AUBURN, Ala. — The snap counts and grades are in from Missouri’s crushing 17-14 overtime loss at Auburn. We saw an uptick from the defense, some sporadically good numbers from the offense and then some obvious weak spots.
As we’ve done the last couple years, every week using Pro Football Focus’ data, we’ll take a closer look at the Tigers’ game, starting with complete snap counts for every player on offense and defense, then a deeper dive into their production and ratings. Reminder, PFF grades on the following scale using NFL terms: 90-100, elite; 85-89, Pro Bowl; 70-84, starter; 60-69, backup; 0-59, replaceable.
OFFENSE
Mizzou had only two players finish with overall offensive grades better than 65.0: receiver Dominic Lovett and offensive lineman Connor Wood.
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Offensive line
Player | Position | Snaps | Offensive grade |
---|---|---|---|
Javon Foster | left tackle | 84 | 83.9 |
Armand Membou | right tackle | 84 | 55.9 |
Xavier Delgado | left guard | 84 | 51.3 |
Mitchell Walters | right guard | 67 | 44.5 |
Drake Heismeyer | center | 63 | 27.1 |
Connor Tollison | center | 21 | 45.3 |
Connor Wood | right guard | 17 | 44.4 |
A few shakeups along the O-line. Some by choice, some by necessity. Delgado returned from injury at left guard, while Walters made his first career start at right guard, replacing the struggling Wood. But Wood would have a major role Saturday. That’s because Powell went down with an injury on Missouri’s second series and spent the rest of the day on the sidelines. Eli Drinkwitz was uncertain of his status after the game but Powell was on crutches outside the team locker room. Wood played the rest of the game at right tackle in Powell’s place. The Tigers played nearly a quarter of the game with an unbalanced six-man offensive line using the freshman Membou as an extra blocker.
First, the good. Walters was excellent in pass protection (77.4), earning the highest grade in that category along the O-line. Wood (76.7) and Tollison (76.4) graded out well, too. No pressures allowed by Walters, Wood, Tollison or Membou. The run-blocking grades weren’t as strong but Wood was the best of the bunch (64.4), though he had a pivotal holding penalty that negated a 16-yard run into Auburn territory on a drive that ended with a punt. By PFF’s count, Wood is tied for the SEC league among offensive linemen with five penalties.
Now, the bad. Foster drew a difficult assignment against All-SEC rush end Derick Hall. Foster allowed two pressures off the edge, including one of Auburn’s four sacks. Delgado struggled especially in pass protection (19.1), allowing four pressures, three hurries and a sack.
Quarterback
Player | Snaps | Offensive grade |
---|---|---|
Brady Cook | 84 | 65.8 |
This wasn’t Cook’s best game of the year and far from his worst. He attempted five deep shots (20 yards or more), right at his season average, and completed two for 79 yards. Here’s where Cook struggled: His typical sweet spot is the 10-to-19-yard range, but he was 0 of 4 on those targets. Auburn only blitzed him three times, but he completed two passes against the blitz for 52 yards. His average depth of target was 11.5 yards downfield, by far his highest of the year, meaning he attempted to stretch the field more in this game than any other.
Alarming stat of the week: Cook completed just 1 of 8 passes to outside receivers Tauskie Dove and Luther Burden III for all of 3 yards.
Through four weeks, here’s where Cook ranks among SEC quarterbacks:
Completion percentage: 63.3, 8th
Yards per attempt: 7.4, 10th
TD passes: four, 11th
QB rating: 130.1, 10th
Passing yards per game: 201.3, 10th
Rushing yards per game: 39.5, 7th
Running backs
Player | Snaps | Offensive grade |
---|---|---|
Cody Schrader | 65 | 60.5 |
Nathaniel Peat | 19 | 72.5 |
Tavorus Jones | 1 | 61.6 |
That’s no typo: Only two running backs saw the field on offense Saturday. Peat made the fateful fumble on the game’s final play but it was his best overall game in a Mizzou uniform. Beyond his season-high 110 yards rushing, he averaged a strong 4.8 yards after contact per carry, with 87 of his total yards coming after contact from an Auburn defender. He forced seven missed tackles and had four runs of 10 yards or more
Schrader often lined up in the backfield together with Peat flanking Cook as the Tigers used more misdirection in Drinkwitz’s zone-running scheme. One standout stat for Schrader: He graded at a team-best 77.6 in pass protection.
Receivers
Player | Snaps | Offensive grade |
---|---|---|
Mookie Cooper | 67 | 63.7 |
Barrett Banister | 56 | 68.3 |
Luther Burden III | 48 | 58.8 |
Mekhi Miller | 48 | 56.6 |
Demaryion Houston | 42 | 67.6 |
Tauskie Dove | 14 | 53.8 |
Micah Manning | 2 | 58.1 |
Logan Muckey | 1 | 35.9 |
Lovett was again Mizzou’s best playmaker in the passing game, grabbing five of his seven targets. Lovett now leads the SEC in receiving yards (376), receiving yards per game (94), 20-yard receptions (seven) and shares the SEC lead for 30-yard receptions (four). Also impressive: zero drops on a team-high 29 targets.
What about Burden? He sure seemed to be stretching his calf/ankle/lower leg on the sideline when he sat out of the game for a couple series in the first half. Drinkwitz has not mentioned any injury concerns for the rookie receiver, which is standard for the head coach when it comes to injuries. Burden earned Mizzou’s lowest PFF offensive grade of the day (53.2) and didn’t catch any of his three targets. The officials could have called pass interference on two of his three targets, but that’s life playing outside receiver in the SEC, especially on the road. His average depth of target on Saturday (22.3 yards) was the highest on the team.
For the year, Burden is second to Lovett on the team in targets (21) but has just 10 catches for 78 yards. Against Power Five teams, just one catch for 3 yards. Per PFF, Burden is 18th in the SEC in targets and among receivers who play at least 70% of their snaps on the outside, he’s eighth in targets.
Among the 20 SEC receivers with the most targets, here’s where Burden ranks in several PFF categories:
Offensive grade: 59.4, 20th
Receiving grade: 56.5, 20th
Drop grade: 36.2, 19th
Drop %: 21.4, 19th
First downs: four, 20th
Contested targets: six, third (tied)
Contested catches: two, third (tied)
Average depth of target: 12.1, 7th (tied)
Passer rating on targets: 40.9, 20th
Tight end
Player | Snaps | Offensive grade |
---|---|---|
Tyler Stephens | 48 | 63.6 |
Ryan Hoerstkamp | 8 | 47.8 |
Kibet Chepyator | 1 | 58.7 |
Chepyator has clearly emerged as Mizzou’s primary tight end. He caught a career-high three passes Saturday for 26 yards on three targets.
DEFENSE
It was easily Missouri’s best defensive game of the season per the PFF grades with four defensive regulars earning grades better than 75: safety Daylan Carnell, edge rusher Isaiah McGuire and tackles Realus George Jr. and Kristian Williams.
Defensive line
Player | Position | Snaps | Defensive grade |
---|---|---|---|
Johnny Walker Jr. | edge | 56 | 59.3 |
Darius Robinson | tackle/edge | 49 | 63.1 |
Kristian Williams | tackle | 43 | 62.9 |
Jayden Jernigan | tackle/edge | 40 | 61.7 |
Arden Walker | edge | 38 | 62.2 |
Josh Landry | tackle | 30 | 70.7 |
Realus George Jr. | tackle | 30 | 67.1 |
Tyrone Hopper | edge | 13 | 50 |
The Tigers regularly lined up with five defensive linemen including three tackles along the interior to defend Auburn’s run-heavy offense. Most everyone along the front four and sometimes front five put up strong numbers, led by McGuire, who had three pressures, two hurries, a sack and a very strong pass-rush grade (87.1). Against the run, standouts included Williams (80.6), George (78.7) and Jernigan (76.4). Williams added two pressures as a pass rusher. The Oregon transfer has really emerged as a breakthrough player along the interior.
Linebackers
Player | Snaps | Defensive grade |
---|---|---|
Chad Bailey | 76 | 86.0. |
Ty'Ron Hopper | 76 | 61.9 |
Bailey left the game in the first half and had his arm in a sling after the game. Drinkwitz didn’t have an update on his status. Here’s the good news: In his most extensive playing time, Wilson didn't appear to get exposed, posting a 77.6 tackle grade, one of the best marks of the day.
Hopper was a force as a pass-rusher, finishing with a team-best five pressures, four hurries and a 92.1 pass-rush grade. He had a game-high 10 tackles, three for losses and a sack. He also missed five tackles, the most on the team. Hopper ranks second in the SEC with seven tackles for loss.
Secondary
Player | Position | Snaps | Defensive grade |
---|---|---|---|
Joseph Charleston | safety | 76 | |
Daylan Carnell | safety | 76 | 64.1 |
Jaylon Carlies | safety | 76 | 64.1 |
Kris Abrams-Draine | cornerback | 73 | 57.4 |
Ennis Rakestraw Jr. | cornerback | 61 | 55.8 |
Dreyden Norwood | cornerback | 25 | 43.2 |
Auburn didn’t challenge Mizzou with its passing game much, but a few defensive backs stood out, especially Carnell, who posted a strong tackling grade (79.4) and was even better in coverage (82.3). He allowed three completions on four targets but for just 8 yards. Rakestraw also tackled well (79.6) and scored high marks against the run (77.2). Manuel played 26 of his 46 snaps in the tackle box as a third linebacker and finished with two pressures and another high tackling grade (76.0).