The MizzouToday Show: Border War Preview
In the latest edition of The MizzouToday Show, Kyle McAreavy and Kenny Van Doren preview the Border War game between Missouri and Kansas. The guys detail the most recent injury updates on quarterback Sam Horn and kicker Blake Craig, discuss the Tigers’ historical preparation for their players and what to expect from the Jayhawks. They also give keys to offensive line improvements and score predictions.
After opening with injury updates for Horn an Craig, the guys get into what Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz did to help get the team ready for Saturday, while making sure each player knows just how important this week’s matchup is.
“Drinkwitz brought in speakers throughout the summer, whether that’s former players, other former Tigers, just people who have been a part of this rivalry before, to try to give some history about, you know what, what it really means, what the context is going back even before it became a rivalry on the field,” McAreavy said. “You know, all of that type of stuff, and just how important this game is to fans and the community.”
Offensive line
Then they talk about necessary improvements on the offensive line from Week 1 to Week 2 and what McAreavy found encouraging from the first week’s performance.
“The biggest thing was communication,” McAreavy said. “… Everybody’s next to two different people, or one different person if you’re on the outside. … That communication, the line just hasn’t really gotten the reps in this formation to really have all of that down quite yet.
“I think what’s encouraging about it is you saw how quickly the line play improved, kind of at the end of the second quarter and through the second half, while the ones were still out there last week. You know, it wasn’t, it was bad the first, I mean, the first quarter, into the early second quarter, it was bad … there’s no sugar coating it.
“There were free rushers getting to Beau Pribula. There was, you know, a lot of pressure. And he was having to do a lot in the backfield just to keep plays alive. And when you’re having that much of a struggle against an FCS opponent, that’s not a good sign for when you’re lining up against big-time teams. I am encouraged by how quickly that improved and that I think the focus or where the improvement comes from is not a difference in like talent level, it’s comfortability and communication, which will just come with reps.”
Predictions
Then the guys end with their score predictions and a look ahead at what’s to come Saturday.
“The score in my prediction is a little less indicative of what I think the game will look like than the fact that it’s going to probably be, you know, a one score-ish matchup,” McAreavy said. “My main prediction, when I make it, is just that something ridiculous is going to happen, or maybe a couple of ridiculous things that, you know, skyrocket fans heart rates on both sides of the ball. There’s, this is not going to end up looking like a normal, everyday game, and that’s the biggest part of the prediction.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Mizzou can pull out a two-score win,” Van Doren said. “Just with how much this game means, no one is really going to come out flat-footed. And the energy will probably be pretty big in Missouri’s favor. I think it’s going to be a fun game nonetheless to cover and just to watch and see this rivalry come back.”
