Preview: Missouri Prepares for Florida Challenge

The Missouri Tigers travel to Gainesville rested but bruised to take on the Florida Gators this Saturday.  Mizzou (2-3, 0-2 SEC) comes off a bye week but scars from their loss at LSU are no doubt still present.

Growing Pains

Missouri is still feeling the growing pains of a new head coach.  After Gary Pinkel retired after 15 seasons as the Tigers head coach, former defensive coordinator Barry Odom stepped up to fill the position.  PowerMizzou.com contributor Gabe DeArmond says the Missouri offense is better this season but the degree of improvement is still in question.  So far, the Tigers offense simply hasn’t been able to produce consistently.  Quarterback Drew Lock has thrown for 1,675 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions so far this season.  Head Coach Odom says he sees Lock progressing each week.  Mizzou has options for Lock in four core receivers with J’Mon Moore leading the pack with 450 yards this season.  However, the running game struggles week to week and only produced 77 yards on the ground in the 42-7 loss at LSU.  The offense is also quick, something the Gator’s defense doesn’t always handle well.  The Tigers run a play every 17.2 seconds, the fastest in the FBS.

https://twitter.com/MizzouFootball/status/785996525679681536

Defensively, Missouri struggles.  The Tigers defense gave up 634 yards against an LSU team that was missing star running back Leonard Fournette.  They also only have 9 sacks on the season.  The Tigers will need to stop returning quarterback Luke Del Rio and Florida’s competitive running game.

Watch Missouri at Florida on the SEC Network at 4.