Teams have gained just 9.6 yards per catch against Missouri (sixth in the country) and 2.86 yards per carry (10th nationally).
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Appearing on his weekly SEC teleconference appearance, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel said he could only laugh a bit at what happened to Lock against Florida.
The offense is struggling without question. “Short fields can really help”.
Missouri’s defense, leading several statistical categories in the SEC, forced three turnovers against South Carolina on October. 3 and the team won by two touchdowns. Missouri was 1-14 on third down and Lock was 16-39 for 151 yards and two interceptions.
“We always try to get the rotation in there so that it affects the outcome of the game the best way for us”, Kuligowski said.
All that’s lacking is more takeaways. “So personally, that’s something I’d like to see us do”. The team’s latest running back phenom, sophomore Nick Chubb, will miss Saturday’s game with a left knee injury he suffered in Saturday’s 38-31 loss to Tennessee.
This year, through three league games, the equation has been simple: Takeaways equal victory.
“We’ve just got to be more focused in practice”, cornerback Kenya Dennis said. On six of those drives, the Gators failed to move the ball more than 7 yards.
Mauk’s replacement is Drew Lock, a true freshman from Lee’s Summit.
The Tigers found that out the hard way Saturday.
Lock, who had been getting various series in Missouri’s first four games, became the starting quarterback and was efficient, if not basic, in Missouri’s win over the Gamecocks. If the dynamic back can run with effectiveness, it’ll help Lock out tremendously in the passing game.
“That’s something that obviously wins a lot of games for us”, linebacker Kentrell Brothers said. But with two conference losses already on their record, the Tigers’ D may need to err on the side of perfection.
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“I wish there was a magic way to get that done”, Odom said. “We want to play defense at a high level”. So I think it’s tough to start a true freshman for sure.
