Tigers Turnovers, Offensive Woes Cloud Defense; Who’s to Blame?
Despite some bumps and bruises, Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson has become known as one of the more dynamic and exciting quarterbacks in the SEC this season.
But in an impressive display of defense, the Missouri Tigers held him to just 8 of 14 passing for 66 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in The Swamp on Saturday.
Instead, the numbers that’ll be remembered are those on the final scoreboard, as Florida topped Mizzou 24-17 in yet another loss for the 2-4 Tigers.
Mizzou has played four Power 5 opponents this season. Along with losing to all of them, the Tigers have failed to top 23 points in all four contests, with their third-highest point total of the season (22) somehow coming against the previously top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in a 26-22 loss on Oct. 1.
Additionally, Mizzou has held its last three opponents to under 30 points, but it’s the offense that has failed to take advantage.
Some of the blame can be put on play-calling, but it’s hard to point some fingers at Tigers quarterback Brady Cook, who is now third in the SEC in interceptions (six) after his two picks were the difference in Saturday’s loss to Florida.
He also has just five passing touchdowns (tied for ninth in the SEC) despite having the fourth-most passing attempts at 171.
Saturday was arguably the lowlight for Cook and Mizzou’s conference-worst passing attack, which has totaled the fewest passing yards per game in the SEC (208.5) this season. His pick-six and red-zone interception against Florida basically gave the Gators the game. Even at home, Florida struggled against coordinator Blake Baker’s defense, totaling just 297 yards on offense, 3 of 11 on third down, and possessing the ball for almost 13 fewer minutes (23:51) than Mizzou did.
But the woes continued. And if the Tigers don’t get things figured out over the bye week, they could face what some might consider to be upset territory at home on Oct. 22 against a Vanderbilt Commodores team that has looked much better this season.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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