It's time to set aside the drama and emotion and narrative and stare and some cold, hard numbers.
As is the norm after each Missouri football game, we take a look at Pro Football Focus' repository of snap counts and advanced statistics to catch trends and notes that slipped by while watching the game live — or in this case, things that weren't as newsworthy as what quarterback Brady Cook did to re-eneter and win the ball game.
In case you aren't already aware: These grades come from PFF — not this writer. They're at times misaligned with what happened on the field. They're certainly not worth getting worked up about.
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PFF grades are based on NFL standards: 90-100 is elite, 85-89 is Pro Bowl caliber, 70-84 is starter level, 60-69 means backup, and anything between 0-59 is replaceable. Because this isn't the NFL, you can shift those labels as you see fit.
Offensive line
- LT Marcus Bryant, 78 snaps, 72.3
- LG Cayden Green, 78 snaps, 66.8
- C Connor Tollison, 78 snaps, 44.4
- RG Cam'Ron Johnson, 78 snaps, 63.6
- RT Armand Membou, 78 snaps, 70.5
- OL Mitchell Walters, 3 snaps, 68.2
After Mizzou injected some competition into the offensive line during last week's game, the Tigers stuck with their usual starters and used swing tackle Walters on just a few occasions.
Tollison received his lowest grade of the past two seasons, influenced heavily by a poor pass blocking day. He was assigned responsibility for four pressures and one sack. Johnson allowed three pressures and two sacks, Green allowed two pressures and Bryant, who has struggled so far this season, allowed just one pressure.
Quarterback
- Brady Cook, 42 snaps, 60.4
- Drew Pyne, 36 snaps, 49.9
So PFF doesn't account for how impressive it is for a quarterback to leave the game with an injury, visit the hospital and come back to lead a rally, eh? The stats weren't particularly gaudy for either quarterback given that they each played parts of the game. But the numbers — as the eye test did — should put questions of whether Pyne would actually be an upgrade over Cook to bed.
Cook got 8.8 yards per passing attempt while Pyne got just 3.7. Cook threw to targets 11 yards downfield on average; Pyne's average depth of target was 6.4 yards, and he didn't complete a pass to a target 10 or more yards away, going 0 for 5 on those throws. Cook completed five of 10 passes against the blitz for 125 yards, while Pyne was just two-for-seven for 25 yards against the blitz.
Running backs
- Marcus Carroll, 35 snaps, 56.3
- Jamal Roberts, 26 snaps, 65.1
- Nate Noel, 14 snaps, 61.6
- Kewan Lacy, 3 snaps, 59.6
An injury — this time, to his foot — limited Noel and gave more work to the other tailbacks on the MU roster. Roberts, who scored the game-winning touchdown, looked lively, averaging 3.4 yards after contact and forcing a pair of missed tackles. Only three of his 20 rushing yards came before he was hit.
Of Carroll's seven rushing attempts, six were outside zone plays — the kind of schematic staple that Noel usually handles as the lead back.Â
As a team, the Tigers ran the ball to the left side six times and right side 13 times.Â
From a participation standpoint, it's worth noting that Lacy has now appeared in four games for Missouri. If the true freshman takes a snap in another regular season game, he will burn his redshirt — something to keep an eye out for.
Wide receivers/tight ends
- WR Theo Wease Jr., 75 snaps, 61.0
- WR Luther Burden III, 69 snaps, 59.2
- WR Mookie Cooper, 50 snaps, 61.5
- TE Jordon Harris, 36 snaps, 55.3
- WR Mekhi Miller, 25 snaps, 53.4
- TE Brett Norfleet, 23 snaps, 52.5
- WR Joshua Manning, 23 snaps, 60.3
- TE Tyler Stephens, 7 snaps, 52.8
- WR Daniel Blood, 1 snap, 58.5
After going 30 plays without a touch, Burden made up for lost time by leading the team in targets by the end of the game. He and Wease both had average depths of target above 10 yards downfield. Burden went one for two on contested catch opportunities, while Wease was 0 for one.
Cooper was credited for just one missed tackle forced, though his 78-yard catch and run seemed like it might have functionally led to more.
Defensive line
- DT Chris McClellan, 49 snaps, 69.1
- DE Johnny Walker Jr., 47 snaps, 61.4
- DT Kristian Williams, 46 snaps, 68.3
- DE Zion Young, 40 snaps, 70.6
- DT Sterling Webb, 26 snaps, 86.1
- DE Eddie Kelly Jr., 22 snaps, 74.1
- DE Jahkai Lang, 15 snaps, 70.7
- DT Jalen Marshall, 6 snaps, 40.0
- DE Williams Nwaneri, 3 snaps, 65.1
Webb earned the highest grade of the day, though it's a little unclear why — he had two tackles but no pressures. That's valuable from a D-tackle, but nothing especially spectacular.
Young led the team in pressures, with three and one sack. Lang and Walker also produced sacks, making the edges the primary sources of pressure.Â
Nwaneri didn't see the field much despite the expanded opportunity that's theoretically available with defensive end Joe Moore III out for the season. The five-star freshman has now appeared in three games, meaning he can play in one more regular season game and still preserve his redshirt.
Linebackers
- OLB Triston Newson, 53 snaps, 57.7
- MLB Corey Flagg Jr., 44 snaps, 73.5
- MLB Chuck Hicks, 13 snaps, 64.5
- OLB Nicholas Rodriguez, 12 snaps, 66.5
Depth will be tested in Mizzou's linebacker room with Khalil Jacobs out for the rest of the season. Despite missing last game and being limited in practice this week with an injury, Newson managed to play the second most snaps of any defensive player. The rotation at linebacker was less balanced and more of a clear first unit and second unit.
That Flagg was solidly the primary choice at middle linebacker over Hicks is notable.Â
Newson missed two tackles while Hicks missed one.
Defensive backs
- S Marvin Burks Jr., 58 snaps, 44.0
- CB Dreyden Norwood, 53 snaps, 55.4
- STAR Daylan Carnell, 53 snaps, 76.9
- S Tre'Vez Johnson, 43 snaps, 63.2
- CB Nicholas Deloach Jr., 42 snaps, 66.2
- CB Toriano Pride Jr., 42 snaps, 66.0
- S Joseph Charleston, 24 snaps, 68.0
- STAR Sidney Williams Sr., 19 snaps, 68.7
- S Trajen Greco, 5 snaps, 61.7
Once again, Deloach and Pride were on equal footing when it came to snaps played, indicating that it's still a close race between them for who will be the Tigers' second cornerback. The answer may just be that it'll be both of them rotating. And given that there were 65 total defensive snaps available and they each played 42, Missouri went to three-cornerback packages fairly often.
Burks graded out poorly because of four missed tackles and a coverage bust that gave Auburn its 47-yard passing touchdown.Â
Norwood was the most targeted defensive back, with four throws sent his way. He allowed four catches for 27 yards with one pass broken up.