In a game where Eli Drinkwitz probably knew he wasn’t going to have to start his best 11 every play, the head coach took precautions en route to a 61-6 victory over Central Arkansas at Memorial Stadium.
Ahmad Hardy — one of Mizzou’s highest touted transfers this offseason — saw minimal work at RB in the first half; something Missouri fans weren’t too fond of.
Through the first half, Jamal Roberts outproduced Ahmad Hardy. Roberts started the first drive, and was the first Tiger of the season to take the ball past the line of scrimmage. Hardy didn’t see his first carry until the second drive.
In a play during the first half, Roberts was one broken tackle away from a free 40-yard touchdown.
Roberts also had a 30+ yard gain during the first half that was called back due to a holding foul committed by OL Dominick Giudice.
Despite Mizzou fans seeing No. 20 instead of No. 29 behind Beau Pribula, the team found success in the run game — especially through Pribula himself.
Pribula stole the show in the first half, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and adding a stellar run for his first rushing score in black and gold.
“I love running the football,” Pribula said after the game. “I pride myself being not such a quarterback but a football player.”
In the first half, the Tigers finished with a collective total of 101 yards. Here was the first half distribution:
| Beau Pribula | 7 att., 53 yards, 1 rushing touchdown |
| Jamal Roberts | 7 att., 24 yards |
| Ahmad Hardy | 5 att., 18 yards |
It wasn’t until the second half when Hardy started introducing himself to the Missouri fans.
In the first drive of the second half, Hardy almost doubled his carry attempts from his entire first half. Hardy finished the first drive of the third quarter with four carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. He broke free for a 40 yard gain that got the Tigers into the red zone, then easily rushed it in once they were on the goal line. Hardy’s touchdown put Missouri up 33-0.
Hardy continued his tear in the second half following the touchdown. He broke free for another 23 yard run during the next Mizzou drive bringing his yard total 100 yards before the end of the third quarter. Pribula finished that drive off with his second rushing touchdown of the game.
For the last drive of the third quarter — with the Tigers up 40-0 — Drinkwitz brought in third-string RB Tavorus Jones. In the fourth quarter, Marquise Davis assumed most of the rushing work. Here’s how everybody finished up the game:
| Beau Pribula | 10 att., 65 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns |
| Ahmad Hardy | 10 att., 100 yards, 1 rushing touchdown |
| Jamal Roberts | 8 att., 33 yards |
| Marquise Davis | 5 att., 10 yards, 1 touchdown |
| Tavorus Jones | 2 att., 7 yards |
How’d the offensive line hold up?
I’d say it is safe to say that Drinkwitz has probably seen both better and worse games from his offensive trench group. On one side, the team allowed the Tigers to run pretty much whenever they wanted.
With the QB situation abruptly ending the way it did — with an injured Sam Horn — I don’t think Drinkwitz was planning on running a full game with Pribula. Because of that, the former Penn State QB only threw X attempts during the second half, relying heavily on the run game.
On the other hand, the team gave up numerous fouls that could have seriously hurt if the Tigers were in a closer situation.
Curtis Peagler — a newly named starter on Mizzou’s offensive line — was the first lineman to receive a penalty. In the first play of Mizzou’s second drive, Peagler jumped early, resulting in a five-yard false start. Giudice also committed the key penalty I mentioned earlier, preventing a 30-yard gain from Jamal Roberts.
While the Tigers didn’t face the consequences during this contest, Central Arkansas is one of the easiest opponents on Mizzou’s schedule; the score won’t always be 61-6.
After the first half, Mizzou’s offense cleaned things up, committing zero second-half penalties.
“I think we got better today,” Pribula said after the game. “Once we started running the football in the second half, things started to open up better.”
Despite the potential concern for penalties on the offensive line, it gave Mizzou plenty of opportunity for big runs.
“First couple of drives we were getting to the second level, but we weren’t finishing those blocks,” Drinkwitz said about the offensive line. “These mistakes come from learning to play new positions and figuring out that unit together. Overall, I was pretty pleased today.”