Missouri
How Missouri football is looking to avoid costly offensive penalties moving forward
Missouri football might just have an effort problem.
No, not the indifferent, uncaring kind.
The Tigers, when it comes to the multiple holding penalties that cost them yards during Saturday’s win over Buffalo on Faurot Field, might be trying too hard to finish off some blocks.
“You know, we’ve got to learn to let go. When the ball is out, (when there’s) leverage, when a defender is broken away, we cannot continue to engage with the jersey of the defender,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “And, so, there were three of those that were clear calls — easy, easy calls that are something that we have to correct.
“And you appreciate guys playing with effort and energy, but they’ve got to know when it’s crossing the line into a penalty.”
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The Mizzou offense still is off to an efficient start. The 2-0 Tigers have averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game, and they took what was offered to them in the passing game to comfortably knock off the Bulls.
But the penalties are a lingering issue. Especially with 24th-ranked Boston College on deck.
The Tigers had five flags thrown against them for holding vs. the Bulls, although only four of those stood on the final stat sheet. One holding call against wide receiver Mookie Cooper was declined by Buffalo because the Bulls picked Brady Cook off during the same play.
“I mean, up front our mentality is we’re trying to finish people all the time,” Missouri left guard Cayden Green said. “So, sometimes we go a little bit overboard. We’ve just got to work on not going so overboard.”
Two of the fouls went against offensive linemen, with Green picking up one and right tackle Armand Membou inviting the other. The others were called against tight ends Tyler Stephens and Jordon Harris.
Missouri now has 17 offensive penalties on the season, and exactly zero of those have gone against the Tigers’ defense. Only one came on special teams, when the Tigers took a delay of game on a punt against Murray State.
In addition to the four holding calls against Buffalo, the Tigers had three holding penalties against Murray State. That’s going to take a little more cleaning up than, quite literally, letting go.
“You know, we’ve just got to work on getting our hands inside,” Green said. “We talk to refs before the game and during the week so we can see what kind of officiating we’re dealing with, and so we just work off of that throughout the week, work on getting our hands inside and finishing blocks, but not finishing, you know, in a bad position.”
Those four holding calls were part of a much larger issue from the offense Saturday. The Tigers incurred 10 offensive penalties om all, which cost them 80 yards.
Three of those were formation penalties: two on ineligible receiver calls; one on illegal formation. Those drew the ire of the head coach more than perhaps any other offensive misstep.
“Well, quite honestly, the alignment penalties are just embarrassing,” Drinkwitz said. “As the head football coach, that’s on me. That’s undisciplined football, and for me to allow that to happen — we had an alignment penalty in the first game, and to have it again in the second game? That’s on me. So, that’s got to get corrected (and) get taken off the tape.”
That prompted the Tigers, per the head coach, to carve out a period of their Monday practice and dedicate the time to alignment and alignment alone.
The remaining three penalties called on MU’s offense Saturday were a facemask violation on backup right guard Mitchell Walters and a pair of false starts.
“The other ones — we’ll be alright,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ll figure that out.”
KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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In less than six weeks, fans will be able to live bet sports from their game-day tailgate or inside GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium during Chiefs games.
Sporting gambling in Missouri: Betting coming to Chiefs tailgates in less than 6 weeks
When Kansas City hosts the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football next week, it will mark the last home primetime game before legalized sports gambling goes live in Missouri.
“I’ll be thankful, very thankful,” Marcus Burns, a former Chiefs season ticket member, said Tuesday after buying a hat at the team store inside Arrowhead.
He’s among the Chiefs fans who have been forced to go to great lengths to put money on a game as sports gambling became legal in seven of the eight states surrounding Missouri, including Kansas and Illinois, while infighting within the Show-Me State legislature scuttled legalization efforts year after year.
“Normally, friends I go (to games) with are on the Kansas side, so we go over there, pick them up and place our bets,” Burns said. “Then, we come over here.”
If a player is a surprise inactive and you’re already at the tailgate, too bad. That net is locked in there’s no changing it from the Arrowhead parking — at least not until Dec. 1.
“We expect big things out of Missouri sports betting out of the gate,” Christopher Boan, an analyst for BetMissouri.com, said. “This is a market that has been pent up for a long time.”
BetMissouri projects more than $65.6 million in total wagers during the first week sports gambling is legal in Missouri.
The Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football to cap the week. The Dec. 7 game will air on KSHB 41.
Earlier that day, the Border Showdown between No. 19 Kansas and arch-rival Mizzou takes place at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, while the week also features four St. Louis Blues games and a full slate of college football conference championships games.
The NFL playoffs arrive during the second month sports gambling is legal in Missouri followed by the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and March Madness, leading BetMissouri to project a total handle of more than $262.6 million in the first four months.
“It’s one of the best sports markets in America, and it’s got a real potential from day one to kind of become one of the upper echelon states sports betting-wise,” Boan said.
Missouri voters narrowly approved Amendment 2 in November 2024, which legalized betting on sports in the state. Sports-gambling revenues are subject to a 10% tax and player props for in-state college athletes are prohibited under Missouri law, though they are legal in neighboring states.
Missouri Gaming Commission Chair Jan Zimmerman is in charge of managing the rollout of sports gambling in the state.
I’ve spoken with Zimmerman, who is also the director of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission’s SAFE Fund, several times about sports gambling in Missouri during last year’s election and in the months since Amendment 2’s passage.
On Tuesday, I asked her, “If you needed, could you guys go live today?”
Zimmerman laughed: “No, absolutely not. I know everybody would like for us to go live, but we’ve got to make sure we do it right.”
Before the geofencing on apps comes down and sports books open up, the Gaming Commission must finish vetting all prospective employees in the sports-wagering industry, a process that includes Missouri State Highway Patrol background checks among other things.
“Our folks have worked so hard,” Zimmerman said. “I know that they’re anxious to see all their work come to fruition. … Anytime you’re building something from scratch, you’re really invested in seeing it be successful.”
The wait will be over soon.
“It’ll be something different to be able to do that here and stay in Missouri, to go to the local bars and be able to place your bets while you’re there as well,” Burns said.
Missouri’s total handle in the first year is expected to approach $3.88 billion dollars, according to Boan.
“That money has been exiting the state, going to Iowa, going to Kansas, going to Illinois, pretty much going everywhere except Missouri,” Boan said. “You have markets all around you. You know — water, water everywhere, but none to drink.”
Missouri is the only state launching sports gambling in 2025, so the Dec. 1 launch is expected to draw a tremendous amount of attention.
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Lost in the shuffle of Saturday’s dramatic double-OT win: Missouri football is bowl eligible.
No. 14/15 Missouri football secured its sixth win of the season and qualified for a postseason berth courtesy of a 23-17, double-overtime win over Auburn on Saturday in Auburn, Alabama.
Mizzou (6-1, 2-1 SEC) has bigger ambitions for the season, all of which are still on the table. MU’s trip to Vanderbilt (6-1, 2-1) this upcoming Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, was selected as the College GameDay matchup, partly because both teams still have a say in the College Football Playoff and SEC title races.
We know it’s early. Missouri has five games left and a lot can and will change over the upcoming weeks and months.
But the Tigers are bowl eligible, so let’s see what folks are saying.
With five games left to play in the regular season, here is where various national media outlets have Missouri projected to play in the postseason in their updated bowl projections:
ESPN: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Michigan; Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Duke
Neither Kyle Bonagura nor Mark Schlabach of ESPN have Mizzou in the College Football Playoff field, instead opting for Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M out of the SEC — popular choices in most projections.
Bonagura, in his updated projections, has tabbed the Tigers for a ReliaQuest Bowl appearance on Dec. 31 in Tampa, Florida, against Michigan — a battle of the Block Ms. Michigan is currently 5-2 with a 3-1 mark in Big Ten play. One of the Wolverines’ losses this year was to Oklahoma.
Schlabach currently projects Mizzou to go to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a Jan. 2 game against Duke in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Duke is 4-3, but the Blue Devils have a 3-1 mark in ACC play and absolutely could factor into the conference’s title race.
Missouri has never appeared in either bowl game, but did travel to Tampa for the Gasparilla Bowl in 2022, when it lost to Wake Forest.
CBS Sports: Texas Bowl vs. TCU
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports projected that Missouri will take on TCU on Dec. 27 in the Texas Bowl in Houston.
The Horned Frogs are 5-2 with two losses in Big 12 Conference play, coming against Kansas State and Arizona State.
Mizzou last played in the Texas Bowl in 2017, falling to Texas under then-head coach Barry Odom.
Sports Illustrated: Liberty Bowl vs. Cincinnati
Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated has tabbed Missouri for a Jan. 2 game against Cincinnati in Memphis, Tennessee, in the Liberty Bowl. The Gator Bowl is one of the final non-CFP games on the college football calendar.
The Bearcats are ranked No. 21 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and shape up as a contender for the Big 12 title. They’re unbeaten through four games in conference play after losing their season-opening game against Nebraska in Kansas City.
The game would take place a day after the final College Football Playoff quarterfinals matchups.
Mizzou last played in the Liberty Bowl in 2018, losing to Oklahoma State.
Pro Football Sports Network: Texas Bowl vs Houston
Pro Football Sports Network’s updated prognostications have Mizzou facing Houston in its hometown in the Texas Bowl.
The Cougars are putting together a strong season under second-year head coach Willie Fritz, who was a longtime coach at Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Houston is currently 6-1, with its lone loss coming against Texas Tech.
Mizzou hasn’t faced the Cougars since 1994.
NEW MADRID COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) – Monday morning in the Missouri Bootheel began with a minor earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake at 2:58 a.m. Oct. 20. It had a preliminary magnitude of 2.3.
The tremor was located less than a mile west of Risco and about 25 miles north-northeast of Kennett. It had a depth of approximately 3.7 miles.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, no one had reported feeling it to the USGS.
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