suffered early against BYU. After the game, Gary Pinkel said it seemed like probably an MCL injury, and for now all we know is that he'll miss the Tennessee game. We'll see if it ends up being more than that.

WLB
Kentrell Brothers (6'1, 235, Sr.)
Joey Burkett (6'2, 210, So.)

MLB
Michael Scherer (6'3, 230, Jr.)
Brandon Lee (6'2, 220, RSFr.)

SLB
Donavin Newsom (6'2, 230, Jr.)
Clarence Green (6'0, 220, Sr.)
Terez Hall (6'2, 215, Fr.)

No changes here. These three combined for 12 solo tackles, 12 assists, 2.5 tackles for loss, two huge pass break-ups, a hurry, and two fumble recoveries. Not a bad day at the office.

CB
Kenya Dennis (5'11, 200, Sr.)
John Gibson (6'0, 190, Jr.)

CB
Aarion Penton (5'10, 190, Jr.)
Logan Cheadle (5'10, 180, So.)
Anthony Hines (6'1, 190, So.)

No changes here, though the eyes tell us that Cheadle's played quite a bit more in the last two games. And ... did we see Gibson after he got flipped end-over-end on the kickoff return? I eagerly await David Morrison's Snap Decisions post.

SS
Anthony Sherrils (6'0, 190, So.)
Thomas Wilson (5'10, 190, So.)

FS
Ian Simon (6'0, 195, Sr.)
Cortland Browning (6'1, 205, Sr.)
Tavon Ross (6'0, 200, RSFr.)

No changes here. I don't believe Ross dressed for the BYU game because of injury. We'll see if that changes.

Special Teams

K
Andrew Baggett (6'1, 215, Sr.)

P
Corey Fatony (5'11, 185, Fr.)

KR
John Gibson (6'0, 190, Jr.)
Finis Stribling IV (5'11, 175, RSFr.)
Ray Wingo (5'11, 180, RSFr.)

PR
Cam HIlton (6'1, 180, Fr.)
Aarion Penton (5'10, 190, Jr.)

No changes here, which is funny since Ian Simon has returned punts the last two games.