Missouri Tigers Ready to Take on Knights

Then #20 Missouri Tigers have their first real test of the season Saturday when they take on the UCF Knights of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights are 0-1 on the season after a difficult 26-24 home defeat at the hands of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Missouri is 2-0 after victories over South Dakota State and Toledo in which the Tigers tallied 87 points and put up 895 yards. The Tigers balance on offense has been impressive as Maty Mauk has thrown for 503 yards and leading running backs Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy have run for 320 yards on just 60 carries.

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The UCF defense should be more of a test for the Tigers, at least in the running game. UCF held the Nittany Lions to 57 yards on 28 carries, but were unsuccesful stopping the pass, giving up 454 yards to Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg is a great young quarterback, but Mauk should be able to accomplish comparable numbers to that of the Penn State signal caller.

Mauk will look to build off of momentum in just his seventh career start. Mauk looked great at times against Toledo, but suffered from a few wide receiver drops and a few mental errors, two of which lead to interceptions. Still, Mauk accounted for six touchdowns and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week.

With Missouri’s offensive capabilities, the UCF matchup will give the Mizzou receivers another opportunity to separate themselves. Coach Gary Pinkel was questioned throughout spring ball of the ability left at wide receiver after the dismissal of Dorial Green-Beckham, but the corp has responded well in the first two games of the season. \

Bud Sasser looks to be the leader of the group after coming away with 158 yards and 2 TD’s on five catches against Toledo. Jimmie Hunt and Darius White are also in the hunt to be Missouri’s number one wide receiver, as they have both received more targets than Sasser. The three receivers give Mauk viable options at the position and make the supposed drop off from last season seem unapparent. Unfortunately for Missouri, there doesn’t seem to be much depth after the big three and they could be in trouble if any of them go down with an injury.

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Missouri defense will look to feast on a Knights’ offense that gained just 246 yards in their opener against Penn St. The Knights were unable to get anything going on the ground, running for 24 yards on 29 carries, an average of 0.8 YPC. The Tigers have been less than impressive against the run and will have an opportunity to gain some confidence.

Missouri’s best weapon comes in the form of a dominant pass rush. Defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray will be headed for the NFL when they choose and have played like All-American’s in their first two games. Ray, a junior, has accumulated three sacks in the first two games of the season and was able to manage 4.5 sacks as the Tigers 4th defensive end.

Markus Golden is arguably the best player the Tigers have and it’s not even close. Golden may be the best defensive lineman Missouri has had outside of Sheldon Richardson, who now stars for the New York Jets. Golden’s motor made him a fan favorite a year ago when he produced 6.5 sacks and led the Tigers defensive ends with 55 tackles despite playing in only 40% of Missouri’s defensive snaps. Golden hasn’t slowed down now that he’s number one on the depth chart. Golden already has 16 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the season and has dominated whenever he’s been in the game.

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

With advantages on both the offense and defense Missouri should be able to pull off a win against the Knights. With another solid performance from Mauk and Golden, Mizzou could have front runners in the races for offensive and defensive player of the year in the SEC as the conference schedule begins in just two weeks.