COLUMBIA, Mo. — Running back Larry Rountree III rushed for 119 yards Saturday, moving into fourth on Missouri’s all-time rushing list with 3,018 career yards. For his jersey number, here are 34 final thoughts on Missouri’s 45-41 win against No. 17 LSU.
1. The Tigers hadn’t played LSU since Ed Orgeron’s first game as head coach in 2016. Missouri got clobbered that night in Baton Rouge, 42-7. Two LSU running backs had 130 yards, and the visiting Tigers didn’t score until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter. So though Missouri gave up more than 40 points to LSU in each of the teams’ two most recent meetings, the outcomes couldn’t have been more different.
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2. Missouri quarterback Shawn Robinson wasn’t supposed to start this week, and yet he began the game on the field … lined up at fullback. Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz opened the game with an unorthodox play, putting Robinson and starting quarterback Connor Bazelak in, then clearing both from the backfield so Rountree could pick up 3 yards on a direct snap. It started a fun first drive for Missouri, which ended with a flea-flicker touchdown pass from Bazelak to wide receiver Tauskie Dove.
3. Rountree made a key block on the flea-flicker after pitching the ball back to Bazelak. LSU had a defender barreling toward Bazelak, but Rountree stepped in to make sure the redshirt freshman had time to throw without getting hit. Saturday was a big game in general for Rountree, as he cleared the 100-yard mark for the first time since Oct. 12, 2019, against Ole Miss.
4. LSU got a first down inside the 1-yard line with 44 seconds to play, and rewatching the game, it was truly a remarkable sequence for Missouri’s defense. Martez Manuel was involved in stopping both running plays on first and second down, then linebacker Nick Bolton had his game-saving pass breakup on third down. Safety Joshuah Bledsoe then sealed the win by knocking a pass away from Terrace Marshall Jr., the wide receiver Missouri couldn’t stop all day.
5. Marshall had 235 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and he looked unguardable. Considering Marshall was only LSU’s third-best receiver in 2019, it makes sense it had a historically good offense and won a national title.
6. Missouri had plenty of “firsts” on Saturday. Bazelak threw his first career touchdown pass, Micah Wilson, Chance Luper and Boo Smith logged their first career catches, and Devin Nicholson recorded his first career sack. Most notably, Drinkwitz won his first SEC game.
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7. Drinkwitz showed aggression early, attempting a fourth-and-3 from his own 47-yard line in the first quarter. Considering how the offense moved the ball on the first drive, it was an understandable decision, even if it didn’t work. The play call is easier to question than the decision to go for it. Missouri attempted a fake punt instead of giving its offense a chance to pick up 3 yards, and punter Grant McKinniss’ pass to well-covered wide receiver Jalen Knox almost got intercepted. It’s safe to say he will not factor into the quarterback discussion.
8. Missouri clearly struggled in pass coverage. Quarterback Myles Brennan had 430 yards and four touchdown passes, and through three games, Missouri ranks 11th in the SEC with 9 yards allowed per pass attempt.
9. Somehow, with three of its top four defensive linemen out, Missouri’s run defense had a revolutionary showing, allowing only 49 rushing yards on 20 attempts. That came a week after Tennessee ran for 232 yards against it. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters had his players stack the box, and LSU recorded one rush for more than 10 yards.
10. Drinkwitz doesn’t seem to use tight ends much in the passing game, but his quickest one got the most looks Saturday. Sophomore Niko Hea had two catches for 19 yards, and Bazelak turned to him on the winning touchdown. Hea, who played wide receiver in high school, also had a notable play in the second quarter. The offense faked a fly sweep, and Bazelak pitched to Hea, who ran for a 14-yard gain.
11. Bazelak’s touchdown pass to Hea was not an easy throw. The Tigers faked a jet sweep, and Bazelak fit the ball in a tight window to Hea right as he crossed the goal line. Impressive composure and delivery.
12. Mizzou’s backup wide receivers are … good? Starters Keke Chism and Damon Hazelton Jr. were out Saturday because of COVID-19-related circumstances (either a positive test or contact tracing, according to the school), as was reserve Dominic Gicinto. Dove, relatively unknown entering the game, caught six passes for 83 yards in his first career start. Smith, Wilson and Luper all contributed, and Barrett Banister remained a reliable target, catching four passes for 52 yards. Knox rebounded from a tough game against Tennessee and had 76 all-purpose yards and ran for a touchdown. A week after dropping five passes, Missouri’s receivers dropped zero. It’ll be hard to take some of the emerging receivers out, even when Chism, Hazelton and Gicinto are back.
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13. After Missouri’s one-touchdown showing against Tennessee, Rountree made it clear that the Tigers’ red zone mindset needed to change. Missouri scored four of its touchdowns within the 30-yard line Saturday, and seven of its 15 drives ended in points. “Today, we executed,” Rountree said after the game.
14. Freshman cornerback Ennis Rakestraw had a pass breakup, and redshirt freshman Ishmael Burdine had two. So while LSU torched Mizzou’s secondary, the young pair played with physicality and weren’t intimidated going against the reigning national champions.
15. Freshman Kris Abrams-Draine, used primarily as a punt returner, had a brutal day. He fumbled a punt, leading to Missouri’s first of three turnovers, then muffed his second return attempt, though he managed to land on it and keep possession. The first one wasn’t fully his fault — freshman JC Carlies pushed a blocker into him — but Drinkwitz pulled him after the second in favor of junior cornerback Jarvis Ware, who secured the ball.
16. One of Bazelak’s few mistakes on the day was on a sack fumble in the second quarter. Left tackle Bobby Lawrence did the quarterback no favors, though, shoving BJ Ojulari directly into Bazelak. Drinkwitz pulled Lawrence after the play, subbing in junior college transfer Zeke Powell, who played well. He was a lead blocker on Knox’s 16-yard touchdown run.
17. It’s somewhat astounding to think Missouri won despite losing the turnover battle 3-0. It gave up 17 points following the fumbles, and the Tigers fumbled twice more but recovered. But in Drinkwitz’s words, “after terrible turnovers, they didn’t flinch.”
18. Some historical context on Bazelak’s breakout game: He’s the only SEC quarterback since the turn of the century to have 400 passing yards, four touchdown passes, an 85 percent completion rate and zero interceptions in a game, according to Sports Reference’s Player Game Finder. Only two other quarterbacks in that time have done that against a Power 5 team: NC State’s Philip Rivers in 2003 against Virginia and West Virginia’s Geno Smith in 2012 against Baylor. Not bad company.
19. The offensive line played magnificently. LSU sacked Bazelak only once, and the linemen blocked well enough for the Tigers to pick up 180 yards on the ground.
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20. Though it allowed 41 points, Missouri’s defense consistently tightened on third down, as LSU went 0-for-10. Orgeron’s team converted 1 of 2 fourth-down attempts, but wasn’t able to get the one that mattered, as Missouri stopped it at the goal line to end the game.
21. LSU’s first touchdown of the second half — a run by Ty Davis-Price — came when Missouri wasn’t ready quickly enough between plays. Getting set was a problem against Tennessee, too.
22. In the history of college football, there might never have been a receiver more wide open than Wilson found himself in the third quarter Saturday. No one was within 10 yards, and Wilson easily hauled in Bazelak’s pass for a 41-yard touchdown reception. “The corner was soft, and then the safety, I don’t know if there was a miscommunication or what, he was low,” Wilson said. Said Orgeron: “A lot of (coverage mistakes were) busts. The guys were wide open.”
23. Marshall beat Burdine in coverage immediately after Wilson’s touchdown, and Brennan threw to him deep. It looked like safety Manuel got turned around trying to grab an interception, and it led to an easy touchdown for Marshall. The Tigers won’t see any receivers as talented as Marshall against Vanderbilt on Saturday, but they definitely have mistakes to shore up.
24. Defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat, who left the team for undisclosed reasons in 2019, rejoined the Tigers this summer. He’s been a huge boost since coming back, and he had another solid game against LSU. He hurried Brennan with Missouri trailing 38-31, leading to an incompletion, and also had a fourth-quarter sack. He has three sacks on the year, more than any Missouri edge rusher in 2019 and tied for second in the SEC.
25. Though he’s dazzled to start his Missouri career, kicker Harrison Mevis proved Saturday he is still mortal. After successfully hitting a 52-yard attempt — the longest by a freshman in school history — he was short on a 56-yard try. It’s the only kick he’s missed so far this season.
26. Outside linebacker Tre Williams joked after the game that he has a big head. That worked out for Missouri, as Williams got credited with a field goal block after Cade York’s fourth-quarter attempt bounced off his helmet. Had the kick gone in, LSU would have been up six. Instead, Missouri got the ball back down three and went on a go-ahead drive to take its first lead since the opening quarter.
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27. Saturday was a cool day for the Luper family. Running backs coach Curtis Luper helped Rountree and Tyler Badie to a big day on the ground, and Luper’s son, Chance, had a 69-yard reception to set up Missouri’s final touchdown. It marked the freshman’s first career catch.
28. If you predicted Hea, Wilson and Dove — who combined for seven career receptions entering the game — to have touchdown catches in a Missouri upset of LSU, please fly to Las Vegas immediately.
29. For as well as Missouri played, it still committed unforced errors. The Tigers committed six penalties for 55 yards, while LSU had only four for 30. Whether the penalties come down to coaching, failed execution or a lack of discipline, they need to be fixed.
30. Though Drinkwitz said he trusted his defense at the end of the game — “The pressure was on them,” he said of LSU — he probably should have stopped the clock at some point in case LSU scored. Brennan got the ball with more than five minutes to go and picked apart the Tigers defense, but Drinkwitz sat on his timeouts. Drinkwitz’s rationale when LSU was at the 1-yard line made sense — he said he didn’t want to give LSU more time to draw up a play — but there wouldn’t have been any harm stopping the clock earlier in the drive. The way the drive shook out, Bazelak would have had fewer than 20 seconds to get down the field had LSU scored. But hey, in the end, it worked out for Missouri, so Drinkwitz is off the hook.
31. Without prompting, Drinkwitz brought up Robinson after the game. He lost his starting job earlier in the week, but Drinkwitz stressed his importance. “I’m freakin’ really proud of Shawn Robinson,” Drinkwitz said. “He was the most excited person all week, just encouraging our team. And I really think our team saw that, because it can go one of two ways in these kinds of situations, and Shawn Rob is a heck of a young man.” Robinson got dinged up blocking on the two-quarterback set on the first play of the game and didn’t return. Drinkwitz said they had more plays drawn up for him had he been available. “He’s a great leader,” Bazelak said. “Just the way he’s been the past two weeks, I’m proud of him, just the way he’s handled everything. He’s a great player. I love him.”
32. Between trick plays, players in motion and creative schemes, Drinkwitz’s play calling left LSU defenders out of sync all afternoon. The coach’s game was particularly impressive considering the offensive pieces Missouri was down. “They called a good game,” Orgeron said. “We couldn’t stop anybody.”
33. The outlook of Missouri’s season shifts. The Tigers (1-2) now face Vanderbilt with a chance to reach .500 rather than doing so with an 0-3 record. Vanderbilt, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State all look like opponents Mizzou could compete with.
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34. LSU might not be good this season — it’s clearly not the force it was in 2019 — but that doesn’t change what Saturday’s game means to Missouri. Beating the defending national champions stirs up excitement, and it gives fans optimism in what the Drinkwitz era could bring.
(Photo of Connor Bazelak, right, and Larry Rountree III: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)