Gary Pinkel thinks Drew Lock and the Missouri offense will be awesome soon

What's On

It's game day! Winning today (or getting to a bowl at 5-7) would mean much, much, much needed extra practice for the Mizzou offense.

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Teams are having a lot more success through the air against Arkansas than on the ground this season. What's gone into that?

Several factors, including no star pass rushers up front like Trey Flowers and Darius Philon and losing a good coverage backer in Martrell Spaight. The linebackers Brooks Ellis and Dre Greenlaw have had to play a phenomenally high percentage of snaps, as have corners Jared Collins and D.J. Dean, nickel back Henre' Toliver and safety Rohan Gaines. The Razorbacks have been carved up by the quick-pass attacks employed by Toledo, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

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"It was thrown on [Lock]," Pinkel said. "He’s handled it really well. If you throw a really young quarterback out there and you’ve got a really experienced offensive line playing at a high level and you’ve got receivers and tight ends and your top running back isn’t hurt for the first eight weeks, if you have all those other components in there, it’s a lot easier to play quarterback.

"But when you have problems in some of those areas, that’s going to make quarterbacking so much more difficult. We always try to separate what he can control and what he can’t control. That’s how we coach him. That’s how he learns. His mindset’s good. He’s a great competitor. I think he’ll be an exceptional player."

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PowerMizzou.com: What are the biggest factors for Brandon Allen's incredible season? How much has the offense changed with him being the most explosive quarterback in the SEC?

Trey Biddy: There are several factors, but a big part of it has been Allen and Dan Enos getting to know one another better (Allen's fourth OC) and for Allen to become more comfortable with his receivers. Arkansas lost it's three starting receivers early in the year and then two others who had drawn starts after the injuries were dismissed. He's gotten some players back but overall there's more of a comfort level. Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed also emerged this season and Jared Cornelius has been impressive since his return. Allen has always been able to make the throws but has struggled in the red zone. That all changed starting with the four overtime win over Auburn.

No conference title for the Kreklows :(

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Northeastern today, Saint Mary's tomorrow

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