Mizzou Report Card: Grading Position Groups in Week 9 Win Over Arkansas

Missouri noticeably improved in every positional group from its Week 7 loss to Ole Miss in a 34-10 victory over Arkansas. Coming off a bye week, the Tigers had ample opportunity to turnaround their many woes against Ole Miss. Here's the grades for every position in the Tigers' Week 9 victory.

Quarterback: B+

Simmons didn't have his best statistical game, finishing 20-for-31, 179 yards and two touchdowns, but still commanded the offense with his typical poise. In the rainy contest, the Tigers elected to throw less than weeks prior and took fewer risks and deep shots.

Despite this, Simmons had a clean game without an interception thrown and made one particular throw to Cayden Lee that stood out. On third-and-7 with Missouri up six early in the third quarter, Simmons elected to rifle it nearly 40 yards through the air with three defenders in Lee's vicinity and dropped it perfectly in his hands. The 46-yard gain set Missouri up for an important score.

His ability to make such big-time throws in a slippery game where the Tigers were relying on short plays boosts his score, despite not having a huge statistical performance.

Pass catchers: B

Lee and Donovan Olugbode excelled Saturday, Lee finishing with six receptions and 76 yards and Olugbode with five receptions, 50 yards and a toe-tapping touchdown. But outside of the two elite receivers, the rest of the Tigers made some costly mistakes.

Between some bad drops — which could be chalked up to dealing with a slippery ball — and two penalties on receivers, the Tigers' grade takes a slight hit. The penalties came from Caleb Goodie Sr., who had a holding penalty and Naeshaun Montgomery, who had a false start.

Running backs: A

Jamal Roberts recorded his fifth 100-yard rushing game on Saturday and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season. Roberts was everywhere in this one, rushing for 138 yards on 23 carries, snagging three catches for 20 yards and adding two touchdowns. 126 of those yards came after contact, his third most this season, and his 43-yard explosion put the game out of reach in the third quarter.

Ahmad Hardy also made his return but was used sparingly for two rushes and five yards. The Tigers accumulated 35 carries and 211 rushing yards for a staggering six yards per carry in the contest.

Offensive line: A

The offensive line particularly shined in pass protection. The Tigers allowed just three pressures all game, which gave Simmons ample time in a game where rushed passes could have easily turned the ball over. The run blocking for Roberts was relatively strong in creating openings, especially on his big 43-yard spurt.

The line accounted for two penalties, both on Luke Work, but clean games from Curtis Peagler and Dominick Giudice were instrumental in the unit's success.

Defensive line: A

The defensive line was dominant in stopping the run, holding Arkansas to 1.6 yards per carry and 59 total rushing yards. The largest run for the Razorbacks was 14 yards out of 36 total attempts.

While Jalen Marshall, Sterling Webb and Langden Kitchen thrived against the run, Darris Smith and Donta Simpson put the pressure on Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson. Jackson was pressured 10 times in the contest, due in large part to Smith's three hurries and Simpson's solo sack.

Linebackers: A

Linebackers Nicholas Rodriguez and Dante McClellan caused two fumbles in a contest that Arkansas turned the ball over four times in. Rodriguez co-led Missouri with nine tackles while McClellan and Jeremiah Beasley each tacked on five.

Rodriguez, Beasley and Robert Woodyard Jr. were all instrumental in stopping the run alongside the line, all ranking within the top seven PFF run defense grades for Missouri.

Secondary: C

Once again, the secondary was the weakest position for Missouri on Saturday. Although Trajen Greco received an early interception off a Chris Graves Jr. tip, the Tigers allowed KJ Jackson to rack up 229 yards Saturday.

The Tigers were consistently leaving receivers open throughout the course of the game and allowed a 37-yard deep ball that set Arkansas up for its lone score. All of this was done without the Razorbacks' best receiver Chris Marshall, who has 633 receiving yards this season.

Special teams: B

Blake Craig was perfect against Arkansas, going 4-for-4 on extra points and nailing two field goal attempts of 31 yards and a season-long 53 yards.

Due to the rain, the Tigers did not have any returns in this contest and with four touchdowns and two field goals, had just two punts. Brunno Reus' two punts totaled 60 yards, putting a damper on the position's performance.

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