With Many Questions Answered, Mizzou Still Has One Glaring Issue to Solve

When you beat a team by more than 50 points, it can sometimes be a challenge to nitpick the things that went wrong.

But, with multiple big games on the horizon for the Missouri Tigers, there's still a glaring hole that didn't receive much clarity against Central Arkansas.

The quarterback situation sorted itself out naturally. It doesn't seem like there's a world where Beau Pribula isn't the starter. The defense performed well and many skill players on offense highlighted their ability to make big plays.

Out of all of that, one thing didn't sort itself out.

The Missouri offensive line struggled at moments, mainly in the first half, to establish the run game and protect Pribula. He found himself under pressure on multiple occasions and was sacked once, after a rusher was let through by newly-minted left tackle Cayden Green, who star

Green, along with three others, also committed penalties on the offensive line. Green was charged with a holding penalty, along with left guard Dominick Giudice. Right guard Curtis Peagler was also charged with a false start penalty, along with Giudice.

Many of these players are playing positions that they don't have a ton of experience in. Green played left guard for Missouri all of last season and Giudice was anticipated to play at right guard. Peagler is also a new face to the starting offensive line group after being a reserve for the last three seasons.

"I think there was a couple of mistakes that are from learning to play new positions and figuring out that unit together, but overall I was pretty pleased today," Drinkwitz said following Missouri's win.

Drinkwitz wasn't completely disappointed by their performance, given it was their first shot in live-game action of the season. There's still a long way to go for the group, but there are positive things to take away from his viewpoint.

"There were some good, bad, and some things in between," Drinkwitz said. "First couple of drives we made it to the second level, but we weren't finishing those blocks."

All that being said, some of the mistakes the starting unit made won't fly against a team like Kansas or anyone in the SEC. The penalty that Green committed and the sack he allowed were uncharacteristic, even if they were at a position he isn't fully comfortable playing yet.

Mistakes from the others weren't that surprising, given the experience levels of them all. It was clear that a learning curve was in order for Peagler and Giudice, especially Peagler. His false start was his only glaring mistake

Like Drinkwitz said, there are some positives to take away from this win and the offensive line's performance as a whole. Right tackle Keagen Trost went unscathed in the penalty department, as did veteran center Connor Tollison. Those two were expected to perform at a high level, and they did just that.

Before the season started, it was clear that the group, regardless of the five who rolled out as starters against Central Arkansas, would take some time to come together. Tollison was one of the people responsible for that as a captain, making sure the connectivity of the entire unit was sound.

"As the season goes on, we spend a lot of time with each other," Tollison said at Missouri media day. "So I feel like it's good to have those bonds as not just player to player, but as a whole group."

It's safe to say they looked a little out of sync against the Bears. It may have been the first-game jitters, or just a slow adjustment to the speed of the game for some, but that should not excuse the some of the mistakes they made. There are no doubts it will be an emphasis over the next seven days in the build-up to Kansas.

As fall camp wrapped up and more questions rose about the offensive line, Drinkwitz steadily maintained his confidence in the unit. After all the shuffling of players and positions occurred, nothing changed about Drinkwitz's demeanor or what he had to say about the group.

On August 16, following Week 3 of fall camp, Drinkwitz said they would be "fine" in terms of their offensive front.

The group didn't exactly look fine on Thursday, but again, it could have just been them working out the kinks of their first live game.

For a guy like Peagler, this was his first true time receiving starting snaps in his college football career. Giudice had moved positions multiple times during fall camp and Green also made a last-minute switch.

The changes that came right before the start of the season were a surprise to many, potentially even the players themselves.

It can't be stated enough that this was a Week 1 game and that the Tigers had a large enough cushion to work these issues out. That being said, the next few days of practice leading up to Sept. 6 will be important ones for the group to faze out those errors.

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