Behind Enemy Lines: Missouri

Last week the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders were shellacked by Alabama, losing by almost 50 points.

This week the team looks to reverse course and garner a road win against the Tigers of Missouri.

Last week the Tigers notched one in the win column, defeating South Dakota, 35-10.

Now it is time for the next edition of the Behind Enemy Lines piece.

We got the opportunity to catch up with Power Mizzou Staff Writer Jarod Hamilton, picking his brain on what he thinks of the MT/Mizzou matchup.

1. The line is currently 20.5 in favor of Missouri. Thoughts on this spread? Too high, too low? just about right?

Probably a little high for me. These teams have matched up twice and both games were one-score games. I know those games have nothing to do with this week’s game, but I don’t know. I feel like that’s too high on that principle alone.

But also, Mizzou should’ve beat South Dakota by 50, and it only won by 25. Mizzou at times tends to stall on offense and have a few possessions where they can’t get anything going.

2. What about MTSU worries you the most? What areas could MT have success in?

Turnovers. Middle Tennessee State racked up over 60 turnovers in 2021 and 2022 combined. Missouri’s offense hasn’t proven to be sufficient enough to give the ball away once or twice and still win. It needs every possession it can get.

3. Who are three Mizzou players the casual fan may not know about? What do you like about these guys?

Wide receiver Mekhi Miller had two receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. To be fair, he did have a pass ricochet off of him and get intercepted, but in his two years in the program, I have never seen him drop a pass in practice or in a game until Thursday. He’s who I expect will be the team’s Offensive Breakout Player of the Year.

Defensive end Johnny Walker made some headlines after he led the team in tackles with six and had a sack on Thursday. EDGE was the only position of concern on defense and if Walker is who he was on Thursday, then they’ll be just fine.

Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw should be a player people know about but he keeps getting snubbed from all-conference lists. So, I guess not enough people know about him.

He had 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception and 12 pass deflections (third in the Southeastern Conference) in 2022.

Fellow cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine was named to the preseason All-SEC second team after racking up 48 tackles and 14 pass deflections (second in the SEC) in 2022. But I don’t know if he had a better season than Rakestraw.

Abrams-Draine is their No. 1 corner, but Rakestraw is a playmaker too and he won’t be easy pickings for teams who avoid Abrams-Draine.

4. What is the identity of the Missouri team? What kind of offense do they run?

The defense is everything. The team will go as far as the defense takes them. They probably have at least six to seven NFL-level guys on the defense and return 80% of their starters. It was a top-35 defense a season ago, and they have depth littered throughout every position.

They run a spread offense. A lot of pistol formation with a lot of inside and outside zone runs. They throw a lot of the stuff underneath and really let the playmakers do the work more than they air out the ball down the field.

5. If Mizzou gets the opportunity, do they run the score up for style points?

No, I don’t know if they can. The Tigers (in the season and one game I’ve covered them) haven’t had many complete games. They start strong and finish slow (last week versus South Dakota) quite a bit. They can get a little lackadaisical or like I said earlier, they tend to stall.

Plus, they just named Brady Cook their starting quarterback on Tuesday, but still plan to get backup Sam Horn some reps. So, it’ll be more about seeing what he can do if the game gets out of hand, and if running up the score comes out of it, then that's what it is. But, I don't think they can or will purposely try to run it up with their starting unit.

6. Game prediction? Final score?

Missouri should still be able to win as long as they win the turnover battle. It’ll be another one-score game. I’ve got Mizzou winning 20-17.