#9 Wisconsin - 30 #16 Missouri - 13 Awful awful day for the Tigers that there wasn't any highlight that was worthy of saving. The rainy conditions and a stout Badger defense made this game nearly impossible to predict. It all started when the Tigers were down 3-0 when Franklin hit Waters who immediately dropped the pass. It should have been ruled incomplete but instead it was called a fumble and the returnman had a convoy that plowed their way to the endzone. We did score in the 2nd to make it a 3 point game again but then Franklin threw a couple of picks and the offense stalled while Wisconsin put 17 more points on the board. Down 27-7 after halftime was too much to overcome in two quarters. Turns out I was wrong. While we held Wisconsin to just three second half points, they also held us to 6 points (failed 2 point in the 4th). Receivers were slipping all over the sloppy field and Franklin was cold. Coach Masler was criticized for not brining in Berkstresser but he didn't feel he would fit in well with the Spread Option. He was quoted saying this after the game: "We had a good game with the Spread Option vs A&M but today showed us our weaknesses. We need to take our time in the pocket and find the open receiver or take it to the ground. It was a good learning experience and we have already invited the Badgers for a rematch." Missouri ends the season on a down note at 9-4(6-2). Much better than the previous year of 5-7.
2013 Off-Season Notes Coach Masler ends the season at Level 7 Missouri dropped to #24 DE Michael Sam breaks the school record for Sacks in a Season with 15 Stever Spurrier retired at age 69 Bill O'Brien was fired from Penn St Jerry Kill was fired from Minnesota DT Antar Thompson left for WKU WR Andre Fisher (73 Ovr) , CB Dan Hall (65 Ovr), WR Marcus Bryant (66 Ovr) commit to Mizzou HB Henry Josey had great progression and is now 98 overall. WR Green-Beckham is now 90 overall Conferences were swapped around to reflect real life 2014 Changes
2014 Missouri Tigers Offense QB: Berkstresser and SO(RS) Mauk are both 86 overall but Mauk is quicker than Berk and while his arm isn't as good, it is only a point lower in each category. Mauk will claim the starting spot in the newly adopted Spread Option in Missouri. HB/FB: All-American Henry Josey had a great training period and improved himself to 98 overall for his Senior season. He is great across the board with 97 elusiveness and 94 Carrying as his main attributes, this will make it tough to catch him and tough to get that ball loose. He will be complimented by his Senior backup Marcus Murphy who is the speedster of the group and every bit elusive as Josey. Murphy will see plenty of play time since Josey is prone to injury. SR Brandon Colbert will be in the starting FB spot. WR/TE: Green-Beckham, White and Hunt are our top three and they are all great with catching and not too bad on speed either, shouldn't have any issues with them. Our slot guy is especially nice with 92 route running. My main concern is I did not recruit a TE last season so we have Sean Culkins and a walk on playing TE. Brandon Colbert will fill in for TE over the walk on. O Line: Looks good across the board with several mid 80s guys but unfortunately no one in the 90s, hope they are up to the task. Defense D Line: Losing Sam to the draft hurt and leaves a hole in the LE slot as a RS SO steps in but luckily Ealy returned in the RE spot and we look to him to be the outside playmaker. The middle will be bottled up by Hoch and Vincent who are not rated highly overall but have great individual skills. LB: Tough losing our starting LOLB and MLB to the point Coach Masler is contemplating the 3-4 this season over the 4-3. This would make up for the 77 overall starting LB to be complemented by 79 overall ROLB Newsom. Def. the weak spot of the defense, NOT GOOD. DB: Our starting corners have great coverage skills with the #3 not too far behind. But the big part of the secondary is RS SR FS Braylon Webb comes in as an All-American and 89 overall. We could not have found a better position for our best defensive player. His 97 awareness should help us big time with the deep ball the CPU seems to like throwing at us. Doesn't hurt that he has 86 Hit Power, 95 Pursuit, 88 Play Recognition and 86 Zone as well. Lining up next to him on the strong side is Ian Simon who has 88 Zone but average tackling skills. Special Teams: Baggett will be kicking, Brinser will be punting. Josey will return kicks with WR White while White also handles punt returns. Expectations: I want a 10 win season and fight for that SEC Conference Champ game. A bowl victory is on the horizon as well. 2014 Schedule 1: @ #3 Virginia Tech 2: @ #1 Ohio State 3: vs #10 Nebraska - Rivalry 4: vs Illinois - Rivalry 5: vs #21 Georgia 6: BYE 7: vs Miss St 8: at #25 Florida 9: vs Vanderbilt 10: vs Kentucky 11: at #24 Tennessee 12: BYE 13: at #15 South Carolina 14: at #5 Texas A&M - Rivalry 15: CCW Strength of Schedule: A
DGB catches the game winner #22 Missouri - 41 #3 Virginia Tech - 40 This entire game was an offensive slugfest as both teams continuously one upped each other drive after drive. After four quarters the two teams would be tied after the Hokies made a 44 yd FG to force the extra time. In the first OT neither team would score as both would turn the ball over but Mizzou would score first in the second OT to take the 41-34 lead. Virginia Tech would score on 2 yard pass but the iced kick actually worked as the kicker shanked the PAT. The Tigers would walk out of Blacksburg with a W. They head to The Shoe next week with a matchup against the #1 team in the land. Stats M. Mauk - 33/47, 398 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT M. Murphy - 25 Att, 131 yards, 5.2 YPC, 1 TD R. Hansbrough - 7 Att, 29 yards, 4.1 YPC, 1 TD D. Green-Beckham - 9 Rec, 153 yards, 1 TD
#19 Missouri - 21 #1 Ohio State - 24 The Buckeyes annoyingly continued to play press coverage all day and their run defense kept us from getting any momentum except for one play. Mauk threw no TD's today with 5 INT's . Receivers would be open and then the DB would jump 5-10 yards and pick it off cleanly while my players would do similar things, only to drop the pick. Braxton Miller was contained for the most part but even that had its annoyances as he would truck D Lineman like they were CBs. I know he's a tough guy but to knock a DT flat on his ass is ridic. Either way we had two chances to tie this one up in the fourth quarter to potentially force OT but each time the kick sailed to the left. Mauk tried leading a comeback redemption drive but it too ended with a turnover. The only notable stats would be our Defense with multiple TFL as they held down the OSU run game well. The Buckeyes survive a scare and the Tigers will host rival Nebraska in Week 3.
Defense cost Nebraska this one #14 Nebraska - 31 #22 Missouri - 35 Mauk had some pretty bad performances in the opening weeks of the season so Berkstresser got the nod today vs rival Nebraska. While he did turn it over twice, he also scored three times. The two teams would combine for nearly 1,000 yards of offense as neither defense really stepped forward. QB Armstrong of Nebraska gave the Tiger defense headaches all day as he rushed for 205 yards but on his final two drives he was sacked a total of four times and that really killed his teams momentum. Berkstresser used his feet as well with 70 yards on the ground and one score. The Nebraska-Missouri Bell belongs to the Tigers and they face Illinois in the Arch Rivalry next week. Stats C. Berkstresser - 18/24, 246 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 17 Att, 70 yards, 4.1 YPC, 1 TD H. Josey - 19 Att, 138 yards, 7.2 YPC, 1 TD M. Murphy - 3 Att, 14 yards, 4.6 YPC, 1 TD S. Culkins - 5 Rec, 60 yards, 1 TD D. Green-Beckham - 4 Rec, 100 yards D. White - 3 Rec, 58 yards, 1 TD K. Ealy - 3 Tackles, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks D. Ruise - 7 Tackles, 3 TFL, 1 FF
Henry Josey dominated the Arch Rivalry #16 Mizzou - 44 Illinois - 37 The Fighting Illini were pesky today, even after a 31-17 lead going into halftime they would not go away. Their defense really stepped up in the second half, holding us to only 13 points but it was the final seven that really mattered. HB Henry Josey was POTG as he ran in 3 TDs, rushed over 100 yards and took a KR back for a TD. Illinois could not bring this kid down and he really make a case for national attention today. TE Culkins opened some eyes as well with his route running skills, being open enough to catch 7 passes for 107 yards and a score. And finally the backbone of this defense came through in form of DE Rickey Hartley with 6 Tackles, 6 TFL, and 5 Sacks. This kid was great and brought down the QB on their last 4th down desperation attempt. Mizzou improves to 3-1 and faces Georgia in the conference opener next week. Coach Masler improved to Level 8 and purchased Royal Treatment Lvl 2.
Josey runs over the defense to rush in the game winning score #15 Mizzou - 49 Georgia - 42 Triple OT Missouri continues to be the team that has competed in the most Overtime games in NCAA history (yes I looked it up). The Dawgs were all over Mizzou in the first half as they entered halftime up 23-7 and looked to be cruising to an easy win. The second half was much better for the Tigers as they outscored Georgia 22 to 6 and forced overtime. It took three of them but the Tiger defense finally came away with a turnover and HB Henry Josey would run in another TD to seal the win for Missouri. Josey had another great day with 174 yards off 28 carries and scored three times on the ground. He would also catch 3 passes for 25 yards. The Tigers enter a Bye Week before facing another team of Bulldogs in Mississippi St. Henry Josey was show to be in the Heisman Race in the Bye Week. Recruiting Update: JUCO T Seth Walker commits to Missouri at 79 Overall. He features some very nice abilities that include 90 Accel, 84 Pass Blk and 83 Run Blk DT Eddie Reid also commits to Missouri at 73 Overall. Most of his stats are average but he could shape into a capable player.
#12 Mizzou - 28 Mississippi St - 21 The Tigers had to fight off another high powered offense as the Bulldogs came into down. MSU took at 14-7 lead early but the Tigers would storm back and score 21 unanswered. This game very well could have gone into OT but the defense held their ground in the redzone and prevented a score. Berkstresser had an awful start to this game throwing 3 picks but he settled down and overcame his jitters on his way to earning POTG honors after leading the comeback victory. Missouri wins again and travels to the Swamp to play in primetime next week. Recruiting Update: WR Antonio Hawk commits and will immediately redshirt. WR Ray Gordon commits and may also see a redshirt.
#9 Mizzou - 24 #18 Florida - 10 You would think that the Tigers would have lost horribly with Berkstresser throwing 4 picks in this on (to be fair Floridas D is 97 overall) but it was the Florida QB that kept the Gators out of this game. The kid could not pass well under pressure and was sacked numerous times. Couple that with the fact he was obsessed with throwing screens and was throwing for negative yards before he realized it wasn't working. In the end it was the Tiger run game that won this one with 202 yards rushing as a team. Missouri wins 5 straight and host Vanderbilt Week 9.
