COLUMN: 3 takeaways from Mizzou’s season-opening win over Murray St.

Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III, left, dances into the end zone past Murray State linebacker James Camden during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.

AP Photo/L.G. Patterson

There is a lot of new on the defensive side of the ball for No. 11 Missouri this season.

A new defensive coordinator. An almost entirely new defensive front. Three new starting defensive backs.

To many coaches at the FBS level, plugging that many holes in a single offseason is a constant uphill climb. To fifth-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz, his new group is full of unwavering potential.

“It was the first time we held a team to under a hundred yards since 2019,” Drinkwitz said. “Corey Batoon, I can’t say how good of a job he did tonight. Man, that is going to be one heck of a defense in the future.”

While the Tigers’ 51-0 beatdown on FCS foe Murray State on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Memorial Stadium may not have shed light on many vulnerabilities, it did show signs that Mizzou’s defense is poised to not take a step back despite the many new faces.

Cornerback Toriano Pride Jr.’s 25-yard interception for a touchdown on the Racers’ first pass play of the night set the tone as the Tiger defense allowed just 85 total yards of offense in the game.

“He (Pride Jr.) has been doing a really good job in camp,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s really been competitive and challenging routes, and for him to be up there and make that play; I know it was really special for him.”

Players like Pride Jr. will be called upon to fill key roles following the departures of eight defenders, especially in a new system under defensive coordinator Batoon, who held the same role at South Alabama from 2021-23.

“Coach Batoon is great and he’s a smart DC,” said transfer linebacker Corey Flagg Jr., who finished with a team-high five tackles and one tackle for loss. “He’s a mellow dude and quiet, but he’ll get after it too at the same time.”

The 48-0 victory was Mizzou’s 19th straight win in a home opener. It was also the program’s first shutout over an opponent in a season opener since 1998 when the Tigers blanked Bowling Green 37-0.

Here are three other takeaways following Thursday’s matchup.

Tigers sticking with RB committee

Coming into this season, one of the few question marks surrounding Missouri’s talent-rich offense was who would replace All-American running back Cody Schrader and set the tone in the ground game. Fielding a pair of talented Group of Five transfers in Nate Noel (App State) and Marcus Carroll (Georgia State), the Tigers did what most fans expected and rolled with a running back committee on Thursday.

Both Noel and Carroll handled 45 percent of Mizzou’s carries in the ball game and made a big impact to kick off their Tiger careers. Noel finished the night with a team-high 48 rushing yards, highlighted by a nine-yard touchdown run early in the first. Carroll bowed out of the night with 35 yards and a score of his own.

“We can just be another asset for the quarterback,” Noel said. “I feel like we feed off each other’s energy.

“We just played our brand of football tonight: toughness, fast, physical.”

It is clear that Drinkwitz and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore will turn to a two-man tandem in the ensuing weeks.

Other stars showing out

Death, taxes, and Luther Burden III adding to his highlight reel. The Heisman Trophy candidate wide receiver continued to excel, catching three passes for 39 yards and a juke-and-score type touchdown on the sixth play of the game.

Veteran quarterback Brady Cook looked as good as new, throwing for 218 yards and two touchdowns. While he did have a few errant throws on the night, including a overthrown deep ball to speedy sophomore Marquis Johnson late in the first quarter, the signal caller shook off the cobwebs and found his grove throughout the contest. He has now thrown a touchdown in 18 straight starts.

Reaching sky-high expectations

The first-ever 12-team playoff opens the door even more to a Tigers program who would have qualified as a playoff team last season. Based on the preseason buzz, making a big push for an SEC championship and being a playoff team is the aim, and the ripple effect it could have on recruiting, the transfer portal, NIL, and future revenue (ticket sales, facilities, etc.) would be groundbreaking.

Reaching expectations has been a barrier for Mizzou teams for quite some time, though. In the Gary Pinkel era, the Tigers were ranked sixth in the preseason poll in 2008 following a breakout 12-2 run the year before. Mizzou began the year 5-0 and climbed to as high as No. 3 in the polls. That’s until they toppled to 10-4 and finished the season ranked No. 19. While that’s not the type of season to shake your head over, especially when considering Mizzou’s overall history, that 2008 team did not reach its ceiling.

The point is that Drinkwitz’s team could do things that past teams couldn’t. The 11-win campaign last year took the college football world by surprise, so now it’s time to back that up and prove that 2023 is the new norm, and not the exception.

This is a program that may not be truly tested until October 5th at Texas A&M, but showing steady progress and having new stars emerge is paramount in the weeks leading up.

“We are going to have our own identity,” Drinkwitz said. “Really proud of those guys for setting the standard, but like I told them in the locker room, this is just the start. The goal was to be 1-0 and we’ve got to come back ready to work on Monday because it’s going to get a little bit more challenging each game.”

The Tigers will continue non-conference action when they play host to Buffalo next Saturday at 6 pm at Memorial Stadium.